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2 Chapter 1 -Introduction LEGAL ASPECTS Water Quantity Apportionment of Colorado River water has been accomplished by the Colorado River Compact of 1922, the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928, the Mexican Treaty of 1944, the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact of 1948, and the U.S. Supreme Court (State of Arizona v. California et al.,1964). The Colorado River Compact divided the Colorado River between the Upper and Lower Basins at Lee Ferry (just below the confluence of the Paria River), apportioned to each 7.5 million acre-feet (maf) annually. In addition to this apportionment, the Lower Basin was given the right to increase its beneficial consumptive use by 1 mafper year. The compact also contains provisions governing exportation and obligations to Indian Tribes. The Mexican Treaty of 1944 obligates the United States to deliver to Mexico 1.5 maf of Colorado River water annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact of 1948 divided and apportioned the water apportioned to the Upper Basin by the Colorado River Compact, allocating to Arizona 50,000 acre-feet annually, with the remaining water allocated to Upper Basin States as follows: Colorado, 51.75 percent; New Mexico, 11.25 percent; Utah, 23 percent; and Wyoming, 14 percent. The compact permitted the authorization of Federal projects above Lee Ferry. States ofthe Lower Basin, however, did not agree to a compact for the apportionment of waters in the Lower Colorado River Basin; accordingly, a Supreme Court decree (Arizona v. California et al.) in 1964 allocated use ofthe mainstream of the Colorado River below Lee Ferry among California, Nevada, and Arizona and of the Gila River between Arizona and New Mexico. From the mainstream of the Lower Colorado River, Nevada was apportioned 300,000 acre-feet annually, Arizona was apportioned 2,800,000 acre-feet annually, and California was apportioned 4,400,000 acre-feet annually. The decree also permitted Federal water projects and the development of Indian tribal lands to proceed. Nothing in this report is intended to interpret the provisions of the Colorado River Compact (45 Stat. 1057), the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact (63 Stat. 31), the Water Treaty of 1944 with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994; 59 Stat. 1219), the decree entered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Arizona v. California et al. (376 U.S. 340), the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057), the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774; 43 U.S.C. 618a), the Colorado River Storage Project Act (70 Stat. 105; 43 U.s.C. 620), or the Colorado River Basin Project Act (82 Stat. 885; 43 U.S.C. 1501). Water Quality Although a number of water quality related legislative actions have been taken on the State and Federal levels, four Federal acts are of special significance to the Colorado River Basin-the Water Quality Act of 1965 and related amendments, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500), the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 as amended, and the Clean Water Act of 1977 as amended. Also central to water quality issues are agreements with Mexico on Colorado River system waters entering that country. The Water Quality Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-234) amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and established a Federal Water Pollution Control Administration (now Environmental Protection Agency (EP A)). Among other provisions, it required States to adopt water quality criteria for interstate waters inside their boundaries. The seven Basin States initially developed water quality standards that did not include numeric salinity criteria for the Colorado River, primarily because of technical constraints. In 1972, the States agreed to a policy that called for the maintenance of salinity concentrations in the Lower Colorado River system at or below existing levels, while the Upper Basin States continued to develop their compact-apportioned waters. The States suggested that Reclamation should have primary responsibility for investigating, planning, and implementing the proposed Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. l