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<br />000781 <br /> <br />PROPOSAL <br /> <br />1. Infrastructure. <br /> <br />The proposal calls for the construction of an off-stream reservoir, pumping plant, and <br />associated works with the capacity to utilize 57,100 acre-feet per year (afy) in depletions <br />from the Animas River. Because the water supply is limited to 57,100 afy, the reservoir <br />will be down-sized to approximately 90,000 acre feet in storage capacity. This is <br />approximately one-third the size of the reservoir that was proposed in the original <br />settlement, and in the "ALP Light" proposal. <br /> <br />It is difficult to estimate the cost of the down-sized reservoir and other facilities because <br />the sizing and configuration of the reservoir will need to undergo an engineering and <br />environmental analysis. For planning purposes, however, the Bureau estimates that the <br />cost of constructing the off-stream storage and related pumping facilities may approximate <br />$130,000,000. <br /> <br />The proposed off-stream reservoir is expected to have only limited recreational value <br />insofar as it will contain only a small amount of "dead" storage (approximately 500 acre <br />feet of water). Accordingly, the proposal does not include any plans for recreational <br />development on the Bureau of Reclamation lands upon which the reservoir will be sited. <br /> <br />2. Water Allocation. <br /> <br />The water depletion reallocations agreed to by the settlement parties will be followed, <br />except that the project will no longer include a non-Indian irrigation component.l The <br />6,010 afy allocated to non-Indian irrigation will be allocated to the Ute Tribes, thereby <br />increasing the percentage of the tribal water right that will be implemented through the <br />storage project. The adjusted depletions follow:2 <br /> <br />South~m Ute Tribe (M&I) <br />Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (M&I) <br />Navajo Nation (M&I) <br />ALP Water Conservancy District (M&I) <br />San Juan Water Commission (M&I) <br /> <br />I <br />19,980 afy depletion <br />19,980 afy depletion <br />2,340 afy depletion <br />2,600 afy depletion <br />10,400 afy depletion <br /> <br />1 Non-Indian irrigators will continue to benefit from the project insofar as it would <br />complete the settlement and remove the risk that non-Indian irrigators would face if the United <br />States and the Tribes initiated litigation and asserted the Tribes' senior water rights against <br />current water users. <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />The balance of available depletions is lost to evaporation. <br /> <br />4 <br />