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<br />001561 <br />2002] <br /> <br />THE LAST GREEN lAGOON <br /> <br />917 <br /> <br />1. The Upper Basin <br /> <br />The states of, the Upper Basin divided their share of river <br />water in the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact of 1948.68 <br />Under this agreement, each state receives a specific share of the <br />7.5 maf allotted to the Upper Basih: Colorado, 51.75%; New <br />Mexico, 11.25%; Utah, 23%; Wyoming, 14%; and Arizona, <br />50,000 acre-feet. 69 While the Compact divides the water among <br />the States, state law, regulates' the quantity and priority of <br />individual appropriations' within each Upper Basin state, largely <br />under a prior appropriation systein.70 With' a smaller population <br />and fewer large irrigation projects than' the Lower Basin, the <br />Upper Basin has never used its full apportionment under the <br />1922 Compact. As of 2000, the entire Upper Basin used <br />approximately 4.8 maf of its total 7.5 maf allocation;71 this use, <br />however, is rapidly increasing. Recent projections suggest that <br />total Upper Basin use will increase by approximately 700,000 af <br />by 2025.72 <br />The Upper Basin's Compact delivery obligations to the Lower <br />Basin and Mexic073 are controlled by the Colorado River "Long <br />Range Operating Criteria," developed by the Secretroy of the <br />Interior (Secretary) pursuant to the 1968 Colorado River Basin <br />Project Act.74 The Operating Criteria specify required release <br />volumes and' the factors to be considered when deviating from <br />them in times of surplus or shortage on the River.75 Under the <br /> <br />68. See Warren J. Abbott, California Colorado River Issues, 19 PAC. L.J. 1391, <br />1397 (1988). <br />69. See PONTIUS, supra note 3. at 15. Arizona's portion is a fixed volume rather <br />than a percentage. <br />70. All of the Basin States subscribe in one form or another to the familiar <br />common law doctrine of prior appropriation, see SAX ET AL.., supra note 63" at Ill, <br />which allocates surface water on a 'first in time; first in right' basis to whomever first <br />puts it to a beneficial use. Once appropriated, the water right takes on the status of a <br />property right, but with special limitations. For an excellent discussion of the prior <br />appropriation system. See id at 98-208. <br />71. UNITED STATES DEPARrMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 'FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT <br />STATEMIi:NT, COLORADO RIVER SURPLUS CRITERIA Table K-1, Attachment K (2000). <br />available at http://www.lc.usbr.gov [hereinafter "FINAL EIS"]. Of the Upper Basin <br />states, Colorado, retains the largest share of unused water; in 2002, Colorado is <br />projected to consume only 2.4 mar ofits 3.3 mafshare. <br />72. See FINAL EIS, supra note 71, Attachment K at 2, Table K-1 (difference <br />between projected Upper Basin use in 2002 and 2025 is around 700,000 af.). <br />73. The Upper Basin's deliveries of Colorado River water to the Lower Basin and <br />Mexico come from releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which serves as the Upper <br />Basin's storage reservoir. See FRADKIN, supra note 9, at 194. <br />74. Colorado River Operating Criteria, 35 Fed. Reg. 8,951 (Dep't Interior. June 4, <br />1970). <br />75. See id <br />