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<br />management practices in the United States are <br />directly implicated in the decline of sensitive species <br />in the delta and upper Gulf.60 The success of any such <br />amendment would hinge on Mexico's ability to guar- <br />antee that flows dedicated to delta ecosystems were <br />properly delivered, as well as Mexico's ability to <br />contribute resources to the delta's ecosystems. IBWC <br />U.S and Mexico secretaries of state <br /> <br />. Identify sources of water to meet the terms of this <br />amendment. The U.s. Department of the Interior <br />could secure water through the reallocation of excess <br />water now used by California or other waters saved <br />through conservation measures, and lease this water <br />to Mexico. (See recommendation below to Establish <br />Market Mechanisms and Funding Sources for Delta <br />Preservation.) DOL basin states, CNA IBWC <br /> <br />. Negotiate new criteria for allocating surplus water <br />among users, and establish delta ecosystems as a <br />legitimate user of this surplus. The Colorado River is <br />managed according to "Criteria for Coordinated <br />Long-Range Operation of Colorado River Reser- <br />voirs," which determine surplus and shortage <br />conditions and guide the allocation of surplus water <br />among users. The Department of the Interior must <br />prepare a yearly plan for how reservoirs in the <br />system will be managed and whether a surplus or <br />shortage exists. New criteria should redefine surplus <br />and shortage conditions to include environmental <br />considerations in the annual determination of where <br />surplus flows are allocated (Postel et al.). There <br />already is precedent for this in the Colorado basin.61 <br />Issues to be resolved include formal recognition of <br />minimum flows needed for delta preservation, <br />identification of the entity that would hold these <br />allocations and manage the rights, logistics of <br />storing and releasing the water, and the level of <br />priority that ecosystem resources would enjoy. One <br />possible opportunity to negotiate these criteria is in <br />conjunction with California's 4.4 plan (See section in <br />Chapter4 on Colorado River EntitJementsand Califomias <br />4.4 Plan.). DOL states, tribes, IBWC SEMARNAP-INE <br /> <br />ESTABLISH MARKET MECHANISMS AND <br />FUNDING SOURCES FOR DELTA PRESERVATION <br /> <br /> <br />Virtually all recommendations in this report have a cost, <br />some greater than others. Finding water in drought years <br />will no doubt be one of the most challenging and costly <br />challenges of delta preservation. One way to ensure <br />equity in the allocation of these costs is to establish <br />mechanisms that allow the transfer of water resources <br />and collection of restoration fees according to market <br />forces: <br /> <br />. Extend provisions for off-stream water banking in the <br />United States to include banking by environmental <br />resource agencies or private groups. These provisions <br />should be designed to protect critical habitats from <br />being dewatered during periods of drought. Any such <br />program will need to designate entities eligible to <br />bank water for the environment, implement water <br />transfer and purchasing programs, and support new <br />water-banking regulations that meet the timing needs <br />of environmental releases. BOR, EPA SEMARNAP- <br />INe states, tribes,IBWC <br /> <br />. Negotiate provisions for interstate and interbasin <br />water transfers to allow reallocation of developed <br />water supplies to meet environmental demands. <br />States in the lower basin already have proposed <br />several approaches for marketing water among <br />themselves. In the upper basin, Utah has expressed <br />an interest in marketing its undeveloped Central Utah <br />Project water to downstream users (Smith, 1996). At <br />least one senior water rights holder in the lower <br />basin has expressed an interest in marketing water <br />to an entity that would deliver water to the delta.62 <br />New provisions and regulations would have to <br />address how water could be transferred across the <br />international boundary, and they would have to open <br />the market to allow participation by entities repre- <br />senting nonconsumptive environmental and <br />recreational uses. They also would have to define <br />parameters for the price of water for environmental <br />uses, and duration of the transferred water right. DOL <br />states, tribes, IBWC <br /> <br />60 Mexico has maintained that the diminished freshwater flows to the Gulf of California are partially responsible for the decline in various fisheries in the Gulf <br />and,for the near di~appearance of the v~quita porpoise, The Council on Environmental Quality in the United States has issued an interpretation of the National <br />EnVironmental Polley Act (NEPA) asserting that U.S. agencies can be held accountable for the impacts of their actions outside of the United States even when <br />the precipitating action takes place within the United States. (McGinty, 1997) <br />61 See note 16 for an explanation of the RIP. In the case of the Green River, changes in the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam have already been made to <br />enhance peak flows and reduce and stabilize winter flows. In the Colorado River, water users, the state of Colorado, federal agencies, and environmentalists <br />continue negotiations over the establishment of a mechanism that will ensure protection of flow releases from the federal reservoirs. <br />62 The Cibola Irrigation District in Arizona has offered to sell 22,560 acre-feet (2.8 x 107 m3) of marketable Colorado River water (Israel, 1997). <br /> <br />44 <br />