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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />The other owners include the City of Farmington, New Mexico; Los AlalTIos County, New Mexico; Utah <br />Associated Municipal Power Systems; the M-S-R Public Power Agency. ajoint agency composed of the <br />Modesto Irrigation District and the cities of Santa Clara and Redding, California; the City of Anaheim, <br />California: Southern California Public Power Authority; Tucson Electric Power Company; and Tri-State <br />Generation and Transmission Cooperative, Inc. These owners. or their constituents, are regulated <br />utiiities, cooperatives, or governmemai t:niii't::s iuo.:.i1lt:U ill ih~ ~\'(1i'C~ 0f N~-...... i...,e::.;.i..:v, Uta.h. Ai"iL.viiu, <br />Colorado, and California. The continued production of electricity by PNM for these entities requires a <br />dependable supply of water for steam production. cooling, pollution control, washdown, and general <br />processes. There has been a consistent increase in demand for additional electrical encrgy throughout the <br />southwestern United States over the past 10 years (2 percent to 4 percent per year) and this rate of <br />increase is not expected to decline over the next 10 years. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />The Jicarilla Apache Nation Water Subcontract will allow PNM to continue to withdraw 16,200 AF of <br />water annually. Withdrawal of the 16,200 AF of water varies throughout the year driven by generation <br />and load needs within New Mexico and other markets including service territories of other SJGS owners. <br />Monthly diversion would occur.. at a minimum, similar to the last ten years of diversion shown in the <br />Biological Assessment (Appendix A of this document) Appendix B (of the Biological Assessment), Table <br />I. PNM has requested the Jicarilla Apache Nation Water Subcontract now to ensure the availability of <br />water for SJGS through its contractual commitments. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />4.0 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Three alternatives were considered: <br />. Proposed Action <br />. Alternative Sources of Water <br />. No Action <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />4.1 <br /> <br />Proposed Action: The Jicarilla Apache Nation Water Subcontract <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />The proposed action involves establishing a contract between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and PNM for <br />consumption of 16,200 AF of water per year from the San Juan River beginning January 1,2006 and <br />ending December 31. 2027. The USBR will be the action agency charged with approval of the Jicarilla <br />Apache Nation Water Subcontract for the U.S. Department of the Interior. No new construction or <br />electric power generation operation activities are proposed by this action and no new impacts on <br />environmental, cultural, or socioeconomic resources are anticipated as a result of this proposed action. <br />The location and method of depletions would not change from current operations. The Jicarilla Apache <br />Nation Water Subcontract would allow PNM to continue to consume 16,200 AF per year from the San <br />Juan River through 2027, an extension of an existing activity. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Additional projeet commitments are designed to support the recovery of two endangered fish species in <br />the San Juan River Basin. As part of the SJRRIP, PNM has agreed to support and participate in <br />implementation of mitigation for the Jicarilla Apache Nation Water Subcontract. The mitigation will <br />alleviate jeopardy to the species through modifications of the PNM diversion weir across the San Juan <br />River to allow fish passage. These modifications have been federally funded. The SJRRIP Biology <br />Committee specified a selective passage system to be operated for the life of the recovery program. The <br />Biology Committee has recommended operation of the fish passage from MaTch through OClOber every <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />001 t. [1 n <br />:: ..10 <br />