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<br />i <br />:1 <br />II <br />'I <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />I' <br />i <br />. <br /> <br />. <br />i[ <br /> <br />'I <br /> <br />II <br /> <br />" <br />!I <br /> <br />Western States Water Council <br />Legal Committee <br /> <br />Sheridan, Wyoming <br />October 5, 2006 <br /> <br />WASHINGTON <br /> <br />Ken Slattery <br /> <br />WYOMING <br /> <br />Peter Michael <br />Sue Lowry <br />Steve Wolff <br /> <br />GUESTS <br /> <br />Jeff Fassett, HDR Engineering, Cheyenne, WY <br />Brenda Burman, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D.C. <br />Andy Belanger, Souther Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, NV <br />Natalie Tawil, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC (by phone) <br /> <br />STAFF <br /> <br />D. Craig Bell <br />Tony Willardson <br />Shaun McGrath <br />Cheryl Redding <br /> <br />WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS <br /> <br />The meeting was called to order by Bill Staudenmaier, Chair of the Legal Committee. <br /> <br />APPRQV AL OF MINUTES <br /> <br />The minutes from the meeting held in Breckenridge, Colorado were approved as circulated. <br /> <br />"HOW F]~DERAL POLICES AFFECT THE ALLOCATION OF WATER" <br /> <br />Natalie Tawil, Microeconomic Division, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) described the process <br />of what led to the above entitled report. <br /> <br />Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, the ranking member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of <br />the House Resources Committee, aware of the drought conditions that began in 2000, asked the CBO to <br />examine the economic efficiency implications of federal policy options that impact fresh water allocations. <br />Our research drew upon the literature in the public record regarding water law and water use to discuss three <br />points. <br /> <br />(I) With regard to the country's water supply and water use, we used USGS data on water supply <br />and withdrawals. We tried to emphasized the point that the relationship between consumption <br />and withdrawals depends on the use ofthe water. <br /> <br />(2) Relative to the determination of water allocations and whether allocations maximize the <br />potential benefits describe as a whole, we reviewed the doctrines that underlie state water <br />allocation laws and how water infrastructure is subsidized. <br /> <br />2 <br />