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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />Title: <br /> <br />The Operation of Glen Canyon Dam during spring runoff periods. <br />within the Constraints ofthe 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act <br />and the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act <br /> <br />Preparcd by: <br /> <br />Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Purpose <br /> <br />This document is a "working draft" discussion paper prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation. <br />The purpose of this document is to encourage and facilitate discussion between and among the <br />various stakeholders who have an interest in the operation of Glen Canyon Dam. The analysis <br />and opinions expressed in this document are not intended to represent the fonnal position of the <br />Bureau of Reclamation or the Department of the Interior. Reclan1ation welcomes comments on <br />this document from all interested stakeholders. Comments should be directed to the Upper <br />Colorado Regional Office of the Bureau of Reclamation. <br /> <br />Explain as background the 1968 llnd 199~ Acts <br /> <br />The series of legal documents known as the "Law of the River" have evolved from 1922 to the <br />present, gradually defining in greater detail the operational parameters of the Colorado River <br />system reservoirs. The first specific constraint~ on Glen Canyon Dam operations came with the <br />1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act (1968 Act), specifically Section 602 of that Ac:. While <br />the 1968 Act primarily dealt with the authorization of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and <br />five Colorado projects, the politics of authorizing CAP led to statutory language regarding Glen <br />Canyon Dam operations, including (I) a storage volume designed to protect the Upper Basin <br />States from shonages. (2) the transfer of water to Lake Mead if required for Lower Basin use, <br />(3) annual storage equalization between Lakes Powell and Mead, and (4) the avoidance of <br />anticipated spills from Glen Canyon Dam. Fonnal Operating Criteria were prepared in 1970 to <br />guide Colorado River system reservoir operations and subsequent Annual Operating Plans <br />(AOP) prepared under these Criteria, <br /> <br />As pan of an inclusive otTUlibus bill, the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCP A) directed <br />the Secretary of the Interior to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on the operation of <br />Glen Canyon Dam (GCDEIS) and adopt criteria (separate and apart from the 1968 Act Criteria) <br />for the operation ofthe dam with respect to the ecological health of the Grand Canyon. <br />According to language in the GCPA, this Act does not modify the 1968 Act. Practicably, a <br />distinction that has been made is that the 1968 Act more directly affects the allocation of water <br />between basins and the annual and monthly release volumes from Glen Canyon Dam, while the <br />GCPA more directly affects powerplant releases and any beach/habitat building and habitat <br />maintenance flows. . <br /> <br />Reclamation Discussion Paper -- Working Draft -- 3/24/97 version <br />