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 cooperating agencies for purposes of assisting with the environmental analysis in the Final EIS. The BIA has responsibility for the administration and management of lands held in trust by the United States for American Indians (Indian) and Indian tribes located within the Basin. Developing forestlands, leasing assets on these lands, directing agricultural programs, protecting water and land rights, developing and maintaining infrastructure, and economic development are all part of the BIA's responsibility. FWS manages four national wildlife refuges along the Colorado River. Among its many other key functions, the FWS administers and implements federal wildlife laws, protects endangered species, manages migratory birds, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and assists foreign governments with international conservation efforts. The NPS administers areas of national significance along the Colorado River, including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The NPS conserves natural and cultural resources and administers visitor use, and also grants and administers concessions for the operation of marinas and other recreation facilities at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as well as concessions' operations along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead. Western markets and transmits power generated from the various hydropower plants located within the Basin operated by Reclamation. Western customers include municipalities, cooperatives, public utility and irrigation districts, federal and state agencies, investor-owned utilities, and Indian tribes located throughout the Basin. The USIBWC is the United States component of a bi-national organization responsible for administration of the provisions of the February 3, 1944 Treaty between the United States and Mexico Relating to the Utilization of the Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande (1944 Treaty), which includes the Colorado River waters allotted to Mexico, protection of lands along the Colorado River from hoods by levee and floodway construction projects, resolution of international boundary water sanitation and other water quality problems, and preservation of the Colorado River as the international boundary. The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) consists of the United States Section and the Mexican Section, which have their headquarters in the adjoining cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, respectively. II. Decision The recommendation is the approval of the following federal action: the adoption of specific interim guidelines for Lower Basin shortages and coordinated operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as provided below in Section XI. These interim ROD -Colorado River Interim Guidelines for December 2007 Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated 3 Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead