BOARD01293

• Board Meeting Date: 5/24/1999
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Upper Colorado River Commissioner's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLOMDO

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Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 60203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

MEMORANDUM

TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

FROM: Randy Seaholm ~
Chief, Interstate Streams Investigations

DATE: May 14, 1999

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 9k, Part 3, May 24-25, 1999 Board Meeting -
Colorado River Basin Issues -
Upper Colorado River Commissioner's Report

Introduction

Attached is the draft "Notice ofIntent" to publish "Interim Surplus\Shortage Criteria"
under the 1970 Coordinated Long-Range Operating Criteria for Colorado River'
Reservoirs. Also, attached are comments from several of the Basin States on the
proposed "Notice ofIntent." Implementation of these interim criteria is one of pieces
that will be put in place to provide additional flexibility in the 1970 Coordinated Long-
Range Operating Criteria for Colorado River Reservoirs while California reduces its uses
to the 4.4 maf allowed under the "Law of the River" as Jim will explain.

Interim Surnlus\Shortal!e Guidelines UDdllte

Bill Rinne, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, reported that a "Notice ofIntent" to develop
interim surplus\shortage criteria will be published in the Federal Register by May 24,
1999. They will follow the NEP A compliance guidelines, inviting comments on NEP A
compliance, fOIJIlat, scope, method of implementation, issues of concern to be addressed,
and altematives for the surplus\shortage criteria. Meeting dates to initiate the process
have not been selected at this time and will not be announced in the notice. However,
such announcement would follow shortly after the "Notice of Intent."

Reclamation indicated that this will be a completely separate process. Their desire is to
keep the process narrowly focused. They did not want to make development of these
interim criteria and guidelines part of the AOP process because they will need to be in
effect for IS-years. Conversely, they did not want to develop them as part of the 5-year
review of the 1970 Coordinated Long-Range Operating Criteria for Colorado River
Reservoirs because the guidelines and criteria are only interim. The criteria and
guidelines will focus primarily on surplus criteria and the impacts of those criteria on

Bill Owens
Governor

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director, ONR

Peter H. Evans
Director, eweB