The Secretary of the Interior - Washington - CO River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

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Interim Guidelines for the Operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead • determine those conditions under which the Secretary may declare the availability of surplus water for use within the Lower Division states. The proposed federal action would modify the substance of the existing ISG and would change the term of the ISG from 2016 through 2026. X. Operational Setting A. Criteria for the Coordinated Long-Range Operation of Colorado River Reservoirs Section 602 of the CRBPA required the Secretary to propose and adopt criteria for the coordinated long-range operation of the reservoirs constructed and operated under the authority of the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956, the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 (BCPA), and the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act. The Secretary adopted such "Long-Range Operating Criteria" (LROC) in 1970 and has been operating the Colorado River consistent with the LROC since 1970. In 2005, the Secretary approved minor changes to the text of the LROC. (70 Fed. Reg. 15873, Mar. 29, 2005). The Secretary identified the bases for the limited changes as: (1) specific change in federal law applicable to the Operating Criteria, (2) language in the current text of the Operating Criteria that was outdated, and (3) specific modifications to Article IV(b) of the Operating Criteria that reflect actual operating experience. It is the Department's decision that these Guidelines implement the LROC on an annual basis through the Interim Period and that the operation of the relevant Colorado River reservoirs be documented in each year's AOP (Subsection C, below). See also Section 7 of the Guidelines for further description of the relationship between the LROC and these Guidelines. B. Interim Surplus Guidelines Beginning in 1999, the Secretary determined that there was a need for detailed, objective guidelines to assist in the determination of availability of water in excess of 7.5 maf per year to water users in the three Lower Division states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. One of the important issues facing the Department at that time was the question of whether to modify the LROC to address determination of a Surplus Condition or whether to adopt guidelines that would implement the LROC with detailed provisions. At the time, the Department sought public input on the concept of modifying Article III(3)(b) of the LROC during the process that led to adoption of the ISG. See 64 Fed. Reg. 27010 (May 18, 1999). After reviewing the public comments received, the Department announced its intention to adopt "interim implementing criteria pursuant to Article III(3) of the Long-Range Operating Criteria" rather than modifying the actual text of the LROC. See 64 Fed. Reg. 68373 (December 7, December 2007 ROD -Colorado River Interim Guidelines for 22 Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead