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<br />modifications, the Secretary found that in all other respects the Operating Criteria <br />continue to meet the purpose and goals for which they were developed and the <br />requirements of Section 602 of the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act. The <br />Secretary believes that neither the structure, format, nor content of the Operating Criteria <br />require significant revisions as a result of actual operating experience. By this Federal <br />Register Notice, based on information submitted for review by the Department of the <br />Interior, the Secretary has made a number of limited modifications to the text of the <br />Operating Criteria. The bases for the changes are: (1) specific change in federal law <br />applicable to the Operating Criteria, (2) language in the current text of the Operating <br />Criteria that is outdated, and (3) specific modifications to Article IV(b) of the Operating <br />Criteria that reflect actual operating experience. <br /> <br />Comment No. 33 - (Letter No. 18): We do not object to the changes proposed in the <br />Federal Register Notice. . <br /> <br />Response: Comment noted. <br /> <br />Comment No. 34 - (Letter No. 18): The Upper Colorado River Commission does not <br />endorse the assumption and objective in the Operating Criteria of a minimum release of <br />water from Lake Powell of 8.23 million acre-feet every year. If such a number is used in <br />the Operating Criteria, it must be understood that this is a planning objective which may <br />be modified in the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) to reflect current conditions and in <br />accordance with Colorado River Compact requirements. We remain concerned about the <br />drought and depletIon of storage at Lake Powell. It is imperative that the Operating <br />Criteria be interpreted to have sufficient flexibility to allow for modifications in the AOP <br />as needed to reflect critical conditions and Colorado River Compact requirements. <br /> <br />"- <br />Response: Article III of the Colorado River Compact contains several provisions relating <br />to the release of water from the Upper Basin to the Lower Basin. The specification of a <br />minimum annual release objective from Glen Canyon Dam is found only in Article II(2) <br />of the Operating Criteria which states that ". . . the objective shall be to maintain a <br />minimum release of water from Lake Powell of 8.23 million acre-feet. . . ." <br /> <br />Because the minimum annual release objective is higher than inflow during periqds of <br />drought, storage in Lake Powell is drawn down during a drought. The more severe the <br />drought, the more significant the drawdown is at Lake Powell. Storage in Lake Powell <br />recovers during normal or wet years. Lake Mead storage decreases during drought as <br />well, but does so at a slower rate because of the presence of the minimum annual release <br />objective from Lake Powell. <br /> <br />Representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin States, Reclamation, and the Western <br />Area Power Administration are investigating impacts of prolonged drought where <br />reducing the release from Lake Powell below the 8.23 million acre-foot per year. <br />objective would protect the minimum power pool at Lake Powell and the water supply <br />for the Upper Division States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The 2005 <br /> <br />22 <br /> <br />