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<br />Pursuant to the Operating Criteria and consistent with the Decree, water shall be released or pumped <br />from Lake Mead to meet the following requirements: <br /> <br />(a) 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty obligations; <br />(b) Reasonable beneficial consumptive use requirements of mainstream users in the Lower <br />Division States; <br />(c) Net river losses; <br />(d) Net reservoir losses; <br />(e) Regulatory wastes; and <br />(t) Flood control. <br /> <br />The Operating Criteria provide that after the commencement of delivery of mainstream water by <br />means of the CAP, the Secretary will determine the extent to which the reasonable beneficial <br />consumptive use requirements of mainstream users are met in the Lower Division States. The <br />reasonable beneficial consumptive use requirements are met depending on whether a normal, <br />surplus, or shortage condition has been determined. The normal condition is defmed as annual <br />pumping and release from Lake Mead sufficient to satisfy 7.500 maf (9,251 mcm) of consumptive <br />use in accordance with Article 111(3)( a) of the Operating Criteria and Article II(B)( 1) of the Decree. <br />The surplus condition is defined as annual pumping and release from Lake Mead sufficient to satisfy <br />in excess of 7.500 maf (9,251 mcm) consumptive use in accordance with Article III(3)(b) of the <br />Operating Criteria and Article II(B)(2) of the Decree. <br /> <br />The Interim Surplus Guidelines, which became effective February 26, 2001 and were first utilized in <br />CY 2002, serve to implement the narrative provisions of Article III(3)(b) of the Operating Criteria <br />and Article II(B)(2) of the Decree for the period through 2016. These specific interim surplus <br />guidelines will be used annually by the Secretary to determine the quantity of water available for use <br />within the Lower Division States. <br /> <br />Article II(B)( 6) of the Decree allows the Secretary to allocate water that is apportioned to one Lower <br />Division State, but is for any reason unused in that State, to another Lower Division State. This <br />determination is made for one year only and no rights to recurrent use of the water accrue to the state <br />that receives the allocated water. As provided in the Interim Surplus Guidelines, Section 1 (B), <br />before making a determination of a surplus condition under these Guidelines, the Secretary will <br />determine the quantity of apportioned but unused water from the basic apportionments, based on the <br />best available information at the time. Reclamation does not anticipate any available unused <br />apportionment for calendar year 2003 at this time. However, if any unused apportionment is <br />available the Secretary shall allocate any available unused apportionment for calendar year 2003 in <br />accordance with Article II(B)(6) of the Decree and Section l(B) of the Interim Surplus Guidelines. <br /> <br />Consistent with Section 7 of the Interim Surplus Guidelines, the August 24-Month Study was used <br />to project the January 1, 2003, Lake Mead reservoir water surface elevation. Based on this <br />projection, the Full Domestic Surplus will govern releases for use in the States of Arizona, Nevada <br />and California during calendar year 2003, as defmed in Section 2 of the Interim Surplus Guidelines. <br />The amount of this surplus shall equal: <br /> <br />December 13, 2002 <br /> <br />24 <br />