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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />John Martin Meeting: A meeting to discuss the proposed new State Park at John Martin <br />Reservoir was scheduled for July 17 in Las Animas. State Parks is negotiating with the Army <br />Corps of Engineers for a recreational lease for a portion of the John Martin Project. The proposal <br />includes the Lake Hasty area below the dam; the northeast shore of the reservoir from the dam <br />westward to the waterfowl closure line; and the surface of the reservoir itself. The State Parks <br />proposal would not change management or use of the remainder of John Martin Reservoir, <br />including other areas currently managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Division of <br />Wildlife. Colorado State Parks and the Army Corps of Engineers will hold additional public <br />meetings in August to help determine how Colorado State Parks can best manage and develop <br />facilities at John Martin Reservoir in cooperation with local businesses, residents and cormnunity <br />leaders. <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Issues <br /> <br />Surplus Criteria EIS: On July 7 Reclamation announced the availability of a draft <br />EIS and public hearings for proposed Colorado River Interim Surplus Criteria. The EIS analyzes <br />the proposed adoption of specific criteria under which surplus water conditions may be <br />determined in the Lower Colorado River Basin during the next 15 years, Cormnents on the DEIS <br />must be received by Sept. 8, 2000, <br /> <br />In addition to public hearings that will be held on the DEIS, a separate hydrologic <br />modeling meeting will be held on August 15 in Las Vegas where Reclamation will provide <br />detailed assumptions and respond to questions regarding the model runs, use schedules, and post- <br />processing analysis that was completed for this DEIS, <br /> <br />The DEIS is available for viewing on the Internet at http://www.lc.usbr.gov <br /> <br />The Secretary ofthe Interior (Secretary) currently manages the lower Colorado River <br />system in accordance with federal law (including the provisions of the 1964 U.S, Supreme Court <br />decree, as supplemented, in Arizona v. California (the Decree)), the Colorado River Basin <br />Project Act of 1968 (CRBPA) and Long Range Operating Criteria (LROC) pursuant to the <br />CRBP A Within this legal framework, the Secretary makes annual determinations regarding the <br />availability of surplus water from Lake Mead by considering various factors, including the <br />amount of water in storage and predictions for natural runoff. The Decree provides that if there <br />exists sufficient water available in a single year for release from Lake Mead to satisfy annual <br />consumptive use in the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada in excess of 7,5 million-acre <br />feet, such water may be determined by the Secretary to be made available as surplus water. <br /> <br />The Secreatry would use the interim surplus criteria to make annual determinations of <br />surplus conditions, This will afford entities that contract for surplus water a greater degree of <br />predictability with respect to the annual existence of surplus water available for diversion. <br /> <br />The DEIS presents four possible alternatives for implementation, plus a "No Action <br />Alternative." The DEIS does not include a preferred alternative, The interim surplus criteria <br />alternatives have been formulated to be consistent with applicable federal law and the LROC, <br />described above. The four potential action alternatives are: a "Flood Control Alternative," which <br />would provide surplus water only when flood control releases from Lake Mead are needed, based <br />on the current criteria for making such releases; the "Six States Alternative" and "California <br />Alternative," both of which specify various Lake Mead water surface elevations to be used as <br /> <br />5 <br />