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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />Imperial Irrigation District vs. United States of America; Gale Norton, et al. <br /> <br />On April 16, 2003, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan remanded the case in Imperial <br />Irrigation District vs. United States of America, et.a\. to the Department of the Interior for a new Part <br />417 review. In the order, the Court determined that the remand was appropriate for several reasons. <br />First, the Boulder Canyon Project Act established the contracting provisions associated with allocation <br />of mainstream water among the Lower Division States. Second, the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona <br />vs. California (376 U.S. 340) held that state law does not control Secretary's determination in <br />. apportioning mainstream water. Third, the Court believes that a remand is the appropriate remedy when <br />a federal agency fails to follow proper administrative procedures. The Court also stated that should the <br />Department ofthe Interior fail to meticulously follow Part 4l7's prescribed procedures, lID may again <br />elect to bring the matter before the Court for judicial review. As will be discussed later, Reclamation <br />has begun a new Part 417 review ofIID's use of Colorado River water. <br /> <br />Reclamation's Review ofQSA, and Part 417 Review ofIID's Water Use <br /> <br />On April 28, 2003, the Department of the Interior sent a letter to the California Department of <br />Water Resources Director Tom Hannigan. The letter advised CDWR that Interior was reviewing the <br />revised Quantification Settlement Agreement proposal prepared by the State and QSA Agencies on <br />March 12,2003. After receiving additional information, Interior intends to complete its review of the <br />QSA package. A copy of the letter to Director Hannigan is included in your Board folder. <br /> <br />On April 24, 2003, the Department of the Interior published a notice in the Federal Register <br />announcing its intent to initiate a Part 417 process for determination of beneficial use of Colorado River <br />water in the Imperial Irrigation District. The current schedule calls for a 3D-day review and comment <br />period, and a determination by the Bureau of Reclamation in late-June 2003. <br /> <br />Included in the Board folder is a copy of the Federal Register notice and Reclamation's news <br />release regarding these subjects. <br /> <br />Basin States/Tribes Discussions <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin States' Meeting <br /> <br />As discussed at the April Board meeting, on March 13, 2003, the other Colorado River Basin <br />states' representatives were briefed on the status of execution of the QSA and the revised March 12, <br />2003, QSA. During that meeting, a complete set of the QSA related documents was distributed to each <br />of the Basin states. As a follow-up to that briefing, a technical meeting of the Basin states' <br />representatives was held on April 16, 2002, in Las Vegas to address questions and issues that the other <br />states had regarding the revised QSA and related documents. <br /> <br />During the April 16th meeting, most of the questions centered around the PVID Land <br />Management, Crop Rotation, and Water Supply Program, its role in meeting the benchmarks contained <br />in the Interim Surplus Guidelines and addressing the Salton Sea issues, the water exchange to mitigate <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />"' <br />