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<br />OO.'~C" <br />l1./u <br /> <br />Although CAP water deliveries would facilitate meeting the goals of the Act, this was not a <br />specific purpose of the allocations. Instead, the use of CAP allocations to achieve ground-water <br />management goals was left to Arizona's discretion in their recommendations of allocations to the <br />non-Indian sector. The provision of CAP water is inherent in the State's plan to balance the <br />basins for three of the AMA's. <br /> <br />The actions and transactions contemplated in the proposed rule are within the current authority <br />of the Secretary, the BCPA, and the Decree. Approved programs for off stream storage and <br />redemption of storage credits have taken place on a limited basis. A CEC (LC-93-9) was <br />completed by Reclamation on April 9, 1993 for approval of a Demonstration Underground <br />Storage Project (indirect recharge) between The Metropolitan Water District of Southern <br />California (MWD) and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CA WCD). The <br />Colorado River Commission of Nevada also participated in this three-year project. The Project <br />was amended to increase the volume of water to be stored and NEP A documentation was <br />accomplished by a CEC (LC-95-10) dated March 30,1995. <br /> <br />LC Region DEAll <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />12/97 <br /> <br /> <br />Project and site specific NEP A, ESA, and related compliance has been completed by <br />Reclamation throughout the Lower Division States for the CAP, Lower Colorado River <br />operations and maintenance, and the Southern Nevada Water System (SNWS). This compliance <br />addresses environmental effects and provides appropriate mitigation for the mainstream <br />Colorado, C-AP, and SNWS facilities that may be used under the proposed rule. A list of <br />compliance documents is provided in Appendix Av' . <br /> <br />F. Related Non-Reclamation Actions <br /> <br />In 1996, the State of Arizona amended its Act and created the Arizona Water Banking Authority <br />(HB 2494). The Act among other things empowers the A WBA to store Colorado River water <br />brought into the State by the CAP to fulfill the water management objectives of the State under <br />the Act. The A WBA is expressly authorized to provide the opportunity to authorized agencies in <br />the States of California and Nevada to store otherwise unused Colorado River water in Arizona <br />to assist those States in meeting future water needs (ARS 45-2401 F.5). However, AWBA <br />provisions preclude it from entering into agreements with entities in California apd Nevada for <br />storage of water on their behalf until the Secretary adopts a rule in support of the interstate <br />component of the Arizona program and the rule is found to be acceptable to the Director of the <br />Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). These regulations would facilitate and allow <br />the contractual distribution of unused apportionment under article 1I(B)(6) of the Decree (ARS <br />45-2427 C.I). <br /> <br />The proposed rule would facilitate the interstate component of the A WBA program. In the <br />future, other Lower Division States may enact comparable measures. <br />