Basin States' Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement, CO River Interim guidelines for Lower Basin Shrotages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

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anticipated execution of one or more agreements to deliver ICS or DSS within the preferred alternative in the FEIS and the selected action in the ROD. Implementation of any alternative that does not include all material terms of the Basin States' Proposal will carry with it a significant degree of uncertainty given that the Basin States' Agreement, Forbearance Agreement and Arizona-Nevada Shortage Sharing Agreement are each contingent upon the issuance of a ROD that is consistent with the material terms of those agreements. These agreements make it possible for components of the proposed action, such as coordinated management of Lakes Mead and Powell and the creation and release of ICS, to be implemented without adversarial actions involving the Basin States and major water users on the Colorado River. Reduced Deliveries to Mexico Recent negotiations among the Basin States and major water users in those states have involved multiple issues of critical importance to the Basin States. However, in the course of these negotiations no issue has surpassed the importance of how the United States exercises its authority to reduce the quantity of water allotted to Mexico under Article 1D(a) of the Mexican Water Treaty of 1944. In the Preliminary Proposal the Basin States recommended that the Secretary reduce deliveries from Lake Mead by 400,000, 500,000 and 600,000 acre-feet per year within the United States and Mexico at certain Lake Mead elevations. In accordance with the Preliminary Proposal, Arizona and Nevada have executed a Shortage Sharing Agreement premised upon the imposition by the Secretary of shortages within the United States of 333,D00, 417,DD0 and 500,000 acre-feet per year at the same Lake Mead elevations contained in the Preliminary Proposal. For the first 500,000 acre-feet per year of any reductions in deliveries in any year due to a declared shortage, the Basin States have agreed that Arizona and Nevada will not take mare than 500,000 acre-feet per year in aggregate and California will not take any reductions. The DEIS substantially incorporates the assumptions contained in the Preliminary Proposal, the Basin States' Agreement and the Shortage Sharing Agreement into its consideration and analysis of the Basin States' Alternative. Due to the critical nature of this issue, the Basin States believe that the Secretary should include these assumptions as part of the preferred alternative in the FEIS and the selected action in the ROD. The Basin States strongly urge the United States to exercise its authority to reduce the quantity of water allotted to Mexico in years in which the Secretary imposes shortages in deliveries of water from Lake Mead in the United States in a quantity consistent with the assumptions in the DEIS, and in other appropriate circumstances. Mexican Participation in ICS Program The Basin States support the concept of Mexico participating in the ICS program at some time in the future, provided that its participation is addressed in the context of other river