Page | 1

NMISC Staff Report May 13, 2020

LEGAL BUREAU

Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, No. 141 Original (The “Original Action” involving the Lower Rio Grande before the United States Supreme Court). Parties: State of Texas, State of New Mexico, State of Colorado, United States. Amici curiae: Elephant Butte Irrigation District, City of El Paso, New Mexico State University, El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, City of Las Cruces, Hudspeth County Water District, NM Pecan Growers, Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, State of Kansas. The Special Master released his 24-page Order on the “law of the case” issues on April 14, 2020. This ruling largely accords with New Mexico’s position that in its March 5, 2018 Opinion the United States Supreme Court had made narrow rulings, leaving the bulk of the issues addressed by the First Special Master in his 300-page First Interim Report and Recommendations for the parties to address at trial. On April 23, 2020, New Mexico sent a letter to counsel for Texas, Colorado, and the United States outlining its position on the discovery and trial management issues the Special Master had earlier identified for discussion at the upcoming May 1 hearing. The parties had a “meet and confer” followed by all parties submitting status memos to the Special Master on April 29. On May 1, all parties and amici attended a telephonic status conference with the Special Master. Marcus Rael introduced Jeffrey J. Wechsler as new lead counsel, and himself, Luis Robles, and John B. Draper as senior trial advisors. The Special Master did not definitively set a new discovery and trial schedule, but focused on New Mexico completing the discovery necessary for New Mexico to finalize and file its experts’ sur-rebuttal reports. The Special Master is in favor of re-opening deposition discovery to video depositions and set another hearing on a demonstration of that capability for May 15. Also discussed but not decided were trial presentation issues, mediation, and New Mexico’s request for a basin tour for the Special Master and parties. New Mexico is also engaged in pursuing high-level preliminary settlement discussions. Select Energy Services v. Tom Blaine - Fifth Judicial District Court No. D-504-CV-2019-00054 (Appeal of the OSE decision regarding 33 protested Applications for Pecos River Settlement Augmentation Pumping) Parties: Select Energy Services, LLC d/b/a Gregory Rockhouse Ranch, Star Six Holdings, LLC, Gregory Ranch, Norman Scott Gregory, Larry Lee Gregory, State Engineer, Interstate Stream Commission, Henry Terpening. This District Court appeal of an administrative decision by the State Engineer is pending before the water judge in the Fifth Judicial District. In December 2018, the State Engineer issued an order granting 33 permits to the NMISC to add new points of diversion, places of uses and a new purpose of use to water rights acquired by the NMISC for transfer into the

Page | 2

NMISC’s Pecos well fields. The NMISC, the SE, and representatives of Select Energy Services and the Gregory family have had several meetings to explore the possibility of settling this lawsuit. The parties have also discussed a draft settlement agreement. Because staff and experts have been engaged in investigating settlement efforts, and because Select’s principal expert was in Morocco and unable to leave for an extended period due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the parties agreed to request postponement of discovery and trial deadlines. The Court entered an order setting the new deadlines on April 30, 2020. Under the new schedule, the deadline for expert reports is June 22, 2020, the deadline for rebuttal expert reports is August 10, 2020, and the close of discovery is October 13, 2020. The trial is now set for July, 2021 and will take place in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Intrepid Potash-New Mexico LLC - (HU Nos. 18-007, 18-009, 18-011, 18-012, 18-043, 18-044, 18-045, 18-046) Parties: Interstate Stream Commission, Office of the State Engineer, Select Energy Services, Gregory Rockhouse Ranch, Vision Resources/David Maley, Carlsbad Irrigation District, Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District, Otis Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association, City of Roswell, EOG, Yates Family Interests, Fort Sumner Irrigation District, and the State of NM in addition to numerous individual water rights owners. The NMISC has protested a number of applications by Intrepid to lease portions of water rights SP-302 and SP-1942 for commercial sales. The administrative hearing case has been bifurcated: the first phase will address the validity of Intrepid’s licensed water rights (i.e., whether Intrepid has lost any of those water rights through forfeiture or abandonment). The first phase has been stayed by the Hearing Examiner, so that the Pecos Adjudication court can conduct an expedited inter se proceeding regarding the extent and validity of Intrepid’s water rights. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, depositions (which were originally set to be completed by May 12, 2020) have been put on hold until May 27, 2020. The trial in the expedited inter se proceeding was set to take place in August 2020, but will be postponed until either November 2020 or January 2021. In addition, on April 1, 2020, the water judge in the Fifth Judicial District Court issued a Writ of Mandamus cancelling the State Engineer’s preliminary approvals of seven of Intrepid’s applications. Intrepid and its co-applicants, as well as the State Engineer, have filed emergency petitions for writs of superintending control with the New Mexico Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has yet to schedule hearings on those petitions. The State Engineer has also filed a motion for reconsideration in the Fifth Judicial District Court. The District Court refused to stay the writ of mandamus while these petitions are pending, so the State Engineer has ordered Intrepid and its co-applicants to cease diversions under the preliminary approvals. The NMISC is not a party to the mandamus proceeding, but is monitoring that proceeding. Texas v. New Mexico (No. 65 Original), the Pecos River case before the United States Supreme Court related to storage of excessive flows in New Mexico for the benefit of Texas in 2014. Parties: State of Texas, State of New Mexico, United States at the request of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Page | 3

Texas filed a motion for review in the Supreme Court of the River Master’s determination to credit New Mexico with approximately sixteen thousand (16,000) acre-feet of water under the Pecos River Compact to cover evaporation losses from New Mexico’s storage of waters at Texas’s request in 2014 and 2015. The Supreme Court set the matter for oral argument on April 21, and the case is fully briefed. New Mexico has agreed to cede ten minutes of its argument time to the Solicitor General, who supports New Mexico in this dispute. On April 3 the Supreme Court postponed the oral argument scheduled for the April session due to COVID-19 concerns. Oral argument is expected to be rescheduled in the fall of 2020. New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission v. Abel Villalpando et al., (Fifth Judicial District Court Case No. D-504-CV-2019-01098) Parties: Interstate Stream Commission, Abel Villalpando, Bonnie Villalpando and Villalpando Farms LLC. Abel Villalpando, Bonnie Villalpando, and Villalpando Farms, LLC, jointly acquired approximately 213 acres of former farmland south of Roswell from which the NMISC had purchased and severed the water rights. In 2019, the Villalpandos began irrigating that farmland without having water rights allowing them to do so. The NMISC holds negative easements preventing the irrigation of those lands without the transfer of valid water rights onto the land. The OSE District II Office filed a judicial action seeking to enjoin the Villalpandos’ unpermitted irrigation of the lands. At the OSE’s request, the NMISC filed a companion suit to support the OSE’s enforcement action and to protect the NMISC’s negative easements. The two suits have been consolidated. The Villalpandos have obtained groundwater rights to pay back their unpermitted diversions for 2019, but also need to obtain Hagerman Irrigation Company surface water rights to pay back unpermitted surface water diversions. The NMISC and OSE are also monitoring the Villalpandos’ actions at several other properties, and stand ready to amend their complaints to add additional violations. IPRA requests received since the last Commission meeting: The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission has not received any IPRA requests since

February 15, 2020.

COLORADO RIVER BASIN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Staff of the Upper Division States and Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC) staff have reviewed the proposals for technical, legal and economic analyses related to a possible Demand Management Program and hope to make a recommendation to the UCRC for selection of one or more contractor(s) in the spring of 2020. While this effort is pending, each state is conducting its own outreach with local stakeholders

Page | 4

regarding Demand Management. NMISC staff have held two meetings, one in person and one by webinar, with a select group of San Juan Basin water users to discuss New Mexico’s Demand Management efforts. Based on those meetings, staff plan to hold two additional meetings once COVID19 travel restrictions allow doing so. Demand Management is one of two programs that constitute the Upper Basin’s Drought Contingency Plan agreements. The other program, outlined through the Drought Response Operations Agreement, is not currently being implemented because the event needed to trigger that program (the threat of Lake Powell dropping below elevation 3,525 feet) is not forecasted to occur in the next two years.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) operates Lake Powell and Lake Mead in accordance with the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead (2007 Interim Guidelines). These guidelines are in effect through water year 2026. They include a directive for the Secretary of the Interior to initiate a formal review of their effectiveness no later than December 31, 2020. This must be done in consultation with the Basin States. Reclamation held kickoff webinars for this review on March 24 and 31, 2020, with the goal of completing the review in December 2020. The NMISC is working with the other Colorado River Basin States to provide input to Reclamation on the scope and approach of this review.

On April 6, in response to the needs of La Plata River water users in New Mexico, the NMISC requested that the State of Colorado begin making stateline water deliveries pursuant to the La Plata River Compact. The Durango office of the Colorado Division of Water Resources has adjusted their river operations accordingly.

The Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact apportion water based on consumptive use. Accordingly, the NMISC focuses considerable ongoing effort towards determining New Mexico’s consumptive use amounts from tributaries of the Colorado River. This work includes crop surveys and the compilation of data from the Office of the State Engineer, Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Navajo Nation, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the National Centers for Environmental Information, and other sources.

WATER OPERATIONS

Southwestern Colorado, including the headwaters region for the rivers in the San Juan Basin, has been warmer and drier than normal so far this calendar year. The National Water and Climate Center’s projection for the most likely spring runoff for Navajo Reservoir inflow has dropped to 47 percent of average while runoff on the Animas is projected to be closer to 60 percent of average. Based on the projected inflow and on current reservoir levels, Reclamation plans not to conduct a spring peak release from Navajo Reservoir this year.

NMISC staff continue to work with Hydros Consulting and Reclamation on modeling of Navajo Reservoir operations, Animas-La Plata Project Operations, and the Animas and San Juan Rivers systems. Hydros Consulting, working for the NMISC, is focused on the Animas-La Plata Project and Animas River system and Reclamation is focused on Navajo Reservoir and the San Juan River. Hydros is also working to acquire and evaluate data for the entire project area. Hydros, the NMISC, and Reclamation plan to merge the efforts in the next year to eighteen months such that a single RiverWare

Page | 5

model is created from the effort. NMISC staff plan to hold meetings (likely virtual) with the San Juan Water Commission and other interested water users explaining the current stage of work and future plans through 2021.

The Upper Colorado River Basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) continue negotiations with the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, Reclamation, and Western Area Power Administration to revise and extend the life of the current Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2011 (2011 MOA) by the same parties. These parties meet remotely each week to discuss the language of the new agreement.

NMISC staff met remotely with Reclamation (Durango) staff responsible for project management of the Navajo Reservoir Mussel Control, partially paid for by funds from the 2011 MOA referenced above. Zebra and quagga mussels are a known problem in Lake Powell and other western reservoirs. New Mexico and Colorado are currently among the few states without zebra or quagga mussels. Inspections of 17,000 boats at Navajo Lake in 2019 found 142 boats required decontamination. Eleven vessels were intercepted with zebra/quagga mussels. Two new boat inspection areas/decontamination facilities are planned. One will be located on the Pine Ramp on the west side of Navajo Lake and the other will be located in the Simms Mesa area on the east side. The Pine Ramp area project is in the design phase and is expected to be completed and operational in early 2021.

NMISC staff attended the 2020 Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project (NGWSP) Working Cost Estimate and Cost Allocation update webinar meeting on April 30. Congress has authorized $1.34B for the NGWSP (with inflation adjustment). Reclamation’s most recent Working Cost Estimate (2019 dollars) is at $1.58B. Consequently, should those estimates hold, the project is facing a $240.5M shortfall. More than half of the projected shortfall is associated with higher than originally anticipated construction costs for the NGWSP water treatment facilities. Reclamation is planning to conduct a value engineering study to attempt to reduce costs while still meeting NGWSP goals. Staff also attended the NGWSP Project Construction Committee Partnership meeting. Staff learned that on the eastern side of the NGWSP, the Cutter Lateral water treatment plants and pipeline system should be ready to deliver treated water by the end of summer 2020.

The NMISC participates in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. An important project within this program is the Paradox Valley salinity control project in western Colorado. This project reduces the amount of naturally occurring brine groundwater that enters the Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado River, by extracting the shallow brine and injecting it into a permeable rock formation about 15,000 feet beneath the surface. Due to concerns about the remaining operational life of the injection well, Reclamation is performing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on alternatives to the current well. The NMISC is a cooperating agency in this EIS process. Reclamation released a draft Final EIS for a 30-day Cooperating Agency review on April 17, 2020. The NMISC director and staff are meeting with Reclamation and other Basin State cooperating agencies to gain a better understanding of Reclamation’s proposals analyzed in the EIS. Reclamation plans to release a public Final EIS in July and a Record of Decision in August.

Page | 6

NMISC staff participated remotely in a three-day meeting of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum’s work group. Activities included updates and planning for salinity control projects, budget discussions, and drafting of the triennial review of current and projected salinity levels in the Colorado River.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Through operation of Glen Canyon Dam, Reclamation controls the releases from Lake Powell and determines most of the Colorado River flow through the Grand Canyon. Interest in Glen Canyon Dam operations is consequently high. While the annual release volumes from Lake Powell are set by the 2007 Interim Guidelines, daily and hourly dam operations follow the 2016 Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP). The LTEMP continues the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program that began in 1996. Through the NMISC, New Mexico participates in this program along with six other states, five tribes or pueblos, six environmental, recreational, or power stakeholders, and several federal agencies. NMISC staff recently participated in budget meetings and a meeting of the technical work group, where the focus was on development of the next three-year work plan. Work plans include a selection of research and monitoring efforts focused on the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on water quality, sediment transport, sandbars, riparian vegetation, native ecosystems including endangered fish, invasive species, hydropower, archaeological sites, and other parameters.

GILA/SAN FRANCISCO BASIN

Flows in the Gila and San Francisco Rivers from April 6 to April 30, 2020 ranged from 47%

to 128% of the historic average for the same period reflecting near normal winter

preciptiation in many parts of the basin but limited sustained snowpack. As of April 9,

2020, near neutral El Nino/ Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions were observed in the

tropical Pacific Ocean suggesting near normal precipitation for the basin this spring. The

ENSO-neutral condition is favored to continue for the Northern Hemisphere summer of

2020 (~60% chance) and is the most likely outcome through autumn. Also, the NOAA

Climate Prediction Center indicates that precipitation will likely be normal.

NM Unit Project:

After four months of correspondence and coordination, the U.S. Department of the Interior

through Reclamation released the New Mexico Unit of the Central Arizona Project Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on April 17, 2020. The Notice of Avalability of the

Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register a week later on April 24th, which officially

started the 45-day mandatory public comment period. The Draft EIS is currently available

for public review. The public comment period ends on June 8, 2020.

In lieu of in-person public meetings that would be held on the DEIS but for the COVID-19

pandemic, the Joint Leads (Reclamation and the NMISC) have set up an interactive virtual

public meeting website to share information, solicit comments on the draft EIS, and

Page | 7

provide a forum to answer relevant questions. The virtual public meeting can be accessed

24/7 at: https://www.virtualpublicmeeting.com/nm-unit-deis. This website will remain

live through the end of the comment period. In addition, interested parties can contact

Reclamation’s EIS manager at 623-773-6250, or the NMISC’s EIS manager at 505-827-

5801, and request paper copies of the DEIS.

Reclamation and the NMISC (Joint Leads) are not holding in-person public meetings on the

NM Unit Draft EIS in accordance with the following authorities: (1) The National

Emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020 in response to the COVID-19

pandemic in the United States; (2) the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s

recommendations for social distancing and avoiding large public gatherings; and (3)

Executive Orders related to COVID-19 issued by the states of New Mexico and Arizona.

The NM Unit EIS is subject to Presidential Executive Order 13807 and related

interdepartmental orders and agreements, including One Federal Decision (OFD). OFD

requires the lead federal agency to streamline the NEPA process by conducting an EIS and

issuing a Record of Decision (ROD) within 1 year and 9 months from the date of

publication of the Notice of Intent. The NOI for this EIS was published on June 12, 2018,

almost two years ago. However, Reclamation put the streamlining process on “pause” for

almost 9 months to accommodate changes to the Draft EIS necessitated by certain

decisions of the New Mexico CAP Entity (CAP Entity) and the Secretary of Interior. On

April 15, 2020, the process was officially “unpaused” by Reclamation. Reclamation’s target

date for a ROD is December 18, 2020.

Staff attended the New Mexico CAP Entity’s special meeting on April 22, 2020 via webinar,

in which the CAP Entity approved its FY2021 operating budget. This budget will be before

the Commission for approval on May 13, 2020. Staff also attended the CAP Entity’s regular

meeting on May 5, 2020, which was also held via webinar. At that meeting, the CAP Entity

discussed the Draft EIS and how to coordinate to provide comments to the Joint Leads by

the June 8, 2020 deadline.

Reclamation has submitted its quarterly report for expenditures and commitments related

to the NM Unit environmental compliance process in the first quarter of 2020. This report

shows that as of March 31, 2020, $4.7 million (~93%) has been expended or obligated, out

of the $5.1 million advanced by the NMISC to Reclamation for the NEPA process.

Reclamation’s Bi-Annual Project Plan for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022, which the

Commission considered in April but did not act on, will again be presented to the

Commission at the June meeting of the Commission.

Non-NM Unit Projects:

As of May 5, 2020, notices to proceed (NTP’s) have been issued for a total of $7.4 million

out of the $9.1 million for the Non-NM Unit projects funded by the Commission. A total of

approximately $5.6 million (77% of the NTPs and 62% of the total awards) has been

Page | 8

expended by the grantees. Out of the 16 projects, seven projects are operational. Staff

continue to work with all non-NM Unit grantees on their respective projects and funding

agreements.

NM Unit Fund:

Pursuant to the Joint Powers Agreement between the NMISC and the State Investment

Council (Council), a total of $46 million has been invested out of the New Mexico Unit

Fund and the increase in the market value of that investment was $2.4 million as of March

31, 2020. Due to drastic stock market drop in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in

February and March, the NM Unit Fund investment experienced an approximate $8

million loss in market value in those two months. It should be noted, however, that the

Unit Fund asset allocation represents a rather conservative approach, which could be the

reason the total gain in market value remained positive even after the stock market

plummeted. As the stock market has increased significantly since the end of March, the

investment value is projected to be higher at the end of the next reporting period.

RIO GRANDE BASIN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Rio Grande Compact Administration:

o The 81st Annual Meeting of the Rio Grande Compact Commission has been

postponed indefinitely due to the current public health emergency. Information

and updates on rescheduling the meeting will be posted to the Agency web site.

Useable Water in Rio Grande Project Storage was approximately 560,000 acre-feet

during the first week of May 2020. Usable Water in project storage has been above the

Article VII trigger of 400,000 acre-feet since May 11, 2019. For the spring 2020 snow

melt runoff, Article VII restrictions will not be in effect, therefore native Rio Grande

water can be stored in post-1929 reservoirs.

At the annual meeting of the Engineer Advisers to the Rio Grande Compact Commission, the New Mexico Engineer Adviser determined that New Mexico will have an Accrued Debit of 38,800 acre-feet for calendar year 2020. This means that to the extent that storage operations occur in post-1929 reservoirs in New Mexico, the Rio Grande Compact Commissioner will request that water be retained, to the extent of the Accrued Debit, as required by Article VI of the Compact.

The New Mexico Engineer Adviser is coordinating with MRGCD and Reclamation on retention of debit water in El Vado Reservoir, and also with the City of Santa Fe on retention of debit water in Nichols and McClure Reservoirs for calendar year 2020.

WATER OPERATIONS

The May 1, 2020 NRCS Water Supply forecast for the Rio Grande was even lower in

volume than the April 1, 2020 forecast. The April 1, 2020 forecast indicated a most

Page | 9

probable inflow into El Vado Reservoir on the Rio Chama for the March through July

period of 125,000 acre-feet, or 56 percent of average. The May 1 forecast dropped to

less than 90,000 acre-feet for that same time period, or 36% of average. Similarly, the

May 1 forecast for the Rio Grande at Otowi gage for March through July is 260,000

acre-feet, also 36 percent of average. And, the forecast flow for the Rio Grande at San

Marcial gage is now 80,000 acre-feet, or 16 percent of average, down from 191,000

acre-feet in April. These very significant drops in forecasted runoff volumes, should

they transpire, will have significant impacts on Rio Grande water operations for the

spring and summer of 2020.

The Annual Operating Plan (AOP) model runs using the April 1, 2020 water supply

forecast indicated Usable Water in Project Storage would likely fall below the 400,000

acre-foot trigger level for upstream storage restrictions by mid to late June 2020,

depending upon downstream irrigation operations. With the May 1 forecast, Useable

Water could fall below the trigger level a month earlier.

El Vado Dam is currently limited to a maximum storage of about 115,000 acre-feet

due to dam safety constraints (down from 185,000 acre-feet). Based on the April AOP

runs and current snowpack volumes, it was unlikely that storage of native water in El

Vado would reach the 115,000 acre-feet maximum during snow melt runoff. Now it is

clear El Vado Reservoir will not store anywhere near the amount of water previously

projected in April. Additionally, the April AOP runs indicated MRGCD would release

all its native water stored in El Vado before the end of August; that run out will now

occur earlier. In fact, MRGCD may need to rely almost entirely on its San Juan Chama

Project water in storage to meet irrigation demand.

Staff continue to participate in preliminary planning for the Rio Grande Basin Study.

Staff are reviewing a draft Memorandum of Agreement for the study and hope to have

it signed next month.

Page | 10

Staff continue discussions with Reclamation and the City of Rio Rancho on a tri-lateral

agreement to lease water rights from Rio Rancho and move those rights into the

middle Rio Grande reach of the Strategic Water Reserve. When the lease language is

finalized, staff will present to the Commission and request approval to enter into the

lease.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

The Minnow Action Team (MAT), an ad hoc workgroup of the Collaborative Program

consisting of agency hydrologists and biologists, completed recommendations for

water operations related to endangered species for the spring runoff. These include

creating small flow spikes that are intended to cue fish to spawn and allow agencies to

collect eggs for the captive propagation program. These recommendations are likely

to stay the same under the May 1 forecast given that the April forecast was already

well below average.

NMISC staff contributed comments on the revised designation of critical habitat for

the Western Distinct Segment of the Yellow Billed Cuckoo (Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-

2013-0011-1166). Staff requested consideration of exclusion of the Upper and Middle

Rio Grande units in New Mexico from critical habitat because of the many

conservation measures in place through the 2016 Biological Opinion and the activities

Page | 11

of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program as well as other

conservation plans in the area.

The Los Lunas Silvery Minnow Refugium has begun spawning brood stock to grow

approximately 40,000 young-of-year fish in their outdoor systems. The demand for

Rio Grande Silvery Minnow to augment into the river in the fall of 2020 is expected to

be high this year because of the poor spring runoff and, subsequently, predicted low

fish numbers. US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) estimates at least 200,000 fish will be

needed for augmentation.

Along with the State Engineer, staff submitted a joint comment letter to the USFWS

regarding its proposal to issue a categorical exclusion under the National

Environmental Policy Act for an Incidental Take Permit for a Pueblo of Santa Clara

water project. Both NMISC staff and the State Engineer indicated that the project did

not meet categorical exclusion requirements because of significant unresolved issues

related to water supply, water rights, permitting requirements, and potential

detriment to downstream diversions and the management and administration of

water on the Rio Grande. The USFWS has now extended the comment period and staff

is considering whether to submit additional comments related to the 2016 Middle Rio

Grande Biological Opinion.

CANADIAN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Canadian River Compact Commission – Governor Lujan Grisham has appointed NMISC Director Rolf Schmidt-Petersen as interim Canadian Compact Commissioner. The date for a compact meeting this year has not yet been set due to the public health emergency.

WATER OPERATIONS

The May 1 Basin Outlook Report from the NRCS has not yet been published for the

Canadian Basin. The May 1 outlook will be lower than April 1st but not as much lower

as in the Rio Grande. The April 1st Basin Outlook Report from the NRCS indicated an

average snowpack in the Canadian River Basin but the snowpack decreased during the

month due to limited storms and warm weather. Current storage in Conchas Reservoir

is approximately 126,600 acre-feet (40% of capacity), storage in Ute Reservoir is

approximately 160,400 acre-feet (78% of capacity), and storage in Eagle Nest

Reservoir is approximately 43,200 acre-feet (55% of capacity).

COSTILLA

The May 1st snowmelt stream flow forecast from the NRCS for Costilla Creek near Costilla dropped from 75% of average April 1 to about 50 percent of average. The April-July streamflow forecast for Costilla Creek near Costilla is

Page | 12

now 12,500 acre-feet. Current storage in Costilla Reservoir is approximately 8,500 acre-feet (54% of capacity).

PECOS RIVER BASIN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Compact Accounting – New Mexico anticipates receiving the federal Pecos River Master’s preliminary accounting for Water Year 2019 sometime before May 15. Objections to that accounting are to be submitted by both states to the River Master by June 15. NMISC staff currently anticipate an under-delivery for Water Year 2019 of approximately 10,000 acre-feet. Final accounting for Water Year 2019 is completed by the River Master by July 1. New Mexico’s current cumulative credit through Water Year 2018 is calculated by the River Master to be 176,100 acre-feet. (This cumulative credit includes the 16,600 acre-feet that are currently disputed with Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court.)

Pecos River Commission 2020 Meetings –The annual meeting of the Commission that was scheduled for May 19, 2020 in Del Rio, Texas has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. In the coming months the Commissioners will determine a new meeting date and whether the meeting will be held in person or via video conference. Commission meetings are open to the public.

WATER OPERATIONS

Projected Carlsbad Project Supply for June 1 – On May 1 the Pecos Settlement Agreement projection of supply for the Carlsbad Project on June 1 was 94,957 acre-feet, which is almost 30,000 acre-feet higher than the target supply of 65,000 acre-feet for that date. (Per the Settlement, this projection includes all waters already diverted by the Carlsbad Irrigation District for the 2020 irrigation season.) Accordingly, no augmentation pumping is required at this time. This projection includes the NRCS streamflow forecast for April through July at the USGS Above Santa Rosa Lake gage, which has dropped to 69% of average, or approximately 36,000 acre-feet. Without sufficient summer monsoon storms or winter precipitation, supplies may be short for the 2021 irrigation season.

Carlsbad Land Sale – Closing on the sale of one of two remaining properties purchased by the NMISC as part of the Pecos Settlement Agreement was finalized on April 29, 2020. Funds totaling $354,431.62 are scheduled to be received by the NMISC on May 4, 2020 and will be placed in the Pecos Land Management Fund.

Possible Water Rights Purchase – NMISC staff are proposing the purchase of water rights in the Roswell area to be completed this fiscal year. (See agenda item on this topic.)

Page | 13

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Texas Hornshell Mussel – Pecos Bureau staff continue to participate in the technical working group and stakeholder committee for the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the Texas hornshell. The Texas hornshell is a freshwater mussel existing in the Black and Delaware Rivers, tributaries to the lower Pecos River in New Mexico, and was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in March 2018. The technical working group will be making recommendations on flow targets in the Black River, which is the last significant tributary to the Pecos River above the Texas state line.

ADDITIONAL INFOMATION

VP Bar Lease - The NMISC is still waiting on direction from Reclamation related to a possible pipeline from the VP Bar well field northeast of Fort Sumner to Sumner Reservoir. In the meantime, these water rights have been moved to the Vaughan Conservation Pipeline allowing for an additional diversion there of 2,326 acre-feet per year to support river flows in the upper critical habitat reach for the Pecos bluntnose shiner.

ACEQUIA PROGRAM

KEY ISSUES

In early May, the Deprtment of Finance and Adminstration placed a freeze on all general fund capital outlay appropriations that did not have completed contractual documents. The freeze will impact the Acequia Program activities outlined below. Staff will provide an update on impacts of the freeze at the June Commission meeting. • During the 2020 Legislative Session a Capital Outlay Bill (HB 349) was approved

by the House and Senate and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. This bill included funding for approximately 71 acequia projects totaling over $4.6M. NMISC staff worked with representatives of all 71 acequia project appropriation recipients to fill out their Severance Tax Bond Questionnaires by the deadline imposed by the Board of Finance.

• During the 2019 Legislative Session a Capital Outlay Bill (SB 280) was approved and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham authorizing funding for 67 projects totaling approximately $8.9M. This included an appropriation to the NMISC for $2M for acequia projects statewide, as was done in 2014. Staff have drafted and sent out Capital Outlay Agreements to these acequias in addition to hosting workshops to educate them on the requirements for utilizing these funds. To date, 55 of the agreements have been fully executed. Staff continue to send out emails to the remaining acequias that have not turned in their Capital Outlay Agreements to remind them that they are overdue.

Staff continue to work with all acequias that have received funding for US Army Corps of Engineers Section 1113 and NMISC 90/10 Acequia Rehabilitation Program projects. Funding agreements are being drafted and executed for these projects.

Page | 14

Staff are meeting with the NM Acequia Commission and the NM Acequia Association on developing guidelines and critera for program eligibility, applications and selection requirements for implementation of the Acequia and Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund Act which passed during the 2019 Legislative Session (SB 438) and takes effect on July 1, 2020 for all NMISC acequia rehabilitation projects.

WATER PLANNING

The Water Planner position was advertised but unfortunately is on hold due to the statewide hiring freeze.

Completed the 2020 Water Data Plan, as required by the Water Data Act https://newmexicowaterdata.org/WaterDataPlan_April2020.pdf

Sent an email campaign providing a link to the 2020 Water Data Plan to approximately 200 water planning stakeholders

Continued Water Planning outreach work with MoxieCran Media

Created outlines for videos related to Water Planning and the Water Data Act; conducted first interview on the topic with a water management professional

Participated in Water Data Implementation Team and Technical Team meetings

Supported and participated in a virtual Water Data Workshop to learn about examples of integrated water data from other states, and some updates on how New Mexico is progressing toward more modern data management. If you missed parts of it, or need more information - here is a link to the presentations.

Completed FY21 Annual Work Plan for Commission consideration at the May 13, 2020 meeting.

Rio Grande Basin Study

Continued coordination and participation with the Rio Grande Bureau is ongoing

Participation in weekly Rio Grande Basin Study conference calls is ongoing

Program staff are working with Legal and the Rio Grande Bureau team to finalize the MOA between BOR and the NMISC for this project