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<br />" <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Agenda Item 14e <br />January 23-24, 2002 Board Meeting <br />Page 3 of7 <br /> <br />the Navajo-Gallup Project and Utah has discussed a pipeline from Lake Powell to the St. George <br />area in the Virgin River Basin, The Virgin River flows directly into Lake Mead, <br /> <br />The answerto this question is based on close reading of Articles II and Article III of the <br />Colorado River Compact. Article lII(a) of the Colorado River Compact states: <br /> <br />"There is hereby apportioned from the Colorado River System in perpetuity to the <br />Upper Basin and to the Lower Basin respectivelv the exclusive beneficial <br />consumptive use of 7,500,000 acre feet of water per annum, which shall include all <br />water necessary for the supply of any rights which may now exist. " <br /> <br />In response to past water marketing proposals, most of the Colorado River Basin states have, at <br />least implicitly, interpreted this provision as meaning that each Basin's apportionment is for <br />beneficial consumptive use exclusively within that Basin, This interpretation is buttressed by <br />Article VIII, which states: <br /> <br />"Present perfected rights to the beneficial use of waters of the Colorado River System <br />are unimpaired by this compact, Whenever storage capacity of 5,000,000 acre feet <br />shall have been provided on the main Colorado River within or for the benefit of the <br />Lower Basin, then claims of such rights, if any, by appropriators or users of waters in <br />the Lower Basin, against appropriators or users of water in the Upper Basin shall <br />attach to and be satisfied from water that may be stored not in conflict with Article <br />III. <br /> <br />All other ril!hts to beneficial use of waters of the Colorado River Svstem shall be <br />satisfied solelv from the water apportioned to that Basin in which thev are situate, " <br /> <br />Under the Navajo-Gallup Project, some Upper Colorado River Basin water would be <br />consumptively used in the Lower Colorado River Basin, contrary to the above interpretation, <br /> <br />Proponents of the Project are justifying the project by reference to several other Compact <br />articles. First, they argue that the definitions in Article II (f) and (g) of the terms "Upper" and <br />"Lower Basins" allow transbasin diversions within states. Article II (f) is quoted above and <br />Article II (g) states: <br /> <br />"(g) The term 'Lower Basin' means those parts of the States of Arizona, California, Nevada, New <br />Mexico and Utah within andfrom which waters naturally drain into the Colorado River System <br />below Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said States located without the drainal!e area of the <br />Colorado River Svstem which are now or shall hereafier be beneficiallv served bv waters <br />diverted from the svstem below Lee Ferrv, " <br /> <br />Thus, Project proponents argue that New Mexico's Upper Basin apportionment may be used <br />within that portion of the state that is in the geographic Upper Basin, and also anywhere else in <br />the state, A careful reading of these definitions, however, shows that the authorization for <br />transbasin diversions is limited to "parts of said States located without the drainage area of the <br />Colorado River Svstem," The Colorado River System includes both the Upper and Lower Basin <br />(see Article II (a)), <br />