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Key points of the Operating Agreement are:
EBID guarantees deliveries of surface water to
Texas using a new concept named “D3” which was first developed by EBID in 2006.
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With the implementation of D3, EBID constituents and other ground water users in New Mexico’s Lower Rio Grande Basin (LRG) can now plan for the most efficient and equitable use of its groundwater resources without the threat of litigation from Texas.
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With the implementation of D3, EBID plans to proceed forward to address regional issues regarding flooding and the need for storage reservoirs to address climate change impacts on Project water supply.
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EBID also will move forward and initiate negotiations with the Office of the State Engineer to resolve issues in the LRG stream adjudication regarding the rights of EBID in the Rio Grande Project water supply.
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The two districts have initiated the right of each district to maintain a carryover account of conserved water of up to 60 percent of a full allocation (232,915 acre-feet for EPCWID and 305,918 acre-feet for EBID) that can be stored in the Project reservoirs on a yearly basis.
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This Carryover Water should result in higher levels of water in Elephant Butte reservoir which promotes recreation in the lakes and also allows more upstream storage of water by
New Mexico under the Rio Grande Compact.
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To further conservation of water, the districts and Reclamation will develop scheduling tools to run the Project as efficiently as possible.
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The Compromise and Settlement Agreement, procedurally incorporates the new Operating Agreement and requires the dismissal of two lawsuits, one in
Texas and one in New Mexico Federal District Courts.
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The Agreement contains language to implement portions of Reclamation’s Managing for Excellence Plan (M4E).
The USA has agreed to conduct an internal review of the Operations portion of the El Paso Field Office in order to address concerns of the districts in order to formulate a dialogue with EBID and EPCWID to further the M4E goals of Transparency in Accounting, Transparency in Planning, Commitment to Cost Effective Project Operation and Maintenance and to identify areas, if any, where the two districts may assume further operation and maintenance functions currently conducted by the USA.
Steven Hernandez, Attorney for Elephant Butte Irrigation District commented that the dispute has existed since February 15, 1979.
“It took almost 29 years to the day to resolve this dispute.
The agreement is basically a mini-compact between
New Mexico and
Texas and considering all the failed efforts by other western states to resolve their interstate disputes, this agreement should be looked at as a model for other states to consider.”
Stephen Hubert, who is Hernandez’s partner, stated “This agreement brings certainty and stability to the farmer’s rights to the surface and ground water resources of the Rio Grande Project and ends years of litigation between EPCWD and EBID.
It is without question, a significant achievement for the farmers in both districts, and brings a degree of independence from state and federal water officials.”
Gary L. Esslinger - I don’t know if people will grasp the significance and importance of this monumental agreement and what it means for
New Mexico and
Texas. What other states could not accomplish and resulted in costly Supreme Court decisions, 14 farmers in the Rio Grande Project were able to agree and resolve this interstate dispute. A lot of credit should go to the EBID executive board and the District’s negotiating team. There is a great deal of admiration I have to the countless hours, reams of draft documents, and endless negotiation meetings that this team endured. Phil King was brilliant as our technical advisor and hydrologist. A lot of the credit for this operating agreement should go to him. .
Bill Gary, a member of the Board of Directors of the EBID said, I am a 3rd generation EBID board member and I know that there are 3rd generation members on the EP#1 board as well. Looking back, many issues that have plagued both boards are finally resolved. I look forward to an era of cooperation between the boards.
Board President James Salopek said it has been a long and hard road. A number of board members and EBID employees have come and gone. With the operating agreement between EBID and EPCWID#1, the farmers can now go forward to use and protect the water that makes the west so productive.
Dr. J. Phillip King, a Civil Engineering professor at
New Mexico
State
University and consultant to EBID, stressed the historical importance of the agreement.
“In 1938, the states of
Colorado,
New Mexico, and
Texas agreed to the Rio Grande Compact.
They haven’t agreed on much since.
When they agreed to the Compact, the chairmen of the engineering committee stated that ‘Each of these States is vitally concerned with its own welfare, yet … each recognized its obligation to its sister States; each accepted the principle that an equitable adjustment of conflicting interests in the waters of the river is imperative.’
That expresses the spirit of this agreement perfectly.”
To read or download the Operating Agreement document in its entirety, please click here. (Note: The document requires installation of Adobe Reader.
If you need to download this software first,
just click here for the latest version.)
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