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<br />or permanently secure use by others of Colorado River water that the tribe is not using at <br />this time. Nor does the Department believe that the Operating Criteria would preclude <br />the tribe or any entitlement holder from using their Colorado River entitlement in the <br />future. In short, the Operating Criteria do not alter the quantity or priority of tribal <br />entitlements. <br /> <br />Comment No.3 - (Letter No.2): The Quechan Tribe asks that Reclamation consider <br />whether the present and future plans for tribal water marketing and banking mandate <br />modification to the Operating Criteria, particularly in light of Reclamation's trust <br />responsibilities to Indian tribes and their members. <br /> <br />Response: The Department does not believe that a change to the Operating Criteria is <br />warranted due to any plans that the tribe may have with respect to future marketing and <br />banking of tribal water. The Operating Criteria do not define nor will they alter the <br />quantity or priority of tribal entitlements. The Operating Criteria provide for the ' <br />coordinated long-range operation of the reservoirs constructed and operated under the <br />authority of the Colorado River Storage Project Act and the Boulder Canyon Project Act <br />for the purposes of complying with and carrying out.the provisions of the Colorado River <br />Compact, Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, and Mexican Water Treaty. <br /> <br />. . <br />Comment No.4 - (Letter No.2): The Quechan Tribe asks that Reclamation consider <br />whether Arizona's and Nevada's full use of their allotments mandates modification to the <br />Operating Criteria, particularly in light of Reclamation's trust responsibilities to Indian <br />tribes and their members. <br /> <br />Response: The Department does not believe that a change to the Operating Criteria is <br />warranted due to Arizona's and Nevada's current estimated use of Colorado River water. <br />The Operating Criteria do not define nor will they alter state apportionments or the rights <br />of individual entities to Colorado River water. <br /> <br />Comment No.5 - (Letter No.2): The Quechan'Tribe asks that Reclamation consider <br />whether the over allocation of the Colorado River mandates modification to the <br />Operating Criteria, particularly in light of Reclamation's trust responsibilities to Indian <br />tribes and their members. Please note that the tribe has proposed a Tribal Accounting <br />Pool in Lake Mead to allow undeveloped tribal waters to be tracked by an ~n-reservoir <br />accounting system. <br /> <br />Response: The Department does not believe that a change to the Operating Criteria is <br />warranted due to allocations ofthe Colorado River. The Operating Criteria implement <br />and carry out the provisions of the Colorado River Compact, Upper Colorado River Basin <br />Compact, and Mexican Water Treaty, as well as federal statutory law. These sources of <br />the basin and state allocations to Colorado River water control Reclamation actions <br />pursuant to the Operating Criteria. While annual yield calculations made early in the 20th <br />century have been revised pursuant to additional data, the Operating Criteria do not <br />define or alter any rights of individual entities to Colorado River water. <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br />