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<br /> <br />UUiJ73a <br /> <br /> <br />Secretary would provide limited amounts of water for a IS-year period from Lower Basin reservoir <br />operations, to supply California agencies and allow for groundwater banking in the Lower Basin during <br />this period. <br /> <br />In 1999, a number of environmental plaintiffs in the U.S. and Mexico sued the Secretary of the Interior, <br />for failing to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service under <br />~7 of the Endangered Species Act, on the f:ffects of Lower Colorado Reservoir operations on listed <br />species in Mexico. This lawsuit joins the issue of whether the ESA applies to an action in the U.S. that <br />may affect a species in a foreign country. As of this writing, the D.C. Circuit Court denied motions to <br />intervene filed by states and agencies in the Lower Basin. In the context of the proposed adoption of <br />interim guidelines for Reservoir operation, the Department of the Interior is proceeding with a <br />consultation on extraterritorial effects, reserving the issue of whether such a consultation is required, and <br />taking into consideration the fact that the U.S. cannot control water supply operations in Mexico and the <br />mandatory nature of operations under the Decree in Arizona v. California. <br /> <br />In 2000, the Department of the Interior sponsored a workshop discussion on ways to protect and enhance <br />the environment in the Colorado River Delta, pursuant to the Babbitt/Carabias Joint Declaration. Part of <br />the discussion entailed development of a "conceptual minute" under the 1944 Treaty, endorsing measures <br />to promote thatresult. <br /> <br />361 <br />