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<br />the failure was due, in large part, to FERC's
<br />remoteness and lack of oversight and supervision of
<br />construction activ~ies of the licensee,..,. The
<br />governor concluded, 'FERC's actions in this matter
<br />have done little to impress me that ~ is qualified to
<br />assure protection of public values. To the contrary,
<br />not only was the setting of bypass flow cond~ions
<br />and failure to give due recogn~ion to existing water
<br />rights and state water quality standards a comedy of
<br />errors, but now we have an ecological disaster on our
<br />hands.' The Falls River has been protected from
<br />development under Idaho state law, but existing
<br />vested water rights, including the Marysville project,
<br />were exempted from the prohibition against
<br />construction of dams, water diversions, stream
<br />anernations and other actions, including hydropower
<br />development.
<br />
<br />WATER RESOURCES
<br />
<br />DroughllWater Supply Outlook
<br />According to the June 27 Palmer Drought Index,
<br />severe to extreme drought cond~ions persist across
<br />much of the West from southern California to North
<br />Dakota, Severe to extreme drought conditions cover
<br />all of California, Idaho and Washington, most of
<br />Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming, northern
<br />Utah, northwestern Colorado, western Nebraska, and
<br />parts of North and South Dakota. Of note, parts of
<br />Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
<br />and Kentucky are similarly affected. Arizona, New
<br />Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma are unusually moist.
<br />The Palmer Index calculations include weekly
<br />precipitation and average temperatures, soil moisture
<br />and evapotranspiration, The Palmer Index does not
<br />consider other water supply factors such as
<br />snowmen, reservoir storage, and ground water
<br />availability.
<br />
<br />With respect to water storage, as of June 1, the
<br />U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reports below average
<br />levels in many of ~s reservoirs. Storage on the
<br />Humboldt River was only 3% of average. Storage
<br />was also substantially below average in a number of
<br />river basins including: Malheur (10%); Owyhee (14%);
<br />Stanislaus (22%); Carson (39%); Boise (41%); Rogue
<br />(42%); Deschutes (55%); and Trinity (59%). Reservoir
<br />storage is also below average (60-80%) in other
<br />areas, including the Upper Snake, Umatilla,
<br />Sacramento, Feather, Upper Colorado, Lower
<br />Colorado, North Platte, Cheyenne, Gunnison, Klamath,
<br />Truckee, and Solomon Rivers.
<br />
<br />In Cal~ornia, May precip~ation statewide was less
<br />than 25% of average, and is at about 85% for the
<br />water year, Precip~ation In the northern Sierra
<br />Nevada mountains, which supplies the Sacramento
<br />system and provides water to some 25 million people,
<br />has been about 70% of average. The Sacramento
<br />River runoff index is expected to be about 9 million
<br />acre-feet (MAF), or 49% of average. Storage in
<br />Cal~ornia's 155 major reservoirs peaked early w~h the
<br />snowmen, and on June 1, stood at about 20MAF, or
<br />68% of average (about 600,000 acre-feet more than
<br />last year),
<br />
<br />WATER RIGHTS
<br />
<br />Negotiated Indian Settlements
<br />It appears federal concerns related to S, 1607, the
<br />Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Right
<br />Settlement Act of 1991, have been resolved and the
<br />bill may now move forward, Introduced by Senators
<br />Conrad Burns (R-Ml), Max Baucus (D-Ml), and John
<br />McCain (R-AZ), the legislation would stamp Congress'
<br />approval on a settlement of the water right claims of
<br />the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe negotiated
<br />between the tribe and other government ent~ies in
<br />Montana. The Senate Select Committee on Indian
<br />Affairs previously agreed in principle to a marked up
<br />version of the bill, but the Justice Department,
<br />Department of Interior, and Office of Management and
<br />Budget expressed concerns with it. It appears these
<br />concerns have now been mollified. Given Changes to
<br />the bill, another markup session, which will likely be
<br />held in the near future, will be necessary. The
<br />legislation should then, reportedly, pass the Senate
<br />on the consent calendar. Water for the settlement
<br />would come principally from increasing the height of
<br />the Tongue River Dam. The dam shows early
<br />indications of structural problems that, ~ unchecked,
<br />could affect ~s safety. Repair and rehabilitation of the
<br />dam is part of the settlement. Of note, Intermittent
<br />rains in the last few weeks have increased the level
<br />of the reservoir behind the dam. Montana is closely
<br />mon~oring the s~uation.
<br />
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<br />
<br />MEETlNGS
<br />
<br />The Association of State and Interstate Water
<br />Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) will hold
<br />~s 31st Annual Conference July 19-22 at the aide
<br />Town Holiday Inn, aide Town Alexandria, Virginia,
<br />For information I contact ASIWPCA at (202) 898-0905.
<br />
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<br />
<br />The WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL is an organization of represjlmatives appointed by the Governors
<br />of member stales - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii. Idaho, ~ontana, Nevada, New Mexico, North
<br />Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington. and Wyoming, wijh Oklahoma as an associate member
<br />~ .
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