[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34232-34234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11906]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[RR03240000, XXXR4079G1, RX.03441994.0209100]
Central Arizona Project, Arizona; Water Allocations
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior (Department) is proposing to
reallocate non-Indian agricultural (NIA) priority Central Arizona
Project (CAP) water in accordance with the Arizona Department of Water
Resources' (ADWR) recommendation for reallocation, as provided by
ADWR's letter dated January 16, 2014, to the Department. The Department
is requesting public comments on the proposed decision. If the proposed
decision is implemented, the Department would offer to enter into a
subcontract with the entities listed in the table below, as recommended
by ADWR.
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 6, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments concerning the proposed decision to
Ms. Leslie Meyers, Area Manager, Phoenix Area Office, Bureau of
Reclamation, 6150 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ 85306-4001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Leslie Meyers, Bureau of
Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office, 6150 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale,
AZ 85306-4001; telephone 623-773-6211; facsimile 623-773-6480; email
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (Fed Relay) at 1-800-877-8339
TTY/ASCII to contact the above individual during normal business hours
or to leave a message or question after hours. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Decision
The Department is publishing this proposed decision of the
reallocation of NIA priority CAP water in accordance with the Arizona
Water Settlements Act (Settlements Act) (Pub. L. 108-451, 118 Stat.
3478), and the Secretary of the Interior's (Secretary) Final Decision
of CAP Water Reallocation (71 FR 50449, August 25, 2006). The following
table lists the entities recommended by ADWR to receive NIA priority
CAP water and the quantities proposed to be reallocated to each.
ADWR Recommendation for Reallocation of NIA Priority CAP Water
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Municipal pool Industrial pool
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount in acre- Amount in acre-
State of Arizona entity feet per year State of Arizona entity feet per year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carefree Water Company..................... 112 Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort....... 400
Metropolitan Domestic Water Improvement 299 New Harquahala Generating Company.. 400
District.
Town of Cave Creek......................... 386 Rosemont Copper Company............ 1,124
EPCOR--Sun City West....................... 1,000 Salt River Project................. 2,160
Town of Queen Creek (Acquired H2O Water 4,162 Resolution Copper Mining........... 2,238
Company).
Town of Marana............................. 515 Freeport-McMoRan-Sierrita Inc...... 5,678
Apache Junction Water Utilities Community 817 ................................... ..............
Facilities District.
City of El Mirage.......................... 1,318 ................................... ..............
Town of Gilbert............................ 1,832 ................................... ..............
City of Buckeye (Formerly was Town of 2,786 ................................... ..............
Buckeye).
[[Page 34233]]
Johnson Utilities.......................... 3,217 ................................... ..............
Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment 18,185 ................................... ..............
District.
Total NIA Priority CAP Water Reallocated to 34,629 Total NIA Priority CAP Water 12,000
Municipal. Reallocated to Industrial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Total NIA Priority CAP Water To Be .............. ................................... 46,629
Reallocated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Notices Related to CAP Water
Previous notices related to CAP water were published in the Federal
Register at 37 FR 28082, December 20, 1972; 40 FR 17297, April 18,
1975; 41 FR 45883, October 18, 1976; 45 FR 52938, August 8, 1980; 45 FR
81265, December 10, 1980; 48 FR 12446, March 24, 1983; 56 FR 28404,
June 20, 1991; 56 FR 29704, June 28, 1991; 57 FR 4470, February 5,
1992; 57 FR 48388, October 23, 1992; 65 FR 39177, June 23, 2000; 65 FR
43037, July 12, 2000; 67 FR 38514, June 4, 2002; 68 FR 36578, June 18,
2003; 69 FR 9378, February 27, 2004; and, 71 FR 50449, August 25, 2006.
These notices and decisions were made pursuant to the authority vested
in the Secretary by the Reclamation Act of 1902, as amended and
supplemented (32 Stat. 388, 43 U.S.C. 391), the Boulder Canyon Project
Act of December 21, 1928 (45 Stat. 1057, 43 U.S.C. 617), the Colorado
River Basin Project Act of September 30, 1968 (82 Stat. 885, 43 U.S.C.
1501), the Settlements Act, and in recognition of the Secretary's trust
responsibility to Indian tribes.
Background of CAP Water Allocations
In a Record of Decision (ROD) published on March 24, 1983 (48 FR
12446), the Secretary, among other actions, superseded and replaced the
1980 ROD (45 FR 81265, December 10, 1980), reiterated the allocations
to Indian tribes reflected in that 1980 ROD, allocated CAP water for
non-Indian municipal and industrial (M&I) uses, and allocated the
remaining amount for NIA uses. Subject to certain conditions, the CAP
water for Indian uses was allocated to 12 Indian tribes for irrigation
use or for maintaining tribal homelands. Also subject to certain
conditions, the CAP water for M&I uses was allocated based on the State
of Arizona's 1982 allocation recommendations for non-Indian entities
that provided an amount of CAP water for M&I use to certain non-Indian
entities, with the remaining amount of CAP water allocated for NIA use.
The CAP NIA water was allocated to 23 non-Indian irrigation districts
or other agricultural entities as a percentage of the NIA water supply
that was available in any given year.
Two-party CAP water service contracts were executed between the
United States and individual Indian tribes in 1980 pursuant to the 1980
ROD. CAP non-Indian M&I water service subcontracts and CAP NIA water
service subcontracts were executed with those entities desiring to
enter into subcontracts for CAP water. The CAP water service
subcontracts for the non-Indian M&I water and the NIA water are three-
party subcontracts among the entity, the Central Arizona Water
Conservation District (CAWCD), and the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation). Some of the entities that were allocated NIA water and
M&I priority water elected not to contract for the offered allocations.
After completing the initial subcontracting process, 29.3 percent of
the NIA water supply and 65,647 acre-feet of M&I water was not under
contract.
Congress enacted the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 2558) (SRPMIC Act).
Pursuant to section 11(h) of the SRPMIC Act, the Secretary was required
to request a reallocation recommendation from ADWR for the remaining
NIA water that was not under contract. The Secretary was also required
to reallocate the uncontracted CAP water for NIA use and to offer new
or amendatory subcontracts for such water.
By letter dated January 7, 1991, ADWR recommended an allocation to
the Secretary. The Secretary published a notice on June 20, 1991 (56 FR
28404), inviting public comments on the proposed reallocation of CAP
water. After considering the public comments, the Secretary published a
final decision on February 5, 1992 (57 FR 4470). That decision
contemplated that new or amendatory CAP water service subcontracts
would be offered soon thereafter.
CAP water service subcontracts for the reallocated water were not
executed for several reasons, including but not limited to the
following: (1) Some entities could not meet the financial feasibility
requirements for receipt of CAP water; (2) lack of agreement on the
form of the CAP water service subcontract, and (3) financial
difficulties in the CAP NIA sector.
Beginning in the early 1990s, long-term utilization of the CAP
water available for reallocation under the 1992 decision and of the
uncontracted CAP M&I priority water was a central issue in negotiations
to resolve various operational and financial disputes between
Reclamation and CAWCD. After attempts at negotiations failed, water
contracting issues were included in litigation and the resulting
stipulated settlement between the United States and CAWCD. To implement
some of the conditions contained in the stipulated settlement, new
Federal legislation was required.
After the 1992 decision but before Federal legislation was enacted,
the Secretary published on June 4, 2002 (67 FR 38514), a notice of
proposed modification to the 1983 decision. The 1983 decision provided
that the M&I allocation can be made more firm by execution of feasible
non-potable effluent exchanges with Indian tribes and the M&I
allocation was subject to adoption of a pooling concept, whereby all
M&I entities share in the benefits of effluent exchanges. The pooling
concept provision was included in the CAP M&I water service
subcontracts. The 2002 proposed modification to the 1983 decision was
to delete the mandatory effluent pooling provision in M&I subcontracts
with the cities of Chandler and Mesa, and from other M&I water service
subcontracts upon request. That provision in the CAP M&I water service
subcontracts was an impediment to effluent exchanges and effective
water management in central Arizona. After review and consideration of
the public comments, the final decision was published on June 18, 2003
(68 FR
[[Page 34234]]
36578), deleting the mandatory effluent pooling provision.
The Settlements Act was enacted on December 10, 2004, and provides,
among other things, for: (1) A final allocation of CAP water, with a
CAP supply permanently designated for Indian uses and a CAP supply
designated for non-Indian M&I or NIA uses; (2) a reallocation by the
Secretary of 65,647 acre-feet of currently uncontracted CAP M&I water
to 20 specific M&I entities; (3) ratification of the Arizona Water
Settlement Agreement (the ``Master Agreement'') among the United
States, ADWR, and CAWCD, which provides a statutory-based framework to
enable the CAP NIA districts to relinquish existing rights to the
delivery of CAP NIA priority water under their CAP water service
subcontracts, including their rights, if any, to the reallocated water;
and, (4) a reallocation of the relinquished and uncontracted NIA water
supply to various Arizona Indian tribes and ADWR for future M&I use.
On August 25, 2006, the Secretary published a final reallocation
decision (71 FR 50449) that, among other things, reallocated the CAP
NIA water and the uncontracted CAP M&I water. The August 2006
reallocation decision is summarized below:
The Secretary's decision reallocated up to 96,295 acre-feet of
agricultural priority water per year to ADWR, pursuant to section
104(a)(2)(A) of the Settlements Act and subject to subparagraph 9.3 of
the Master Agreement, to be held under contract in trust for further
allocation pursuant to section 104(a)(2)(C) of the Settlements Act.
Direct use of the agricultural priority water by ADWR is prohibited
under the Master Agreement and this notice.
In accordance with section 104(a)(2)(C) of the Settlements Act,
before water may be further allocated the Director of ADWR shall submit
to the Secretary of the Interior a recommendation for reallocation.
After receiving the recommendation, the Secretary shall carry out all
of the necessary reviews for the proposed reallocation in accordance
with applicable Federal law. If the Director's recommendation is
rejected, the Secretary shall request a revised recommendation from the
Director of ADWR and proceed with any reviews required.
The reallocation of agricultural priority water to ADWR pursuant to
section 104(a)(2)(A) and section 104(a)(2)(C) of the Settlements Act is
subject to the Master Agreement, including certain rights provided by
the Master Agreement to water users in Pinal County, Arizona. The
agricultural priority water reallocated to the ADWR shall be subject to
the condition that the water retain its non-Indian agricultural
delivery priority.
As required in Section 104(a)(2)(C)(i)(I) of the Settlements Act
and the August 25, 2006 final reallocation decision, ADWR submitted to
the Secretary a recommendation for reallocation of agricultural
priority water. This recommendation was transmitted by letter dated
January 16, 2014, and ADWR requested the Secretary carry out all of the
necessary reviews of the proposed reallocation in accordance with
applicable Federal law.
Reclamation prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended,
and pursuant to Section 104 of the Settlements Act. Public scoping was
initiated on November 30, 2015, with a newsletter that was sent to
interested parties and published on Reclamation's website. Scoping
comments were accepted via facsimile, email, U.S. mail, and in-person
at the scoping meetings, which were held on December 8-10, 2015, in
Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Tucson, Arizona, respectively. Reclamation
received two public responses during this initial scoping period, one
of which resulted in Reclamation honoring a request for a comment
period extension to January 18, 2016.
In June 2016, Reclamation mailed Notices of Availability (NOA) of
the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to Federal, state, and local
agencies, Indian tribes, organizations, proposed recipients, and other
interested stakeholders. A public meeting was held on June 22, 2016, in
Casa Grande, Arizona, and the commenting period closed on July 22,
2016. Reclamation conducted in-person consultation with the Tohono
O'odham Nation on February 17, 2017, and with the San Carlos Apache
Tribe on June 16, 2017. The draft EA was revised in response to the
comments received. A NOA for the Final Environmental Assessment--
Arizona Department of Water Resources Recommendation for the
Reallocation of Non-Indian Agricultural Priority Central Arizona
Project Water in Accordance with the Arizona Water Settlements Act of
2004 was issued on November 15, 2019, and the Final Finding of No
Significant Impact--Arizona Department of Water Resources
Recommendation for the Reallocation of Non-Indian Agricultural Priority
Central Arizona Project Water in Accordance with the Arizona Water
Settlements Act of 2004 was signed on November 8, 2019.
Rationale for Proposed Decision
The Department is proposing to allocate CAP NIA water in accordance
with ADWR's recommendation. The ADWR recommendation covered the initial
phase, reallocating 46,629 acre-feet per year of NIA priority CAP water
of the 96,295 acre-feet per year to be reallocated, as shown in the
table above. The total of 46,629 acre-feet per year of CAP NIA priority
water in this phase is in two pools: (1) A municipal pool of 34,629
acre-feet for M&I water providers within the CAP service area and the
Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, and (2) an
industrial pool of 12,000 acre-feet for industrial water users within
the CAP service area. The rationale for the proposed decision is based
on the following:
(1) ADWR's extensive public outreach, in consultation with
Reclamation, to interested parties regarding its recommendation.
(2) An EA evaluating impacts of the proposed reallocation, in
accordance with NEPA, and the resulting FONSI.
The Final EA and FONSI can be found on Reclamation's website at:
https://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/reports/reports.html.
Request for Public Comments
We request public comments on the proposed reallocation prior to
the Department making a final decision. Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available
for public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from public disclosure, which we will honor to the
extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we
would withhold a respondent's identity from public disclosure, as
allowable by law. If you wish for us to withhold your name and/or
address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your
comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses,
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or
officials of organizations or businesses, available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
Timothy R. Petty,
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.
[FR Doc. 2020-11906 Filed 6-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P