§ 417.3 Notice of recommendations and determinations.

Following consultation with each Contractor and after consideration of all relevant comments and suggestions advanced by the Contractors in such consultations, the Regional Director will formulate his recommendations and determinations relating to the matters specified in § 417.2. The recommendations and determinations shall, with respect to each Contractor, be based upon but not necessarily limited to such factors as the area to be irrigated, climatic conditions, location, land classifications, the kinds of crops raised, cropping practices, the type of irrigation system in use, the condition of water carriage and distribution facilities, record of water orders, and rejections of ordered water, general operating practices, the operating efficiencies and methods of irrigation of the water users, amount and rate of return flows to the river, municipal water requirements and the pertinent provisions of the Contractor's Boulder Canyon Project Act water delivery contract. The Regional Director shall give each Contractor written notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, of his recommendations and determinations. If the recommendations and determinations dar year immediately preceding, the notice shall be delivered to the Contractor or timely sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, so that it may reasonably be delivered at least 30 days prior to the first date water delivery would be affected thereby, and shall specify the basis for such reduction including any pertinent factual determinations. The recommendations and determinations of the Regional Director shall be final and conclusive unless, within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notice, the Contractor submits his written comments and objections to the Regional Director and requests further consultation. If, after such further consultation, timely taken, the Regional Director does not modify his recommendations and determinations and so advises the Contractor in writing, or if modifications are made but the Contractor still feels aggrieved thereby after notification in writing of such modified rec

ommendations

and determinations, the Contractor may, before 30 days after receipt of said notice, appeal to the Secretary of the Interior. During the pendency of such appeal, and until disposition thereof by the Secretary, the recommendations and determinations formulated by the Regional Director shall be of no force or effect. In the event delivery of water is scheduled prior to the new recommendations and determinations becoming final, said delivery shall be made according to the Contractor's currently proposed schedule or to the schedules approved for the previous calendar year, whichever is less.

§ 417.4 Changed conditions, emergency, or hardship modifications.

A Contractor may at any time apply in writing to the Regional Director for modification of recommendations or determinations deemed necessary because of changed conditions, emergency, or hardship. Upon receipt of such written application identifying the reason for such requested modification, the Regional Director shall arrange for consultation with the Contractor with the objective of making such modifications as he may deem appropriate under the then existing conditions. The Regional Director may initiate efforts for further consultation with any Contractor on his own motion with the objective of modifying previous recommendations and determinations, but in the event such modifications are made, the Contractor shall have the same opportunity to object and appeal as provided in § 417.3 hereof for the initial recommendations and determinations. The Regional Director shall afford the fullest practicable opportunity for consultation with a Contractor when acting under this section. Each modification under this section shall be transmitted to the Contractor by letter.

§ 417.5 Duties of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with respect to Indian Reservations.

(a) The Commissioner of Indian Affairs (herein termed "Commissioner") will engage in consultations with vari

ious tribes and other water users on the Indian Reservations listed in Article II (D) of said Supreme Court Decree, similar to those engaged in by the Regional Director with regard to Contractors as provided in § 417.2 hereof. After consideration of all comments and suggestions advanced by said tribes and other water users on said Indian Reservations concerning water conservation measures and operating practices in the diversion, delivery, distribution and use of Colorado River water, the Commissioner shall, within the limits prescribed in said decree, make a determination as to the estimated amount of water to be diverted for use on each Indian Reservation covered by the above decree. Said determination shall be made prior to the beginning of each calendar year. That determination shall be based upon, but not necessarily limited to, such factors as: The area to be irrigated, climatic conditions, location, land classifications, the kinds of crops raised, cropping practices, the type of irrigation system in use, the condition of water carriage and distribution facilities, record of water orders, and rejections of ordered water, general operating practices, the operating efficiencies and methods of irrigation of the tribes and water users on each reservation, the amount and rate of return flows to the river, municipal water requirements, and other uses on the reservation. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall deliver to the Regional Director written notice of the amount of water to be diverted for use upon each Indian Reservation for each year 60 days prior to the beginning of each calendar year and the basis for said determination. The determination of the Commissioner shall be final and conclusive unless within 30 days of the date of receipt of such notice the Regional Director submits his written comments and objections to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and requests further consultation. If after such further consultation, timely taken, the Commissioner does not modify his determination and so advises the Regional Director in writing or if modifications are made by the Commissioner but the Regional Director still does not agree therewith, the

SOURCE: 32 FR 3098, Feb. 21, 1967, unless otherwise noted.

§ 418.1

Statement of considerations leading to the proposed adoption of general operating criteria and principles relating to the captioned stream systems. (a) Under authority of the Act of Congress approved June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), commonly known as the Reclamation Act, and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, including the Washoe Project Act of August 1, 1956 (70 Stat. 775), as amended by the Act of August 21, 1958 (72 Stat. 705), and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of July 9, 1956, as amended (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.) the Secretary of the Interior is charged with responsibility for the management of the water supplies available to the Newlands Project, Nevada, to the Truckee River Storage Project, Nevada, and to the Washoe Project, California-Nevada. He is also required to provide for the construction, operation and maintenance of the authorized facilities and to provide for the proper management and administration of such facilities as well as of project lands and services.

(b) Under the Constitution and various acts of Congress, the United States is trustee for the Indians and in that status it is obligated to protect and preserve the rights and interests of the Pyramid Lake Tribe of Indians in the Truckee River and in Pyramid Lake. This trust responsibility is vested in the Secretary of the Interior. It is in the national interest that the fishery resource of Pyramid Lake be restored, that agricultural use be developed, and that the water inflow to the Lake be such as to allow realization of the great potential thereof, including recreation. The regulations in this part will initiate Departmental controls, lacking in the past, to limit diversions by TCID from the Truckee River within decreed rights, and thereby make additional water available for delivery to Pyramid Lake.

(c) The Secretary is charged by law with the protection and conservation of migratory birds, and with maintaining the integrity of the refuge system developed pursuant to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711),

.

and the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 715-715r). The lower Carson River Basin is within a major division of the Pacific Flyway and provides part of the refuge system.

(d) The Secretary is charged with the responsibility of preparing comprehensive programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries thereof and improving the quality of surface and underground waters pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.).

(e) The area of the Truckee and the Carson River Basins is one of short water supply and is continuously subject to increasing competitive demands. To effectuate the acts of Congress and treaties with Great Britain and Mexico for the conservation of migratory birds affecting these river basins, to meet the reasonable water use demands under water rights either decreed or to be decreed or otherwise vested, and to obtain the best combination of uses of the waters of the basins in the public interest requires modification of existing patterns of water use. Extended negotiations have been undertaken with the TruckeeCarson Irrigation District for the purpose of reaching agreement regarding these matters. These negotiations will be continued.

(f) Meanwhile, recurring flood conditions along the Truckee River and its tributaries have created a situation which makes it imperative to proceed in the Stampede Division of the Washoe Project by construction of Stampede Dam on the Little Truckee River.

(g) The rules and regulations in this part are formulated and issued by reason of the foregoing considerations and they have been developed within the framework of agreements, decrees, understandings, and obligations of the United States or to which the United States is a party. The rules and regulations in this part will be revised as experience indicates the need or to conform to any agreement reached between the United States and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District amending the existing contract with that District.

§ 418.2

Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) "District" means the TruckeeCarson Irrigation District, organized under Nevada law with its office at Fallon, Nev.

(b) "Truckee River Decree" means decree entered in the action entitled "United States v. Orr Water Ditch Co. et al.," in the U.S. District Court, Nevada, Equity No. A-3.

(c) "Carson River Decree" means orders, temporary and final, entered in the action entitled "United States v. Alpine Land and Reservoir Co. et al.," in U.S. District Court, Nevada (Equity No. D-183).

(d) "Contract" means that contract between United States and TruckeeCarson Irrigation District dated December 18, 1926, as amended.

(e) "Irrigation works" means the works of the United States constructed for the primary purpose of irrigating the lands of the Newlands Project within the boundaries of the District, and including Derby Dam, Lake Tahoe Dam, the Truckee canal, Lahontan Dam and Reservoir, Carson Diversion Dam, T canal, V canal, and all other canals, turnouts, pumping plants and works necessary to irrigate and drain District lands, the operation of which was transferred to the District pursuant to Article 6 of the contract.

§ 418.3 Procedures for operation, management and control of the Truckee and Carson Rivers in regard to exercise of water rights of the United States.

In order to make the most efficient use of the available water:

(a) on or before October 1, 1967, the Regional Director of the Bureau of Reclamation as chairman, the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Regional Director of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, the Regional Director of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, the Regional Director of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, and the designee of the Geological Survey shall recommend operating criteria and procedures consistent with the guidelines set forth herein for the approval of the Secretary for the coordinated operation and control of the Truckee and Carson Rivers in regard

to the exercise of water rights of the United States, so as to (1) comply with all of the terms and provisions of the Truckee River Decree and the Carson River Decree; and (2) maximize the use of the flows of the Carson River in satisfaction of Truckee-Carson Irrigation District's water entitlement and minimize the diversion of flows of the Truckee River for District use in order to make available to Pyramid Lake as much water as possible. Any change in subsequent years of the adopted operating criteria and procedures shall be formulated and approved in the same manner as set forth above.

(b) The departmental representatives designated in paragraph (a) of this section shall select a committee of water contractors and users and other directly affected interests, including the Pyramid Lake Tribe and those using water for fishing, hunting and recreation in both river basins. The departmental representatives shall consult with this advisory committee in the formulation of the operating criteria and procedures.

§ 418.4 District's operation of the irrigation works.

(a) The District's operation of the irrigation works, including the diversion of water, shall be in compliance with all of the terms and provisions of the Truckee River Decree and the Carson River Decree, the rules and regulations in this part, and the operating criteria and procedures adopted by the Secretary.

(b) It is determined that a water supply of not more than 406,000 acrefeet from both Truckee and Carson Rivers, if available, may be diverted in any year to irrigate District irrigable lands.

(c) It is further determined in regard to the operation and control of the Truckee and Carson Rivers during the water year beginning October 1, 1966, that 406,000 acre-feet, if available, will be diverted for the District. For future water years this quantity may be reduced by determinations about operating criteria and procedures made in accordance with the standards set forth in § 418.3(a).

(d) The District's water supply noted in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section shall be measured at the gaging station below Lahontan Dam and at diversion points along the Truckee Canal. Measurements shall be made by the District through facilities and by methods satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior or his representative and shall be compiled on a wateryear basis extending from October 1 to September 30.

(e) All water passing the gaging station below Lahontan Dam shall be charged against the District's yearly supply of not more than four hundred and six thousand (406,000) acre-feet, excepting uncontrollable spillage from Lahontan Reservoir, and further excepting precautionary drawdown of the Reservoir to create space for storing flood waters from the Carson River basin, provided, such drawdown is neither stored downstream in District facilities nor used by the District for irrigation.

(f) The United States may temporarily store part of the District's supply in upstream facilities provided that water so stored which is within the District's entitlement shall be credited to the District and shall be released to the District at its request. At any one time the sum of the storage in Lahontan Reservoir and the total related creditable storage upstream shall not exceed the present storage capacity of Lahontan Reservoir, which is here defined as two hundred and ninety thousand (290,000) acre-feet, plus, however, in the event of such storage upstream, an additional amount equal to anticipated losses in transmission downstream to the District. In addition the District may store in District reservoirs downstream of Lahontan Reservoir a quantity of water presently estimated to be 35,000 acre-feet.

(g) Deliveries of water from the Truckee Canal into Lahontan Reservoir (when water is available and the District is entitled to it) shall be permitted only so long as the total storage credited to Lahontan Reservoir in that reservoir and in upstream facilities, at any one time, is not more than two hundred and ninety thousand (290,000) acre-feet plus an amount equal to anticipated losses in transmis