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<br />. <br /> <br />Colorado River Ooerations <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Annual Operating Plan <br /> <br />Reclamation's recommended 2001 AOP has been sent to Washington D.C. to obtain <br />Secretary Babbitt's approval. Currently, the 2001 AOP is in the Solicitor's Office. It is anticipated <br />that the fmal2001 AOP will be forwarded out of the Solicitor's Office and approved by Secretary <br />Babbitt before January 18th. Once the Plan is approved, a letter, along with the 2001 AOP, will be <br />sent to the governors' of each of the seven Colorado River Basin states. <br /> <br />The Secretarial determinations included in Reclamation's recommended 2001 AOP include: <br />I) the active storage in the Upper Basin reservoirs is above that quantity required pursuant to Section <br />602(a) ofthe Colorado River Basin Project Act; thus, the operation of Lake Powell will be governed <br />by the spill avoidance and equalization provisions contained in the Long-Range Operating Criteria; <br />2) taking into consideration all relevant factors contained in the Long-Range Operating Criteria, <br />sufficient water is available for release from Lake Mead to provide a limited surplus, 630,000 <br />acre-feet, for use by Colorado River mainstream users in the Lower Basin; 3) any Lower Division <br />state will be allowed to utilize water apportioned to, but unused by, another Lower Division state in <br />accordance with Article II(B)(6) of the 1964 Decree in Arizona v. California; and 4) water in excess <br />of that quantity required to supply uses in the United States will not be available; thus, 1.5 maf of <br />water will be made available to Mexico during calender year 2001 in accordance with Article IS of <br />the 1944 Mexican Water Treaty and Minute No. 242 of the International Boundary and Water <br />Commission. <br /> <br />Secretary Babbitt's Comments at ihe Colorado River Water Users Conference <br /> <br />Included in the Board folder is a copy of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt's sixth and <br />final keynote address before the Annual Conference of the Colorado River Water Users Association <br />in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 13, 2000. In his presentation, Secretary Babbitt reviewed his <br />record of accomplishments on Colorado River issues over the past eight years, in which he was able <br />to involve the participation of tribal governments; include environmental issues in policy decisions; <br />and improving water management decisions by relying on economic incentives and market <br />mechanisms, <br /> <br />Basin Statesrren Tribes Discussion <br /> <br />On January 4, 2001, representatives from the Basin States met with Deputy Secretary of the <br />Interior, David Hayes, and other representatives from the Department of the Interior and the Bureau <br />of Reclamation. The primary topics of discussion were the processes for completing the Colorado <br />River Interim Surplus Criteria and for developing a policy regarding inadvertent overruns. Regarding <br />the Interim Surplus Criteria, Mr. Hayes indicated that it is the Department ofInterior's intent to <br />publish the Record of Decision by about January 18,2001. <br /> <br />Regarding inadvertent overruns, the Bureau of Reclamation is preparing a policy that will be <br />published in the Federal Register. That policy will defme inadvertent overruns, establish procedures <br />to account for inadvertent overruns, and define the subsequent payback requirements, During the <br /> <br />2 <br />