Water Supply and Demand Study 1/13/11

A -LP W ter Animas -La Plata Water Marketing Supply and Demand Study Section 4
3. Aromas -La Plata Project Compact
AM icle I of the Animas -La Plata Project Compact states: "The right to store and divert water in
Cc orado and New Mexico from the La Plata and Animas River systems, including return flow to the
La Plata River from the Animas River diversions, for use in New Mexico under the Animas -La Plata
Fe leral Reclamation Project shall be valid and of equal priority with those rights granted by decree
of he Colorado state courts for uses of water in Colorado for that project providing such uses in New
M xico are within the allocation of water made to that state by articles 111 and XIV of the Upper
C orado River Basin Compact (63 Stat. 31).
is a legal document that the Association should be mindful of in developing its operational
edures and accounting.
4. Animas -La Plata Project Congressional Authorizing Legislation
Pu lic Law 100 -585 (Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988) was subsequently
ary ended by the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000 (PL 106 -554, Title III) (the 2000
An, endments). It down sizes the A -LP Project to provide for an average annual depletion of 57,100
ac -feet and specifies that the water can only be used for M &I purposes. Construction costs for the
tri es are deemed non - reimbursable under the congressional authorizing legislation. Furthermore,
th Secretary of the Interior will pay the annual OM &R costs until the water is first used by a tribe or
us d pursuant to a water use contract with a tribe. The 2000 Amendments also establish "Resource
Fu ds" of $20 million for each Ute Tribe (See Section 1.1). Three - fourths of these funds must be
us d by the Tribes to enhance, restore and utilize the Tribes natural resources in partnership with
adj 3cent non - Indian communities or entities in the area. There can be no expansion of A -LP Project
fac lities without further congressional authorization. The 2000 Amendments were made in
ac rdance with the preferred alternative in the September 25, 2000 "Record of Decision" (ROD) for
th Animas -La Plata Project/Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement FSEIS of July 2000.
5. Sei tember 25, 2000 "Record of Decision" for the Animas -La Plata Project/Colorado Ute Indian
Wa er Rights Settlement FSEIS of July 2000
As I liscussed in Section 2.1, A -LP Project operations need to take into consideration the
en ronmental commitments contained in the ROD. While environmental compliance is the
res onsibility of Reclamation, several of these commitments may impact Project operations
inci dinV_:
Reclamation's participation in the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program
(SJRBRIP) for Colorado River Endangered Fish may limit DPP operations during dry years to
allow more water to be available in Navajo Reservoir to assist in meeting the flow
recommendations for the endangered fish. This will require the Association to pay attention to
the flow recommendations and work with their State representatives on the SJRBRIP
Coordination Committee.
The fish screens installed on the dam outlets to prevent escapement of non - native fish from
the reservoir may require extra maintenance.
Water quality monitoring in the reservoir may affect reservoir elevations at certain times.
The seasonal bypass flows for the DPP, which range from 125 cfs to 225 cfs, will limit pumping
at the certain times:
In addition to the bypass flows there are DPP ramping rates to consider. When river flows are
above 500 cfs pumping increases are limited to 50 cfs \hour and reductions in pumping cannot
exceed 100 cfs /hour. When river flows are below 500 cfs increases in pumping are limited to
25 cfs /hour and decreases to 50 cfs /hour.
Shoreline monitoring for cultural resources may be part of the facilities operating plan.
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FINAL ALP R4port_1_13_11_LLdocx