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<br />Federal Register/Vol. 69, No. 212/Wednesday, November 3, 2004/Notices
<br />
<br />64097
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<br />Operating Criteria. The January 15,
<br />2002, Federal Register Notice stated
<br />that open public meetings would be
<br />conducted as part of this review, and in
<br />the March 6, 2002, Federal Register
<br />Notice, Reclamation asked for
<br />comments on whether or not a public
<br />meeting should be held. At the end of
<br />the comment period (March 29, 2002),
<br />several ofthose who provided
<br />comments stated that a public meeting
<br />to solicit comments on the need to
<br />revise the Operating Criteria was not
<br />needed. Accordingly, Reclamation did
<br />not conduct a public meeting at that
<br />point in the review process. However,
<br />pursuant to this Federal Register
<br />Notice, a public consultation meeting
<br />will be conducted on November 19,
<br />2004, allowing interested parties and
<br />the general public an opportunity to
<br />provide comments on the proposed
<br />changes to the Operating Criteria
<br />identified in this Federal Register
<br />Notice. This meeting will be considered
<br />a consultation with the States,
<br />interested parties, and stakeholders, as
<br />well as government-to-government
<br />consultation with tribal representatives.
<br />Following analysis of any additional
<br />comments received as a result of this
<br />Notice, any proposed Federal action
<br />will be evaluated by Reclamation to
<br />determine the applicability of National
<br />Environmental Policy Act compliance.
<br />A final Secretarial decision regarding
<br />this five-year review will be published
<br />in the Federal Register.
<br />
<br />Public Disclosure
<br />
<br />It is Reclamation's practice to make
<br />comments, including names and home
<br />addresses ofrespondents, available for
<br />public review. Individual respondents
<br />may request that we withhold their
<br />home address from public disclosure,
<br />which we will honor to the extent
<br />
<br />allowable by law. There also may be
<br />circumstances in which we would
<br />withhold a respondent's identify from
<br />public disclosure, as allowable by law.
<br />If you wish us to withhold your name
<br />and/or address, you must state this
<br />prominently at the beginning of your
<br />comment. We will make all submissions
<br />from organizations or businesses, and
<br />from individuals identifying themselves
<br />as representatives or officials of
<br />organizations or businesses, available
<br />for public disclosure in their entirety.
<br />Background: The Operating Criteria,
<br />promulgated pursuant to Section 602 of
<br />the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project
<br />Act (Pub. L. 90-537), were published in
<br />the Federal Register on June 10, 1970
<br />(35 FR 8951). In order to comply with
<br />and carry out the provisions of the
<br />Colorado River Compact, the Upper
<br />Colorado River Basin Compact, and the
<br />Mexican Water Treaty, the Operating
<br />Criteria provide for the coordinated
<br />long-range operation of the reservoirs
<br />constructed and operated under the
<br />authority of the Colorado River Storage
<br />Project Act and the Boulder Canyon
<br />Project Act.
<br />The Operating Criteria state that the
<br />Secretary will sponsor a formal review
<br />of the Operating Criteria at least every
<br />five years with participation by
<br />Colorado River Basin State
<br />representatives as each Governor may
<br />designate and other parties and agencies
<br />as the Secretary may deem appropriate.
<br />As required by Pub. L. 102-575 (the
<br />Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992),
<br />the Secretary also consults in this
<br />review process with the general public
<br />including representatives of academic
<br />and scientific communities,
<br />environmental organizations, the
<br />recreation industry, and contractors for
<br />the purchase of federal power produced
<br />at Glen Canyon Dam.
<br />
<br />Previous reviews of the Operating
<br />Criteria were conducted in 1975, 1980,
<br />1985,1990, and 1995. These reviews
<br />did not propose any changes to the
<br />Operating Criteria. Prior to 1990,
<br />reviews were conducted primarily
<br />through meetings with and
<br />correspondence among representatives
<br />of the seven Basin States and
<br />Reclamation. Because the long-range
<br />operation of the Colorado River
<br />Reservoirs is important to many
<br />agencies and individuals, in 1990,
<br />through an active public involvement
<br />process, Reclamation expanded the
<br />review of the Operating Criteria to
<br />include all interested stakeholders. A
<br />team consisting of Reclamation staff
<br />from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boulder
<br />City, Nevada, was organized to conduct
<br />the 1995 review. For this review,
<br />Reclamation staff from Boulder City and
<br />Salt Lake City followed a similar public
<br />process.
<br />The scope of the review has been
<br />consistent with the statutory purposes
<br />of the Operating Criteria which are "to
<br />comply with and carry out the
<br />provisions of the Colorado River
<br />Compact, Upper Colorado River Basin
<br />Compact, and Mexican Water Treaty"
<br />43 U.S.C. 1552(a). Long-range
<br />operations generally refer to the
<br />planning of reservoir operations over
<br />several decades, as opposed to the
<br />Annual Operating Plan which details
<br />specific reservoir operations for the next
<br />operating year, as required by 43 U.S.C.
<br />1552(b).
<br />Proposed Modifications to the
<br />Operating Criteria: As a result of this
<br />review, Reclamation is proposing the
<br />following modifications to the
<br />Operating Criteria (additions are shown
<br />with highlighted text and deletions are
<br />shown with a line):
<br />BILLING CODE 431D-MN-M
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