TRUCKEE RIVER WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT.

SEC. 205. TRUCKEE RIVER WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT. (a) Operating Agreement.— 104 STAT. 3305 (1) The Secretary shall negotiate an operating agreement (hereafter “Operating Agreement”) with the State of Nevada and the State of California, after consultation with such other parties as may be designated by the Secretary, the State of Nevada or the State of California. (2) The Operating Agreement shall provide for the operation of the Truckee River reservoirs and shall ensure that the reservoirs will be operated to: (A) satisfy all applicable dam safety and flood control requirements; (B) provide for the enhancement of spawning flows available in the Lower Truckee River for the Pyramid Lake fishery in a manner consistent with the Secretary’s responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act, as amended; (C) carry out the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement. Mitigation necessary to reduce or avoid significant adverse environmental effects, if any, of the implementation of the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement, including instream beneficial uses of water within the Truckee River basin, shall be provided through one or more mitigation agreements which shall be negotiated and executed by the parties to the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification agreement and the appropriate agencies of the States of Nevada and California; (D) ensure that water is stored in and released from Truckee River reservoirs to satisfy the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr Ditch decree and Truckee River General Electric decree, except for those rights that are voluntarily relinquished by the parties to the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement, or by any other persons or entities, or which are transferred pursuant to State law; and (E) minimize the Secretary’s costs associated with operation and maintenance of Stampede Reservoir. (3) The Operating Agreement may include, but is not limited to, provisions concerning the following subjects: (A) administration of the Operating Agreement, including but not limited to establishing or designating an agency or court to oversee operation of the Truckee River and Truckee River reservoirs; (B) means of assuring compliance with the provisions of the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement and the Operating Agreement; (C) operations of the Truckee River system which will not be changed; (D) operations and procedures for use of Federal facilities for the purpose of meeting the Secretary’s responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act, as amended; (E) methods to diminish the likelihood of Lake Tahoe dropping below its natural rim and to improve the efficient use of Lake Tahoe water under extreme drought conditions; (F) procedures for management and operations at the Truckee River reservoirs; 104 STAT. 3306 (G) procedures for operation of the Truckee River reservoirs for instream beneficial uses of water within the Truckee River basin; (H) operation of other reservoirs in the Truckee River basin to the extent that owners of affected storage rights become parties to the Operating Agreement; and (I) procedures and criteria for implementing California’s allocation of Truckee River water. (4) To enter into effect, the Operating Agreement shall be executed by the Secretary, the State of Nevada, and the State of California and shall be submitted to the Orr Ditch court and the Truckee River General Electric court for approval of any necessary modifications in the provisions of the Orr Ditch decree or the Truckee River General Electric decree. Other affected parties may be offered the opportunity to execute the Operating Agreement. (5) When an Operating Agreement meeting the requirements of this subsection has been approved by the Secretary, the State of Nevada, and the State of California, the Secretary, pursuant to title 5 of the United States Code, shall promulgate the Operating Agreement, together with such additional measures as have been agreed to by the Secretary, the State of Nevada, and the State of California, as the exclusive Federal regulations governing the Operating Agreement. The Secretary and the other signatories to the Operating Agreement shall, if necessary, develop and implement a plan to mitigate for any significant adverse environmental impacts resulting from the Operating Agreement. Any subsequent changes to the Operating Agreement must be adopted and promulgated in the same manner as the original Operating Agreement. Any changes which affect the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement must also be approved by the signatories thereto. Judicial review of any such promulgation of the Operating Agreement may be had by any aggrieved party in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California or the United States District Court for District of Nevada. A request for review must be filed not later than 90 days after the promulgation of the Operating Agreement becomes final, and by a person who participated in the administrative proceedings leading to the final promulgation. The scope of such review shall be limited to the administrative record and the standard of review shall be that prescribed in 5 U.S.C. 706(2)(A)-(D): Provided, That the limits on judicial review in this paragraph shall not apply to any claim based on the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, as amended. (6) The Secretary shall take such other actions as are necessary to implement the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement and to implement the Operating Agreement, including entering into contracts for the use of space in Truckee River reservoirs for the purposes of storing or exchanging water, subject to the preconditions that the Sierra Pacific Power Company and the Secretary shall have executed a mutually satisfactory agreement for payment by Sierra-Pacific Power Company of appropriate amounts for the availability and use of storage capacity in Stampede Reservoir and other reservoirs. 104 STAT. 3307 (7) As provided in the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement, firm and non-firm municipal and industrial credit water and the 7,500 acrefeet of fishery credit water in Stampede Reservoir to be available under worse than critical drought conditions shall be used only to supply municipal and industrial needs when drought conditions or emergency or repair conditions exist, or as may be required to be converted to fishery credit water. None of these quantities of water shall be used to serve normal year municipal and industrial needs except when an emergency or repair condition exists. (8) Subject to the terms and conditions of the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement, all of the fishery credit water established thereunder shall be used by the United States solely for the benefit of the Pyramid Lake fishery. (9) In negotiating the Operating Agreement, the Secretary shall satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and regulations issued to implement the provisions thereof. The Secretary may not become a party to the Operating Agreement if the Secretary determines that the effects of such action, together with cumulative effects, are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of any designated critical habitat of such species. (b) Authorization for Use of Washoe Project Facilities, Truckee River Storage Facilities, and Lake Tahoe Dam and Reservoir.— (1) The Secretary is authorized to use Washoe Project facilities, Truckee River Storage Project facilities, and Lake Tahoe Dam and Reservoir for the storage of non-project water to fulfill the purposes of this title, including the Preliminary Settlement Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement and the Operating Agreement. The Secretary shall collect appropriate charges for such uses. (2) Payments received by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection and paragraph 205(a)(6) shall be credited annually first to pay the operation and maintenance costs of Stampede Reservoir, then covered into the Lahontan Valley and Pyramid Lake Fish and Wildlife Fund created pursuant to subsection 206(f) of this title, with funds not needed for those purposes, if any, credited to the Reclamation Fund. (3) The Secretary is authorized to enter into an interim agreement with the Sierra Pacific Power Company and Pyramid Lake Tribe to store water owned by Sierra Pacific Power Company in Stampede Reservoir, except that the amount of such storage shall not exceed 5,000 acrefeet on September 1 of any year, such agreement shall be superseded by the Preliminary Settlement as modified by the Ratification Agreement and the Operating Agreement upon the entry into effect of those agreements. (c) Release of Washoe Project Repayment Obligation — The Secretary is released from any obligation to secure payment for the costs of constructing Washoe Project facilities, other than the power plant, including those specified in the Act of August 1, 1956, 70 Stat. 775, and under Federal reclamation laws, and such costs are hereby made non-reimbursable. Authority to construct a reservoir at the 104 STAT. 3308Watasheamu site, together with other necessary works for impoundment, diversion, and delivery of water, generation and transmission of hydroelectric power, and drainage of lands as conferred to the Secretary in the Act of August 1, 1956, 70 Stat. 775, is hereby revoked.