BOARD00356

• Board Meeting Date: 5/22/2000
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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or incentive-based programs. EP A no longer advocates a petition process for the public to
review the lists of "impaired waters" or TMDL implementation, no longer advocates offsets
before new pollution can be added in the lead-up period to TMDL development and is clarifying
that forestry operations will not be subject to regulation under these CW A requirements. For
more information about the hearing see httn://www.senate.l!Ov/-eDw/stml106.htm#03-23-00.

Reclamation Project Water Transfers: Reclamation has released a draft proposal
entitled, "Objectives, Principles, and Policies Governing the Voluntary Transfer of Water at
Bureau of Reclamation Projects." In 1988, the Department ofInterior adopted a number of broad
principles for governing voluntary water transfers. The proposal seeks agreement on an updated
and expanded policy because there are an increasing number of proposals from Reclamation
contractors to sell or lease project water to new users and/or to convert project water for existing
irrigation uses to new uses. Reclamation itself has also entered into arrangements to purchase or
lease back project water supplies or capacity, or to lease or purchase non-project water for
various purposes as authorized by Congress. The new policy is designed to address the specific
circumstances associated with transfers ofBOR project water. The deadline for comments on the
draft is June 2. Comments and questions should be directed to Mr. Larry Schluntz, Office of
Policy (Mail Stop D-5200), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, Colorado
80225-0007, [phone]; or to Mr. William (better known in these parts as "Bill")
McDonald, who is Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, [phone].

Hydropower Licensing Reform: Another topic for regulatory reform in Washington is
the decision making responsibilities for hydropower licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC). Approximately 1/3 of the hydropower licenses issued under the Federal
Power Act will be expiring in the next 10 years. The re-licensing proceeding will, for the first
time, expose many of these hydropower generation facilities to new levels of public interest
review and many new environmental requirements. Legislation has been proposed in the U.S.
House of Representatives to streamline the re-licensing process by diluting somewhat the
mandatory conditions that other federal resource agencies (e.g. the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service) can place on FERC hydropower licenses. Since there
are very few non-federal hydropower facilities in Colorado, we do not expect this to be a
significant issue here. Nonetheless, it is likely to stir passions for regulatory reform and
environmental compliance that will be of great interest in Colorado. At this point, however, this
legislation (HR-2335, sponsored by Representative Edolphus Towns, D-Brooklyn) does not
appear to have a senate sponsor and has not been referred out of the House Commerce
Subcommittee on Energy and Power.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Water & Science Named: On May 3, Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt announced the appointment of Mary Doyle to be Acting Assistant Secretary of
Interior for Water & Science. Ms. Doyle, who had been Counselor to the Secretary since August
1999, previously served as Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law
in Coral Gables, Florida. During the 1980's, Doyle taught law at the University of Arizona
College of Law, specializing in water, land use, local government and property law and
subsequently served as both a Professor of Law and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
From 1979 until 1981 , Doyle served as an attorney at the Department of Energy, then as

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