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. . lID on March 9tb. t, In order to facilitate implementation of California's 4.4 Plan, Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl of Los Angeles on February 23,1998, introduced AB 2710 (included in the Board folder) which is referred to as the California Plan for Water Reliability Act of 1998. The purpose of the Act. is to create the California Plan for Water Reliability Bond Fund and transfer $225 rnillion to the Water Reliability Bond Fund from an unspecified fund. The Bond Fund is intended to provide funding for the implementation of items necessary to achieve the goals of the California 4.4 Plan, such as water conservation, water transfers, and water storage facilities. Similarly, Assembly Member Machado and Senator Costa have introduced AB 254 and SB3l2 respectively which would enact the Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, and Flood Protection Prevention Act for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, flood protection, and water quality program, Article 7 of the Act entitled "Multipurpose Conjunctive Use Program" would provide funds 1) to agencies for the construction of conjunctive use facilities, and 2) cooperative programs that enhance the state's water supply through conjunctive use of Colorado River water and groundwater, using the Arizona Water Bank, the Coachella Groundwater Basin, and other appropriate groundwater basins for direct and "in-lieu" recharge, storage, and recovery of Colorado River water, The title page and Article 7 of the Act are included in the Board folder, Also included in the Board folder is a news clipping from the Arizona Republic which describes some of the details of a tentative agreement concerning the repayment obligation for the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The deal provides that the repayment obligation of the CAP would be set at $1.7 billion verses the original cost of$2.3 billion. In return for this reduction, the Indian tribes within Arizona would be entitled to about 49 percent of the canal's annual delivery or 706,000 acre- feet of water. Regulations for Administrating Entitlements in the Lower Colorado River Basin As a result of the Board's discussion last month concerning Reclamation's proposed rule for offstream storage of Colorado River water, I was requested to seek a 60 day extension for the public review period (see letters in the Board folder), From those letters and others, Reclamation has agreed to extent the comment period deadline to April 3m, not the May 4th the California parties had requested. Included in the Board folder is a copy of the March 4th letter that I received from Reclamation extending the comment period. Reclamation also held a public hearing, at the request of CYWD and 110, on Monday, February 23'", in Ontario, California, to receive comments. Five people presented comments, The hearing would have been more constructive, if Reclamation was not prevented from addressing questions due to its interpretation of the Administrative Procedures Act. A copy ofIlO's testimony which was read into the record at the hearing is included in the Board folder, as is Reclamation's letter dated February 2, 1998, announcing the hearing. 4