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002303 . . states (i.e., the draw down of Lakes Powell and Mead and the potential for shortages to others that this causes ). In their December 6, 1999 letter, the other Basin states representatives emphasized the need for California to commit to reduce its use of Colorado River water to 4.4 maf in order to gain support within their states for more flexible reservoir operating criteria. They also indicated a willingness to engage in serious discussions about development of multi-year surplus and shortage criteria, for an interim period; however, for those discussions to be fruitful, the California water agencies must take the following steps: . "A 4.4 Plan must be adopted that commits California to an enforceable program to reduce its dependence on Colorado River water," . They "expect that any operating criteria will be focused on meeting California's objective of protecting its M&I economy within the 4.4 base apportionment." . "Any criteria must be of an interim nature only, sufficient to provide a cushion to California while it steps down its use through meaningful conservation measures and water transfers." . They "expect that in the development of interim operation criteria, full consideration will be given to the impacts and risks that extraordinary releases from Lake Mead may create." . They "expect that the direct beneficiaries of the 'soft landing' interim surplus criteria should be responsible for bearing the risks. and mitigating the impacts on others caused by those criteria." The next meeting of the Basin states has been scheduled for December 16". During the meeting we plan to further address the concerns raised in the December 6'" letter from the Basin states representatives as well as further explain the projects to be included in the plan. One of the components of the 4.4 Plan is the conservation of water by the lining of a portion of the All-American Canal. Since the FEISfEIR for the project was completed in 1994, Reclamation was requested to determine if the Record of Decision (ROD) for the project continues to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. Included in the Board folder is a copy of Reclamation's analysis, dated May 1999, in which it has determined that no supplement to the FEISfEIR and the ROD, nor a new EIS/EIR is required. In its review, Reclamation examined three additional areas that were not required when the ROD was released and concluded that none of the three areas constitute significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns that would require a supplemental docwnent. They were: I) the listing of the southwestern willow flycatcher, 2) access to Indian sacred sites, and 3) environmental justice. On November 26'", MWD and the BLM distributed, for a 90-day review and comment period, a Draft EIS/EIR entitled Cadiz Groundwater Storage and Dry-Year Supply Program. They have scheduled three public hearings to obtain verbal comments on the Draft EIS/EIR. They are: . Cadiz Office at II :00 AM on December 15, 1999, at 99-726 Highway 66, Cadiz, California; 3