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F. National Register of Historic Places and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Plan The FSEIS attaches an amended programmatic agreement which sets forth the procedures to be followed to ensure compliance with the historic preservation laws. Also included is a plan which addresses the treatment of human remains, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony discovered as a result of the Project activity. This plan ensures that the Department is in compliance with the provisions ofNAGPRA G. Department's Indian Trust Responsibility The prirnary goal of the recommended federal action is to implement the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights final Settlement Agreement by providing the Colorado Ute Tribes with benefits consistent with those contemplated under the 1938 Settlement. RA4 would achieve this goal. RA4 was also developed to minimize the impacts of the original ALP on the other tribes in the San Juan Basin and to provide some much-needcd certainty upon which to base future watcr planning and development in the basin. Thc Department believes that the principles outlined in RA4 (a smaller reservoir limited to 57,100 af of depletions that can be operated consistent with the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (SJRBRIP)) are beneficial to the Navajo Nation and Jicarilla Apache Tribe. RA4 would preserve the 1933 Scttlement and avoid the prospect of the Colorado Ute Tribes asserting water rights in court that may eventually conflict with those of the Navajo Nation and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe. RA4 would also effect a downsizing of the original ALP which avoids a future conflict between the downstream tribes and beneficiaries of the larger project. The original ALP envisioned 149,000 acre feet of depletion from the San Juan Basin. Although this amount of depletion has not received ESA section 7 clearance, it is evident that the larger the depletion for ALP the less water there will be available under section 7 for other Indian water projects thai have a federal nexus. RA4 also provides a water supply and delivery system for the benefit of the Navajo Nation. There is, however, a potentially negative effect which RA4 may have on Indian trust assets in the San Juan basin. Due to endangered species concerns and other complexities associated with the "Law ofthe Colorado River," developing a water supply for the Colorado Ute Tribes may presently limit the amount of water available for use by the other tribes. This is a significant concern to the Department and one sought to be addressed by the commitments discussed below. As discussed in the FSEIS, though, it is somewhat premature to conclude that development of a down-sized ALP will preclude further federally-related water development in the San Juan basin. The most critical factor at this time is the habitat needs of endangered species in the basin. Those needs are constantly being reviewed and will certainly be evaluated in light of any future water development proposals as part of the ESA consultation process. It is possible that Reclamation, working with other relevant agencies, could develop measures, including specific water management strategies, which would allow further tribal water development to move forward. 10