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<br />u01956 <br /> <br />On December 19, 2000, Congress passed Public Law 106-549 (114 Stat. 2743) (attached) which <br />authorized the Secretary of the Interior to contract with the Mancos Water Conservancy District <br />to use the Mancos Project facilities for impounding, storage, diverting, and carriage of non- <br />project water for irrigation, domestic, municipal, industrial, and any other beneficial purposes. <br />One result of this legislation is that Reclamation and the District can enter into contracts for <br />carriage of non-project water through project facilities. <br /> <br />1.2 Service Area <br /> <br />The Mancos Project provides supplemental project water for three prinl.ary purposes: <br /> <br />1. Irrigation use-Provides supplemental water to an established agricultural area, enhances the <br />economy through production of crops inclusive of alfalfa, grass hay, irrigated pasture, wheat, <br />oats, barley, and corn silage. <br />2. Domestic, Municipal and Industrial use-provides domestic water supply to: the community <br />of Mancos, to ensure a permanent source of domestic water fo:( the future growth of Mancos <br />Valley; the Mesa Verde National Park; and the Mancos Rural Water Company. <br />3. Hydroelectric power--The Mancos Water Conservancy District privately constructed and <br />operates a 260-kwh powerplant on this project. <br /> <br />Project water is delivered to water users through project facilities and priyate distribution canals. <br />Many of the project water users also own private water rights and use water from the Mancos <br />Project as a supplementary supply. Historically, project facilities were approved and utilized to <br />carry non-project private water to private irrigators in the service area. <br /> <br />1.3 Need for Carriag~Contrac~ <br /> <br />Between 1968 and 1995/Reclamatinn ,and the District executed and entered into five non-project <br />water carriage cqntracts withprivateirtigators in the project service area utilizing the authority <br />of the Warr~ti.A.ct(E~g.11lary 21(1911: 36 Stat. 925). In 1997, Reclamation attempted to execute <br />an additional/new non..:prQj~ct water carriage contract with Ralph and Dixie Robbins (Robbins <br />RanclJ),ia,Mancos Project \\'cater user, Atthat time, Interior denied the requested approval based <br />on a solici~()rs opinion that stated that Water Conservation Utilization Act (WCUA; August 11, <br />1939) projectsyvere not subjectto Warren Act contracts. <br /> <br />Without that methbdof contract approval, the request for the Robbins Ranch carriage contract <br />was tabled. Subsequelltt8that Interior decision, two previously approved and executed non- <br />project water carriage cOIltracts expired and could not be renewed because of that lack of <br />authority under the Warren Act (1. Glen Spencer (Reclamation Contract No. 95-07 -40-R1720) <br />expired November 21, 1999; 2. Marilyn Colyer (Reclamation Contract No. 95-07-40-R1740) <br />expired January 5,2000). <br /> <br />This lack of legal authority for Reclamation to contract for carriage of non-project water from <br />WCUA project facilities created a hardship for Glen Spencer, Marilyn Colyer, and the Robbins <br />Ranch; as well as any other service area irrigators who in the future wished to utilize project <br />facilities for carriage of non-project water. In response, the District sought assistance of its <br /> <br />5 <br />