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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Colorado River Operations <br /> <br />Modification of Mexico 's Water Delivery Schedule <br /> <br />Last month's Board folder contained a copy of Mexico 's approved water delivery schedule for <br />calendar year 2000, Included in this month's Board folder, is a copy of two letters, dated February 14th <br />and March 6'h, from Reclamation to Commissioner John Bernal accepting Mexico's modification of <br />its water delivery schedule for March and April and a corresponding adjustment in its May, October, <br />and December water delivery schedules, <br /> <br />Animas-La Plata Project <br /> <br />For those who are unfamiliar with this project, the Animas-La Plata Project was authorized by <br />Congress in 1968 to resolve water rights claims of two Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Southern Ute <br />and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes, which reside in southwestern Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, <br />The Project, originally an Indian and non-Indian project, would pump water out of the Animas River, <br />across a divide, to the drier La Plata River for irrigation and M&I purposes. The Project has been <br />mired in controversy since its inception, <br /> <br />In October 1999, Representative Scott Mcinnis (CO) introduced H,R, 3112 to authorize <br />construction of a scaled-down version of the Project. Environmentalists, however, are still opposed <br />to it. They have proposed that the tribes be given money to purchase land and water rights to meet the <br />terms of the 1988 Settlement Agreement, instead of constructing a reservoir. <br /> <br />I have included in the Board folder a copy of a letter from the Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board-Department of Natural Resources-State of Colorado, transmitting a resolution of the Colorado <br />Water Conservation Board endorsing H,R, 3112 and requesting others in a position ofleadership to <br />help resolve the contlict. <br /> <br />Quantification of Colorado River Entitlement for the Yuma Mesa Division, Gila Project <br /> <br />I have included in the Board folder, for your infonnation, a copy of a proposed Letter <br />Agreement among Reclamation, the Yuma Irrigation District, and the North Gila Valley Irrigation <br />District for the purpose of negotiating terms of amendatory and supplemental contracts with the <br />Districts to quantify the amount of Colorado River water each District is entitled to receive from the <br />Yuma Mesa Division's 250,000 acre-foot entitlement. <br /> <br />California's Colorado River Water Use Plan <br /> <br />Activities related to completion of California's Colorado River Water Use Plan are continuing, <br />The Plan itself is continuing to be drafted, MWD and the Agency Managers are continuing to evaluate <br />various surplus criteria that meet California's water supply needs identified in the Plan as well as <br />address the comments provided by the other Basin states, And a consultant is being retained to prepare <br />the Environmental Factors Report that will be appended to the Plan, <br /> <br />2 <br />