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<br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Agenda Item 9k. part 1 <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Durango, Colorado <br />May 25, 1999 <br /> <br />Outline of the Law of the Colorado River <br />James S. Lochhead <br />Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, P.C. <br />Glenwood Springs, CO <br />Colorado Commissioner to the Upper Colorado Basin Commission <br /> <br />I. WATER ALLOCATION ISSUES <br /> <br />A. <br /> <br />Colorado River Compact <br />I. Apportions consumptive use of the waters of the Colorado River Basin <br />2. 7.5 mafto Upper Basin, 8.5 mafto Lower Basin (including Lower Basin <br />Tributaries) <br />3. Upper Basin may not deplete the flow of the Colorado River Mainstem below 75 <br />mafin any IO-yearperiod <br />4. 1922 Compact, Article III (e) -- "The States ofthe upper division shall not <br />withhold water, and the States of the lower division shall not require the delivery <br />of water, which cannot reasonably be applied to domestic and agricultural uses." <br />5. Did not deal with Indian reserved rights or Mexican deliver issues <br />6. Lower Basin (California) View - Compact necessary to secure political support <br />for Congress to authorize constl1lction of Hoover Dam and the All-American <br />Canal <br />7. Upper Basin View - Compact was necessary to achieve security: <br />a. A defined right to develop, in perpetuity, See --Article III(a) <br />b. No interstate operation ofthe prior appropriation doctrine, See -- Articles <br />III(a), III(e), IV(b), VIII <br />c. Eliminating the threat of federal control over water allocation, both intra- <br />and inter-state, and preserving intrastate prior appropriation and <br />administration, See -- Articles III(a), III(b), III(c), IV, VII, Boulder <br />Canyon Project Act <br />d. A voiding litigation, See ,- Article I <br />e. Establishing a foundation for the comprehensive development of <br />reservoirs in the basin, See --1928 Boulder Canyon Proj ect Act, 1956 <br />Colorado River Storage Project Act, 1968 Colorado River Basin Project <br />Act <br /> <br />B. Mexican Water Treaty - Creates "first call" on the River of 1.5 maflyr., delivered at the <br />international boundary <br />1. Lower Basin View - Upper Basin shares one-half of the burden <br />2. Upper Basin View - Lower Basin bears entire burden <br /> <br />1 <br />