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Issue #17 The Water Report <br />Chapter Two: Evolution of Interstate Water Banking <br />Water The Nevada and Arizona parties to the 2002 offstream banking agreements in December 2004 <br />reorganized the transaction so as to strengthen the resource value of the agreement for the Nevada parties <br />Banking and establish a more secure funding source for Arizona water banking. This was accomplished with an <br />Amended Agreement for Interstate Water Banking. In that agreement, approved on December 16, 2004, <br />Agreement the parties amended and restated the previous agreement in its entirety with the purpose of establishing: <br />Amended • Specific commitment by AWBA to have long -term storage credits credited to the SNWA interstate <br />account in an aggregate amount, including those credited under the demonstration project and the <br />Purposes initial agreement, totaling 1,250,000 acre -feet <br />' • Commitment by AWBA, on request of SNWA, to recover such credits and to develop ICUA for <br />SNWA's benefit up to a specified annual maximum (credits need only be in place in time to meet <br />the recovery schedule) <br />• Specified payments to be made by SNWA in consideration of AWBA's commitments respecting the <br />crediting of those long -term storage credits <br />The amended agreement restates the objective of mutual benefits for the citizens of the States of <br />Arizona and Nevada and recognizes that it is entered as an act of comity (courtesy and respect between <br />the states), and with the understanding that interstate banking of Colorado River water among the States <br />of the Lower Division must be undertaken in accordance with express authority granted under each state's <br />law. <br />i New Also in late 2004, SNWA and CRCN entered a SIRA with the Metropolitan Water Department of <br />Agreement Southern California (MWD) and the United States (acting through the Secretary), pursuant to the <br />Secretary's Offstream Storage Regulations. As in the Arizona case, the SIRA provided the means by <br />which water would be made available to SNWA in subsequent years through the creation of <br />"Intentionally Created Unused Apportionment" (ICUA) by MWD. An "Operational Agreement," <br />contemporaneously executed between SNWA, CRCN and MWD, contained the business details. Unlike <br />the Nevada - Arizona agreement — which contemplated the potential storage of water from either <br />Nevada's or Arizona's Colorado River water apportionments — this agreement contemplated storage of <br />Current Year water only from Nevada's apportionment. Also unlike the Nevada - Arizona agreement — which <br />Use anticipates that water will be stored underground — the Nevada - California agreement permits curf•en.t <br />year use of the banked water in California and the creation of a delivery liability attached to water <br />Delivery otherwise stored in California storage reservoirs controlled by MWD. For example, Nevada could inform <br />Liability MWD that it wants to "bank" 10,000 AF in 2005, by taking 10,000 AF less than it is entitled to. The <br />Secretary of the Interior is <br />notified and the banking <br />-.ti. occurs. In that same year, <br />7. <br />MWD is allowed to take that <br />10,000 AF from Lake Mead <br />and use it in 2005 (or move <br />it into MWD's own storage <br />system for later use). MWD <br />would later, say in 2010, <br />. IM, need to leave 10,000 AF in <br />Pit Lake Mead for Nevada's use <br />r when Nevada calls for the <br />�x �■,,� "� x� water it had banked. The <br />agreement provides for <br />- -- recovery of water in amounts <br />•_:- not greater than 30,000 acre- <br />„" feet per year after 2006, <br />unless otherwise agreed. All <br />costs other than the <br />Secretary's administrative <br />expense is borne by MWD. <br />The two 2004 <br />_ y 4 transactions evidence the <br />4, ..r� beginning of an evolution in <br />Infiltration Gallery the means and possibilities <br />of interstate Colorado River <br />12 Copyright© 2005 Envirotech Publications; Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. <br />