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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEOUENCES A. Affected Area The affected geographic area includes the mainstream of the lower Colorado River from the upper end of Lake Mead at Pierce Ferry to the Southerly Intemational Boundary with Mexico and those portions of the Lower Division States served by Colorado River water through water delivery contracts executed by the Secretary (Figures 1 and 2). B. River Management Environment 1. River Operations The Secretary, through Reclamation, operates the Colorado River in the Lower Basin, consistent with applicable criteria, including the BCP A, the Decree, and the "Criteria for Coordinated Long-Range Operation of the Colorado River Reservoirs Pursuant to the Colorado River Basin Project Act of September 30,1968," In a normal year, 7,5 mafis available for consumptive use in the Lower Basin, divided as follows: 2,8 mafto Arizona, 4.4 mafto California, and 0.3 mafto Nevada. California's use has been exceeding its 4.4 mafbasic annual apportionment because the Secretary, in accordance with the Decree, has annually released for consumptive use within California the Colorado River water apportioned to but unused by Arizona and Nevada. However, this past use has not established any rights in the State of California to future use of water in excess of California's annual apportionment of 4.4 mar Annual releases and diversions for the lower Colorado River are shown in Figure 3. Operating criteria for meeting water diversions and delivery requests are expected to remain the same on the lower Colorado River from Lake Mead to Mexico with and without the proposed rule. Nearly all of Nevada's consumptive use apportionment of300,000 afis diverted through the Saddle Island Intakes and pumping plants on Lake Mead into the SNWS which supplies the Las Vegas, Nevada area, Under the proposed rule storage credits redeemed by an authorized Nevada entity would likely use these existing facilities or existing facilities in the Laughlin, Nevada area, All deliveries for the CAP in Arizona are made through the CAP aqueduct system after diversion from Lake Havasu via the Havasu Pumping Plant upstream from Parker Dam, Under the proposed rule, water diverted and stored by Arizona for authorized entities in California or Nevada would use these existing facilities, Most of California's apportionment of Colorado River water is diverted from the mainstream at three main locations: 1) from Lake Havasu by MWD facilities into the Colorado River Aqueduct for use in southern California, 2) at the Palo Verde Diversion Dam into the Palo Verde Irrigation District system near Blythe, California, and 3) at Imperial Dam into the All American Canal, north of Yuma, Arizona, for use in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys in Southern LC Region DEAIl 11 12197