22 ‎(3)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 1/23/2008
• Description: Attorney General's Report, Legal Briefting and Executive Session
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Page 3
recorrarraea~ding approval of the application, aa~d tl~e proposed decree and stipulation are in
accordance with Phase ~incii~~gs and Itecc~mendtion .Although the stipulation have; been
signed bet~.veen all the partzes, the Cite of Iiturz~ has stated thaf it ~~ar~t~o~t approve cif the clecr~e
as agreed to by tlic' C~~"CB and tl~~ Appliear~t he€~ause t}~~: d~cr~~; included the t~:r
"presumptively valid" tc~ dcscrii~e the C'~~~'CB's ~'indzngs and Recommendations. The City of
~~lintazr cannot 1€;gall~° force a change to the proposed decree l=Because it is nv less restricti~;ye than
~;arlier proposed decrees.
)F.FF~SE ~F THE COLOR-~1~0 RI~'~'R SUSU~~:~T
$. 7-Stag Prppasal anti ~~EP:~ PrQCess
The state of Colorado actively participated in negotiati©ns with the other Colorado River
Basin. States to deti~elop agreezxaerats and guidelines that govern Colorado Rig°er operations
under shortage and o~v rese~oir conditions. On April 23, 20171, after two years of detailed
negotiations, the seven Basin States executed an agreement regarding Colorado River
rnarzagernent axzd operations (the "Agreement"}, and reached consensus on interim guidelines
far the Secretary of the Interior to adopt and implement as operations for the Colorado River
reservoirs and management of the Colorado River System (the "Guidelines''}. Reclamation
considered the Basin States' Agreement and the Guidelines in complying with the National
Environanental Protection Act ("1tiEF'A"). Reclamation's Final Environmental Impact
Statement under NEPA included the Agreement and the Guidelines, with some modification,
a5 part of the preferred alternative that the Secretary adopted in his Record of Decision, dated
IIecember I3, 2007.
The Colorado River Subunit provided the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Governor
of Colorado's Representative, and the upper Colorad© River Commission with legal counsel
during both the Basin States negotiations and the Bureau of Reclamation's NF..P.q process.
In addition, the Subunit drafted correspondcncc and aneanoranda on behalf of Colorado and
the Upper Division States that preserve Colorado's positions concerning erluali~:ation
operations of the Colorado River's reservoir system. The Subunit will continue to provide
this assistance and legal counsel as necessary in interpreting the Record of Decision.
9. e?~i°cc~ S~c~rta~e SIZarL~~
T'he Colorado I~i~-•er Subunit pro~-ides legal csuns€~l tc~ the Colora~lc~ ~~~ater Conservation
Beard and the Governor's Representative regarding ~.~~hether ar~d how .Mexico should share in
shortages of'the Colorado Ri~rer S~ste_ The Sul~aznit bas prepared research rnernoranda
t)ittliniatg legal and pra~;tic~al issues for Color4acc~ and thy: Upper Dig%ision Stat~:s t~, ~or~sider
evlten raegC~tiating ~vitl~ tlZe Lc~~~-er I~ivisic~r~ ~tr~cl i'~-I~:xicc~ r~;garding i~~t~natic~r~ai sl~c~rta~~~
sharing in the Colorado Rig°er Systez~. The Subunit is also participating; in Basin Stags
ancetings with the International I3oundary~ grad Water Commission, the C1.S. Department of
State, and the I3urcau of I~eclarnation in preparaticara for formal discussions ~vitb l~Iexico on