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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SENT BY:LVV1ID

4-18-89 5::1lft1: GENERAL MANAGE1lIENT~

870 845 4921:# 2/ :1

Xf.NNl' C. OOQlN. G........,..
RICHARD W. BUNKER. ct.Im.lI'fI
JAY D. BINGHAM. VJ.c.- a..a..n
GEOIIGE JL CAAN. DInId_

STAlE OF NEIIADA

pAULA L BROWN, ComMlMiqnI!r'

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AMANDA ... CYPHERS. C__........
LAMOND R. MIW. CO......,~r
IIOLAI'ID D. WES1'EIIGARD, c.."II~
MYRNA. \lllLUAMS. Co..--.u:.Hr

COLORADO IUVER COMMISSION
OF NEVADA

April 16, 1999

Robat Johnson. Regional Director
Lower Colorado Region
U.S. Bureau of RecJamation
P.O. Box 61470
BoulcJcr City, NY 89006--1470

Dear Mr. Johnson:

The Colorado River Commission (CRC) and the Southern Nevada WaLer Authority (SNWA)
appreciate the opportuuity to review the draft notice of intent to solicit eommcnts on the
development of surpJlIll guidelines for management of the Colorado River. As yon know, the success
of any surplus guidelines is dependent on there being a conscnsus llWung !be basin states as to the
acceptability of whalever guidelines the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) uItinllllety proposes to adopt.

The CRe and SNW A see sev~1 .igoifiCanl: problems with the drllft, including:

. the gnidelines should be developed through the basin state cnn!lellSUS process that BOR
routinely follows and not a NEP A scoping process;

. the surplu., guidelines are not identified as interim guidelines;

. there is no mention of shortage guidelines, which should be developed and adopted
concwrently with any swplus guidelines;

. the draft i.~ ambiguous about whether eommenL~ are being sought OIl the process that BOR
will follow in adopting guidelines or on lite substance of ~ guidelines; and,

. the drnft suggesL~ that surplus criteria comprehend II wide range of issues, whereas the issue
is narrow - whether in a given year lbere i.. sufficienl water available to satisfy lower basin
demand in excess of7.5 mafy wilhout reducing BOR's abililY to deliver the full uppet" basin
md lower basin apportionments in future years.

We would ~uggest that ~ BOR abandon !.he current draft notice and snbstitute a notice of BOR's
intent to adopt interim surplD~ and shottage guidelines, The notice should merely state that a

555 E. Wuhln910A Avenue. Sollie 3100. Las V_, l'ftlV8da 89101.1048

Ph......, [phone]
Fez, (702) 486-269&
roo (702) 4l/l'>-2693
bllp,II_.._.""..../coIor.do_"'-/

.....IIG~

APR-19-1999 18: 35

702258326B

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