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Response: As Article 1I( 4) remains relevant in the Operating Criteria (see response to Comment No. 22), Article IV(l)(d) needs to remain in the Operating Criteria. The term "available capability," as defined in Article IV(I)(d), is used in Article II(4). Comment No. 28 - (Letter No.6): The Interim Surplus Guidelines are having a negative effect on the Colorado delta. I Response: The Record of Decision for the Colorado River Interim Surplus Guidelines Final Environmental Impact Statement states that five-year reviews of the Interim Surplus Guidelines may be conducted, and if so, such reviews would be coordinated \\lith the Operating Criteria review. The Interim Surplus Guidelines became effective in February 2001 and were first applied in the 2002 Annual Operating Plan. At this time, there is no need for a review of the Interim Surplus Guidelines. In the future, however, actual operating conditions may warrant a review of the Interim Surplus Guidelines. Comment No. 29 - (Letters No.6 and 17): Conduct an environmental review of the Operating Criteria under the National Environmental Policy Act. Response: See response to Comment No.8. Comment No. 30 - (Letter No.6): A Categorical Exclusion is arbitrary and capricious because the actual promulgation of the Operating Criteria has not been evaluated in a National Environmental Policy Act process. Response: . See response to Comment No.8. Comment No. 31 - (Letter No. 16): The development and implementation process for the Interim Surplus Guidelines more than fulfilled the requirements for a five-year review. The Colorado River Basin States and the Secretary of the Interior have already agreed on how to operate the Colorado River for the next 15 years. The state of Utah does not see the need to spend time and resources on a review of the Operating Criteria. Response: The Operating Criteria explicitly call for their own formal review at least every five years. The Department intends to follow the requirements of the Operating Criteria. The last review was completed with a Federal Register Notice published on February 24, 1998 (63 Fed. Reg. 9256). The Interim Surplus Guidelines serve to implement Article. lII(3)(b) of the Operating Criteria. The Interim Surplus Guidelines may be reviewed concurrently with the five-year review of the Operating Criteria pursuant to Section 3 of the Interim Surplus Guidelines. Comment No. 32 - (Letters No.1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, II, 12, 13, 14, 15~ 16,23, and 27): No changes to the Operating Criteria are warranted at this time. Response: The Secretary of the Interior has made a number of limited modifications to the Operating Criteria in this Federal Register Notice. However, in making those 21