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and Lake Powell and tiered triggers in Lake Mead's elevation tied to Lower Basin shortage declarations. It also includes a long list of new programs and projects designed to augment the river's flow and help meet long -term water supplies for growing cities. "This is a very significant break- through for the states to be able to give a consensus recommendation to the secretary on such a comprehensive approach to river management," said Bob Johnson, regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's (Recla- mation) Lower Colorado Region. "This will become one of the alterna- tives included in the NEPA process, which will consider a broad range of alternatives as well as input from all interested stakeholders." Reclamation officials are now preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) through the National Environmental Policy Act that identifies guidelines and strategies under which Interior would reduce annual water deliveries from Lake Mead to the Lower Basin states below historic deliveries and coordinate the operation of Lakes Powell and Mead under low- reservoir conditions. Norton has set December 2007 as the deadline for adoption of a final plan, and Reclamation is expected to release a draft EIS in December 2006. While many details remain to be determined, in broad scope the "Seven Basin States' Preliminary Proposal Regarding Colorado River Interim Operations" would: • Provide for better coordination between operation of the Colorado River's two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, and more flexibility for reservoir releases. Overall, Powell's elevation would be slightly lower in average years, but it would not have to release as much water to Mead (and the Lower Basin) in drought years, providing Upper Basin states with more protection against possible curtailment of uses. • Set specific Lake Mead reservoir levels and delivery cutbacks for JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 declaration of a shortage in the Lower Basin. Arizona, the junior water rights holder, would bear the brunt of a shortage and the plan establishes how shortages would be quantified. The shortages would be shared proportionally with Nevada and the Republic of Mexico. • Establish a policy and accounting procedure for steps taken to augment the river's water supply through "extraordinary conservation and system efficiency projects." This proposed "intentionally created surplus" water would allow — for the first time — water from outside the river to be cycled through the system without affecting a state's Colorado River allocation. Perhaps most important of all, the seven -state framework, which, if adopted, would be in place until 2025, has forestalled a much - feared court battle over the river, already heavily regulated through a collection of compacts, court decrees and legislation that comprise what is known as the Law of the River. (See page 8.) "Litigation would have left a cloud of uncertainty for years and really impeded any chance for progress," said Don Ostler, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission. The threat of litigation was one factor that helped keep the states at the table working on an agreement. The Feb. 1 deadline to submit a proposal to Reclamation for consider- ation in the EIS was another as leaders from the seven states concluded some 14 months of negotiations with a flurry of last- minute meetings ultimately leading to their agreement. Federal officials had pushed the states to develop a consensus plan, but Norton made it clear that if they did not, the federal government was prepared to move forward with a plan of its own. In a videotaped speech to partici- pants at December's Colorado River Water Users Association conference, Secretary Norton said, "I have one fundamental message to share with you today: We have a choice before us.