蜜柚直播

A newly disclosed memo from that year, written by a CAP attorney, characterized the proposal as a sale of some of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Colorado River water to the giant, six-county Metropolitan Water District in Southern California. Such a sale would be controversial in 蜜柚直播, given the longstanding adversarial relationship over water between the two states.

The deal would have allowed the 鈥淢et鈥� to store or use 60,000 acre-feet of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Colorado River water for about $17 million in payments to CAP and a promise to return that water later to CAP, which serves drinking water to 蜜柚直播 and Phoenix.

CAP officials said then and now that the arrangement would only have been to store 60,000 acre-feet of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 share of river water with the Southern California water district 鈥� not to sell it. But 蜜柚直播 Department of Water Resources officials have now seized on the 2015 memo to say this was a 鈥渞ogue action鈥� by CAP that shows that agency鈥檚 authority must be curbed.

Under the proposed deal, the Met would have been required to return the water to 蜜柚直播 when Lake Mead dropped below 1,050 feet, far lower than it is now. That low a lake level would trigger a serious shortage for the CAP, a $4 billion 蜜柚直播 water project. But the deal was killed after the 蜜柚直播 Department of Water Resources objected to it as illegal and bad policy.

State water resources officials say the May 2015 memo to four CAP officials from private CAP attorney Stuart Somach is a smoking gun.

The Sacramento-based lawyer wrote that 鈥淚 am not at all sure that one ever avoids the obvious reality that 蜜柚直播 is, to a greater or lesser degree, selling water to California.鈥�

Overall, Somach鈥檚 memo was favorable to the idea of the water transaction on other grounds. But its release has been used by the 蜜柚直播 Department of Water Resources as ammunition in its effort to get legislation passed curbing CAP鈥檚 legal authority.

These proposed measures have been debated by a Colorado River working group, appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey, that鈥檚 been meeting privately through the summer.

One proposal under discussion would forbid CAP from hiring a Washington, D.C., lobbyist. Another would require periodic state audits of CAP鈥檚 performance.

CAP officials, however, say that far from taking a rogue action, they were working with the state water department back in 2015 to evaluate the California plan in a 鈥渃ollaborative and deliberative manner.鈥�

The very fact that the CAP bowed to the state agency鈥檚 objections shows it was hardly acting as a rogue, project officials say.

Somach 鈥渨as making a point about the public perception of the proposal,鈥� not coming to a legal conclusion with regard to a 鈥渟ale,鈥� CAP spokeswoman Crystal Thompson said in an email to the Star.

鈥淭he first part of the transaction involved 蜜柚直播 water being stored in California, with California compensating 蜜柚直播 for the costs involved. By itself, that would look like a sale,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淗owever, viewed as a whole, the proposal involved the second part, occurring later in time, which would have required California to return the same amount of water to 蜜柚直播 (during a shortage). That element makes it clearly not a sale.鈥�

Private water attorney Kathleen Ferris, who was director of the state Department of Water Resources in the mid-1980s, countered that Somach 鈥渟ays the obvious reality, not the perception, is that 蜜柚直播 is by a greater or lesser degree selling water to California. CAP can claim anything they want but the facts are now what they are.鈥�

Tom Buschatzke, the Department of Water Resources鈥� current director, said, 鈥淚f their own attorney says it鈥檚 a sale, how is it not a sale? It would boggle my mind that anyone who read that would interpret that to mean it is anything other than a sale.鈥�

Somach鈥檚 office referred a reporter鈥檚 request to speak to the attorney on the 2015 memo to CAP spokeswoman Thompson.

SHORTAGE PRESSURES

The CAP-Met deal was conceived at a time when short-term conditions on Lake Mead were more precarious than now. This month, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that after an unusually snowy winter in the northern Rockies, the Colorado River and its reservoirs, lakes Mead and Powell, contain enough water that there is no chance of a shortage in 2018. There is a 31 percent chance of a shortage in 2019, the bureau said.

At the end of April 2015, by contrast, the previous winter鈥檚 snowpack was low enough that the bureau was predicting a much bigger chance of imminent shortages.

The Metropolitan Water District was facing its own water pressures then, as the California drought was peaking. The Met had received only 5 percent of its normal supplies from the California State Water Project鈥檚 reservoirs in 2014.

The CAP laid out the early terms of the California deal in an April 20, 2015, memo, marked 鈥淐onfidential and Privileged.鈥� It鈥檚 one of a package of memos on the deal that CAP gave the governor鈥檚 river working group this summer, including Somach鈥檚. Until then, state and CAP officials had withheld Somach鈥檚 memo under a confidentiality agreement. Buschatzke said his agency decided to release it this month because CAP had given it to other parties.

The money paid to 蜜柚直播 in this deal would have gone partly to CAP, some to offset higher water costs its customers 鈥� including 蜜柚直播 鈥� would pay for river water if less was available in a shortage. Some would have been spent to build wells and other infrastructure to retrieve water that鈥檚 been stored underground across 蜜柚直播 to be used during a severe shortage. The rest would have gone to the 蜜柚直播 Water Banking Authority, which buys and recharges otherwise unused Colorado River water into the aquifer.

Besides the money paid to 蜜柚直播, the deal鈥檚 鈥減ros鈥� were that California would share a shortage with 蜜柚直播 by repaying CAP the 鈥渟tored鈥� water during a shortage, CAP鈥檚 memo said.

California has been considered free of worries about shortages because the 1968 law that authorized CAP鈥檚 construction gave California first priority for river water during shortages and 蜜柚直播 last priority.

Plus, the CAP would be supporting California during its drought, which theoretically would improve relations between the two fractious states.

But the memo acknowledged a key 鈥渃on鈥�: that this transaction would risk the 鈥渙ptics鈥� of 鈥渟elling鈥� 蜜柚直播鈥檚 unused water to the Metropolitan Water District, an agency long feared and distrusted in some circles in this state.

Plus, the memo said the deal would not address the Lower Colorado River Basin鈥檚 structural deficit between water use and supply that many experts consider the root cause of Lake Mead鈥檚 problems.

In several memos, CAP saw this plan as a demonstration project, implying that it could be done in future years if the first year proved successful.

Somach鈥檚 May 12 memo laid out several uncertainties about the deal, including 鈥渨ho, in fact, benefits from this transaction.鈥�

But he did find merit in the idea that it would have provided 鈥渞eal wet water鈥� to CAP during a shortage.

鈥淭hat benefit has a great deal of value,鈥� he wrote.

On July 7, 2015, CAP official Chuck Cullom wrote other CAP officials an email saying water director Buschatzke and other state officials not only supported the concepts behind the deal, they were 鈥渋n lockstep鈥� on key issues.

OFFICIALS鈥� MEMORIES CLASH

In an interview this month, however, Buschatzke denied that his agency had ever endorsed the deal. That鈥檚 one of several differences the two agencies鈥� officials have in their recollections of it.

His agency knew nothing of this agreement until meeting with CAP and Met officials in mid-June, 鈥渨hen we were invited to talk about drought planning,鈥� Buschatzke said.

After evaluating the proposal, the state water department鈥檚 attorneys concluded it wasn鈥檛 legal and that the only agency in 蜜柚直播 authorized to do any form of interstate water banking 鈥� as this deal was proposed 鈥� is the 蜜柚直播 Water Banking Authority.

Even then, the only forms of interstate banking authorized for the authority would be in 蜜柚直播, not out of state, Ferris said.

The state got most of the agreement鈥檚 key details after it signed a confidentiality agreement on them on July 7, 2015, Buschatzke said. 鈥淭wo weeks later, we did our analysis and told CAP that this deal was not going to work,鈥� he said.

On Aug. 7, 2015, CAP General Manager Ted Cooke wrote to Met officials that after talking with Buschatzke and meeting in executive session with CAP鈥檚 governing board, it was clear this deal couldn鈥檛 proceed.

Another reason the department opposed the deal is that the river water California would get could have been used instead to prop up Lake Mead to help avert a shortage, Buschatzke said.

鈥淲e had a 75,000 acre-feet buffer at the lake, and CAP was going to take 60,000 of this buffer and ship it out to Met. This would have put 蜜柚直播 at risk ... of going into shortage,鈥� he said.

CAP DEFENDS DEAL

In her memo to the Star this month, CAP spokeswoman Thompson said fears the deal could have caused a shortage were unfounded.

The water that would have been stored with the Met had been planned to be delivered 鈥� and was ultimately delivered 鈥� to the 蜜柚直播 water bank鈥檚 underground recharge basins that year, Thompson said.

鈥淭he result in either case was the same 鈥� there would have been no change to Lake Mead鈥� if the deal had gone through, she said.

鈥淐AP is saddened and disappointed that ADWR would continue to make false statements about discussions from two years ago, particularly since ADWR was party to the discussions and no agreement or action resulted,鈥� Thompson wrote.

鈥淭his political rhetoric is a distraction that weakens and divides 蜜柚直播 water users at the very time 蜜柚直播 water managers need to work cooperatively to address the very real water issues facing our state.鈥�

But her statement regarding Lake Mead is contradicted by two memos contained in the package of documents CAP gave to the governor鈥檚 Colorado River task force. The memos, dated July 7 and July 8 of 2015 and again marked confidential, said the water the Met would store was water that CAP planned to use or store in Mead.

CAP also disagrees with the state on whether the deal was illegal.

Somach鈥檚 May 2015 memo and Thompson鈥檚 comments to the Star this month said CAP was authorized by federal interstate storage regulations to store the water in California.

Plus, 鈥渢he transaction was entirely within CAP鈥檚 authorities under 蜜柚直播 law,鈥� Thompson said.

Thompson didn鈥檛 reply to requests from the Star for specifics on how the deal complied with 蜜柚直播 law.