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NMISC Staff Report August 26, 2019

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction

Center on August 12 stated, “ENSOi-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea

surface temperatures (SSTs) are above average across the western and central Pacific

Ocean and are below average in the eastern Pacific. The pattern of anomalous

convection and winds are generally consistent with ENSO-neutral. El Niño/Southern

Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral is most likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere

winter 2019-20 (50-55% chance). In general, ENSO neutral conditions result in near

average precipitation for New Mexico over the next few months.

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).

The parties are currently involved in discovery. Over 250,000 fact documents have been

exchanged and over 25 fact depositions taken. On May 31, 2019, Texas and the U.S.

provided their experts’ reports and the Texas model. At this point, the entire litigation

team and all the New Mexico technical experts are actively involved in analyzing these

reports and the model and preparing critique and rebuttal, in addition to working on

their own expert reports and completing the New Mexico model. We expect to begin

depositions of Texas and U.S. experts shortly. The deadline for the New Mexico experts

to provide their reports and the New Mexico model is October 31, 2019.

In its May 31 experts’ disclosure Texas raised the issue of water quality, and has

recently conducted water and soil testing inspections of about 15 EBID and EP#1 farms;

New Mexico has had to engage water quality experts to deal with this new issue raised

by Texas.

The Special Master has not ruled on the 24 briefs argued before him on April 2, and it is

anticipated that that ruling – when issued – will impact the scope of the litigation.

Currently, the parties are involved in very high-level preliminary settlement discussions.

Gaume v. NMISC et al., Court of Appeals No. 36038 - This is an appeal of the

attorneys’ fees awarded by the First judicial District Court to the NMISC following

summary judgment in a case brought by Mr. Norman Gaume pursuant to the Open

Meetings Act. On July 31, 2019, the New Mexico Court of Appeals issued an opinion in

the case, ruling that a district court has no discretion to award damages to a wrongfully

enjoined Defendant in the absence of an injunction bond. The parties have 30 days to

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appeal this ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court. This case will be discussed

during the closed session today.

Select Energy Services v. Tom Blaine - Fifth Judicial District Court No. D-504-CV-2019-

00054 (Appeal of the NMOSE decision regarding 33 protested Applications for Pecos

River Settlement Augmentation Pumping)

This is a District Court appeal of an administrative decision by the NMOSE, granting 33

permits to the NMISC to add new points of diversion, places of uses and a new use to

water rights acquired by the NMISC for transfer into the NMISC’s Pecos well fields. The

NMISC and the NMOSE had a settlement conference on August 19, 2019, with

protestants Select Energy and the Gregory Rockhouse Ranch. The trial is scheduled to

begin in November 2020.

Intrepid Potash-New Mexico LLC - (HU#s 18-007, 18-009, 18-011, 18-012, 18-043, 18-

044, 18-045, 18-046)

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 into two phases: the first phase will address the validity of

Intrepid’s licensed rights (i.e., whether they have lost any of the rights through

forfeiture and abandonment). The State Engineer’s Office, the NMISC, and the other

Protestants have jointly filed a motion for expedited inter se in the adjudication court,

and a hearing on that motion took place on August 21. Unless there is a stay in the

Hearings Unit, expert reports on the validity of Intrepid’s rights will be due in the

administrative unit at the end of August.

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.

Texas filed a motion for review in the Supreme Court of the River Master’s

determination to credit New Mexico with about 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. Briefing is complete, but the

Supreme Court has invited the Solicitor General to provide its views on the merits of

the motion. The Solicitor General is likely to file its brief in August or September.

NMISC Staff and outside counsel traveled to Washington, DC on July 13 and met with

the Solicitor General’s office staff. The Supreme Court is not expected to rule on the

Motion before October 2019.

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COLORADO RIVER BASIN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Lake Powell and Lake Mead provide most of the water storage in the Colorado

River Basin. Due to interstate water agreements, the volume of water in these

reservoirs affects the level of risk of shortage for New Mexico users of Upper

Colorado River Basin water. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) determines

annual releases from these reservoirs based on the 2007 Interim Guidelines, the 2019

Drought Contingency Plans (DCPs), and the 2017 Minute 323 with Mexico. These

three agreements end at the end of 2025. The Secretary of the Interior must initiate

a review of the 2007 Interim Guidelines by the end of 2020. NMISC staff is

preparing for negotiations on Colorado River Basin management after 2025.

Reclamation performs monthly 24-Month Studies to forecast the water elevations of

Colorado River system reservoirs over the following two years. In accordance with

interstate and international agreements, Reclamation uses the August 24-Month

Study’s projections of the Lake Powell and Lake Mead elevations on the following

January 1 to determine the release volumes from those reservoirs in the coming

year. On August 15, Reclamation announced that the 2020 release volume for Lake

Powell will be a typical 8.23 million acre-feet (maf), with a possible spring increase

to as high as 9.0 maf. Given the projected water elevation for Lake Mead, in

previous years the Lake Mead release would have been a normal 7.5 maf for the

lower states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) and 1.5 maf for Mexico. However,

with the DCPs in effect for the first time, the lower states will receive 200,000 acre-

feet less and Mexico will receive 41,000 acre-feet less than they would have without

the DCPs in place.

The La Plata River is almost always short of water in the summer. Because of this,

Colorado and New Mexico agreed to one of the earliest interstate water compacts –

the La Plata River Compact – in 1922. Each year, when and if necessary, NMISC

staff notifies Colorado that New Mexico water users are in need of the compact

deliveries and Colorado begins limiting their water users for the purpose of

delivering the compact amounts to New Mexico. Due to higher and longer than

normal run-off this year, this compact call was not needed until July 8. Since that

date, Colorado has mostly succeeded in making compact deliveries.

WATER OPERATIONS

Colorado River Basin system-wide reservoir storage is at 55% of full, compared

with 49% at this time last year. Many of the smaller reservoirs are above 90% full,

but Lake Powell and Lake Mead are 57% and 39% full respectively. Reclamation

forecasts Lake Powell to finish water year 2019 with 125% of the average yearly

inflow. This will be just the fifth year of the last twenty with above-average

inflows. Last year’s inflow to Lake Powell was 43% of average.

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The inflow to Navajo Reservoir for April through July was 158% of average, and the

reservoir is now 89% full. Reclamation operates Navajo Reservoir in part to

maintain San Juan River baseflows of 500-1000 cfs in the endangered species critical

habitat reach from Farmington to Lake Powell. Navajo Reservoir has an End-of-

Water-Year Storage Target that also affects release amounts. If, given the expected

inflows and water uses, extra water remains above this target volume at the end of

the water year, then Reclamation may release this water for environmental flows

such as spring peak releases. This year, the San Juan River Basin Recovery

Implementation Program (San Juan RIP) requested that Reclamation augment the

baseflows in the critical habitat reach. Reclamation is currently releasing extra

water to increase the flow to 1500 cfs in that reach. Reclamation plans to continue

this as long as there is water available above the storage target.

New Mexico participates in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.

One project of this group is the Paradox Valley Unit in western Colorado, which

captures salty brine before it enters the Dolores River and disposes this brine

through a deep injection well. Brine injection using the well increases seismicity in

the region. The seismicity is usually not noticeable, but an earthquake on March 4th

was the largest induced earthquake to date and Reclamation shut down the well

pending further studies. The NMISC is a Cooperating Agency in an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) investigating alternatives at the Paradox Valley Unit.

Reclamation will release the Administrative Draft of this EIS on August 30th for

review by the Cooperating Agencies.

NMISC staff is coordinating surface water modeling efforts in the San Juan Basin

with Reclamation, the Office of the State Engineer in Aztec, and the San Juan Water

Commission to aid in understanding, planning, and administering direct flow and

storage releases from Navajo Reservoir through the San Juan, as well as assisting

with shepherding releases of Animas-La Plata Project water from Colorado, across

the state line, to users in New Mexico. The model(s) will include all the major

reservoirs and diversion points for agricultural and municipal uses. The Navajo

Indian Irrigation Project and Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project may also be

included in the model for simulation, accounting, and planning.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

The San Juan RIP committees have met a number of times this summer and will

soon vote on the FY2020 work plan to determine which projects to fund in support

of razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow recovery.

Federal authorization and funding for the San Juan RIP, which provides

endangered species compliance for all New Mexico water users in the San Juan

Basin plus the San Juan-Chama Project diversions into the Rio Grande Basin, is

slated to expire in federal fiscal year 2023. The San Juan RIP (including NMISC

staff) and the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program continue

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to work together to conduct post-2023 planning and provide recommendations that

will result in self-sustaining populations. Federal funding for the San Juan RIP in

federal FY2021 is anticipated but has not yet been secured.

As a result of the improved status of the razorback sucker, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s Region 6 Office (Denver) is drafting a proposed rule to downlist

the species from endangered to threatened. The proposed rule, requesting public

comment, will be published in the Federal Register in the fall of 2019. The San Juan

RIP program goals would remain unchanged if the razorback sucker is downlisted

because the program’s purpose is to recover both endangered and threatened fish

species.

GILA/SAN FRANCISCO BASIN

In contrast to most other parts of New Mexico where river flows have been near or

above average for much of the year, flows in the Gila and San Francisco Rivers from

June 6 to August 13 ranged from 11% to 48% of the historic average for the same

period. These numbers do not adequately capture how dry the situation is at the

Village of Virden. From July 1 through August 2, the Blue Creek gage, which is

located about 10 miles upstream of Virden, measured less than 5 cfs in the Gila

River.

Staff attended the New Mexico CAP Entity’s meeting on July 2, 2019. At that

meeting, the Entity reviewed the Preliminary Draft Environment Impact Statement

(PDEIS) from June 17, 2019 and discussed potential comments for submittal to the

Joint Leads (Reclamation and the NMISC). After review of the PDEIS and the

associated preliminary economic analyses, the Entity approved an amendment to

remove portions of their Proposed Action. The Joint Leads incorporated the

amendment into the EIS process and now anticipate the draft EIS will be published

near the end of calendar year 2019.

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

Investment Council, a total of $37 million has been invested out of the New Mexico

Unit Fund and the increase in the market value of that investment is $7.1 million as

of June 30, 2019.

Non-NM Unit Projects: As of August 14, 2019, notices to proceed have been issued

for a total of $7.3 million out of the $9.1 million for the Non-NM Unit projects

authorized by the Commission. A total of approximately $3.5 million (48% of the

NTPs and 38% of the total awards) has been expended by the grantees. Out of the

16 projects, construction for 5 projects has been completed. One project is on hold

indefinitely. Staff continues to work with all non-NM Unit grantees on their

respective projects and funding agreements.

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RIO GRANDE BASIN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

Article VII storage restrictions of the Rio Grande Compact on reservoirs constructed

after 1929 upstream of Elephant Butte have been lifted since May 11, 2019 allowing

MRGCD to storage a significant amount of water in El Vado reservoir. Rio Grande

Basin Annual Operating Plan model runs indicate Useable Water in Project Storage

will fall below the 400,000 acre-foot level briefly during late fall 2019, but be lifted

again by the end of the year.

The Otowi Index Supply surpassed 1 million acre-feet in early July. This is

noteworthy because upon surpassing approximately 1 million acre-feet, New

Mexico’s Middle Valley depletions of that flow are capped at 405,000 acre-feet for

the year by Article IV of the Rio Grande Compact. Staff forecasts also indicate that

the Annual Otowi Index Supply may reach 1.4 million acre-feet for 2019. The last

time the Annual Otowi Index Supply exceeded 1.4 million acre-feet was in 1995.

About one million acre-feet of water will be delivered to Elephant Butte in 2019.

In high runoff years it is more difficult for New Mexico to make its required Article

IV Compact delivery to Elephant Butte, and the State is behind on deliveries this

year to date. Staff is working closely with other water managers, especially Middle

Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), to aid in meeting the Article IV

obligation by the end of the year.

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WATER OPERATIONS

During late July, two sediment plugs formed in the Rio Grande, impeding flow and

forcing water from the river channel into overbank areas, resulting in increased

depletions and reduced deliveries into Elephant Butte Reservoir. Each sediment

plug is currently more than a mile in length.

One sediment plug is located within the Bosque del Apache (BDA) National

Wildlife Refuge and the other is located within the Elephant Butte Delta Channel,

upstream of the Narrows. Staff is coordinating with the Reclamation to address the

plugs. Reclamation plans to address the BDA plug as part of a previously planned

river realignment project with work beginning in mid-September. The NMISC will

be addressing the Delta Channel plug using a contractor to excavate sediment to

open the plug to convey water efficiently again.

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WATER OPERATIONS, continued

Given the impact that the 2019 spring snowmelt runoff has had on the river system

and associated water management infrastructure, the NMISC is preparing to

implement a full maintenance season this coming fall and winter for the NMISC’s

Rio Grande Delta Channel and other river maintenance issues, such as assisting

Reclamation with the BDA sediment plug. Doing so may require a request for a

supplemental appropriation depending on the estimated overall cost.

As part of ongoing river maintenance activities during 2019, NMISC staff

coordinated with Reclamation to repair a breach in the spoil bank levee at the upper

end of the Delta Channel, just upstream from the outfall with the low flow

conveyance channel.

Additionally, NMISC paid for its construction contractor, Kiewit, to assist the

MRGCD with flood fighting efforts in the Isleta Reach during the snow melt runoff.

Over 4,000 tons of rip rap and 1,000 tons of dirt were provided to MRGCD for it to

reinforce levees and to protect irrigation infrastructure.

During the 2019 snow melt runoff, the MRGCD stored over 100,000 acre-feet in El

Vado Reservoir. For 2019 to date, MRGCD has not had to release any stored water

to meet their irrigation demand. MRGCD may need to release storage from El Vado

to help reduce a potential New Mexico Compact Accrued Debit for the year. An

Accrued Debit in 2019 would require MRGCD to hold water in storage all year to

the extent of the Accrued Debit subject to call by the Texas Rio Grande Compact

Commissioner under specific circumstances.

Abiquiu Reservoir ceased flood control operations on July 1, 2019 after the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) evacuated flood storage retained in Abiquiu.

During flood control operations, the Corps is limited to releasing native water (no

San Juan Chama water) at the downstream channel capacity of 1,800 cfs.

Several parties recently reached an agreement to settle protests of water rights

transfer applications by the City of Rio Rancho (City). The Agreement is between

the MRGCD, Reclamation, Santa Ana and Isleta Pueblos, and the WildEarth

Guardians as the protestants, and the City as the applicant for the pending

transfers. The agreement contemplates use of the NMISC’s Strategic Water Reserve.

The NMISC is currently reviewing the agreement before bringing any specific

request to the Commission.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Above average flows continued during June and July throughout the Middle Rio

Grande. In June, Reclamation’s population monitoring efforts found that Rio

Grande Silvery Minnow were present in 24 of the 264 seine hauls that yielded fish

and at 11 of the 20 sampling sites. During June 2019, its overall density was 4.31 (n =

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412) fish/100 m2. This is preliminary information and the 2016 Biological Opinion

Incidental Take Statement limit is based on the official October density.

The Los Lunas Silvery Minnow Refugium has stocked larval fish in the outdoor

refugium and the tank systems. They are continuing to monitor growth of their fish

and expect to harvest fish in October at the request of the US Fish and Wildlife

Service.

CANADIAN

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

2019 Canadian River Compact Commission Meeting will be hosted by Texas this

year but the Annual Meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday, March 5th in Amarillo,

Texas has been postponed due to the lack of a NM Commissioner appointed to serve

on this Compact Commission.

WATER OPERATIONS

Current storage in Conchas Reservoir is approximately 162,000 acre-feet (51% of

capacity), storage in Ute Reservoir is approximately 173,100 acre-feet (84% of

capacity), and storage in Eagle Nest Reservoir is approximately 44,600 acre-feet (56%

of capacity).

COSTILLA

WATER OPERATIONS

Current storage in Costilla Reservoir is approximately 8,100 acre-feet (51% of

capacity). Reservoir releases have been necessary to meet the downstream demands

of all water users.

PECOS

INTERSTATE COMPACTS

United States Supreme Court – On July 23, 2019 NMISC staff met with the U.S.

Solicitor General’s office in Washington D.C. to discuss the current dispute between

Texas and New Mexico in the U.S. Supreme Court related to the storage of waters

for Texas in 2014 and 2015 in Brantley Reservoir. The Court invited the Solicitor

General’s office to file a brief “expressing the views of the United States with respect

to the motion for review of the River Master’s final determination” that was filed by

Texas in late 2018. On April 26, 2019 Texas filed their final briefing with the Court in

this case. Once the Court has heard from the Solicitor General’s office, a decision on

next steps is expected.

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Final Accounting for Water Year 2018 – On June 25, 2019 the federal Pecos River

Master issued final accounting for Water Year 2018 which includes a 5,300 acre-foot

credit to New Mexico, bringing the total cumulative credit to 176,100 acre-feet. Of

that, 16,600 acre-feet are disputed in the U.S. Supreme Court related to the storage

of waters for Texas in Brantley Reservoir in 2014 and 2015. Texas has requested an

extension of time in which to object with the U.S. Supreme Court to the Water Year

2018 accounting due of the disputed credit.

Intrepid Potash Water Right Applications – On August 21, 2019 a hearing in the

adjudication court will be held on the joint motion filed June 4, 2019 requesting

expedited inter se by the NMOSE, NMISC, Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy

District (PVACD), Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID) and Otis Mutual Domestic

Water Consumers Association. Intrepid has agreed to move the case from the

NMOSE Hearings Unit to the adjudication court contingent upon a hearing being

conducted within one year. Deadline for expert reports in the Hearings Unit is at the

end of August.

WATER OPERATIONS

Well Field Pumping in 2019 – Use of the Settlement Augmentation Well Fields to

augment supply for the Carlsbad Project was not necessary in 2019.

Public Meeting – On May 30, 2019 Pecos Bureau staff participated in a public

meeting held by the 2003 Pecos Settlement Agreement (Settlement) parties in

Artesia. Approximately 30 individuals attended, including state representatives

Candy Spence Ezzell (District 58) and Jim Townsend (District 54). The purpose of

the meeting was to update stakeholders on Settlement implementation generally

and this past winter’s Operational Readiness Test at the Seven Rivers Well Field.

The Settlement was implemented in 2009, making 2019 the ten-year anniversary

since implementation. The Roswell Daily Record covered the meeting in their June

1, 2019 edition.

Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) with PVACD – On June 11, 2019 the PVACD

board voted to approve a one-year extension of a MOA with the NMISC for the loan

of PVACD-owned water rights associated with approximately 1,000 acres. The loan

was originally executed in 2008 in order to ensure sufficient water rights at the

augmentation well fields to comply with the Conditions Precedent in the Settlement.

The expectation was that the NMISC would purchase additional water rights to

replace those loaned by PVACD. However, with limited funding for purchases since

2009 that has not been possible.

Protests of NMISC’s Settlement Water Rights Transfers – The appeal of the State

Engineer’s decision, which was largely in NMISC’s favor, on 33 applications to

transfer Settlement water rights to the augmentation well fields is proceeding in

district court. The parties met on August 19, 2019 to discuss possible settlement

options. Trial is currently set for November 2020.

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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 possible flow targets in the Black River.

Pecos Bluntnose Shiner Biological Opinion (BO) – 2019 was not designated be a

“critically dry” year under the BO. That has meant that Reclamation has less

flexibility in river operations to meet required flow targets.

Pecos River Depletions Agreement – NMISC staff is working with Reclamation and

the CID to renew the Pecos River Depletions Agreement which ensures that

increased depletions associated altered reservoir operations for ESA purposes are

offset by Reclamation.

ADDITIONAL INFOMATION

VP Bar Lease - The NMISC is still awaiting direction from Reclamation based on its

economic analysis to determine whether to proceed with additional due diligence

work at the VP Bar well field northeast of Fort Sumner. NMISC staff filed an

application with the NMOSE to transfer a portion of these water rights to the

Vaughan Conservation Pipeline.

ACEQUIA PROGRAM

KEY ISSUES

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 includes an appropriation to the NMISC for

$2M for acequia proejcts statewide, as was done in 2014. Staff has 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.

SB 438 was also approved and signed into law by the Governor creating the Acequia

and Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund (ACDIF) to be administered by the

NMISC and making an annual transfer from the Irrigation Works Construction

Fund to the ACDIF in an amount of $2.5M. The Bill requires the NMISC to consult

with the NM Acequia Commission and the NM Acequia Association on developing

guidelines and criteria for program eligibilty, applications and selection

requirements; prioritize the provisions of funding based on project readiness; review

acequia and community ditch plans and specifications and inspect complted

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projects; and report biannually to the NM Acequia Commission on the progress of

projects funded through the fund and the expenditure of money from the fund.

The State Board of Finance (SBOF) issued Severance Tax Bonds (STB) at the end of

June which included funding for 6 acequia projects out of last year’s Capital Outlay

bill totaling approximately $242,000. All agreements have been drafted and sent to

the acequias for signature.

Staff also continues 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.

WATER PLANNING

State & Regional Water Planning:

On July 18th

, a coordination meeting was held for the Water Data Act. Agencies represented

included NMED (multiple bureaus), OSE-WRAP and Hydrology Bureau, EMNERD (MMD and

OCD), NMBGMR, NMGFD, USGS, and US BOR. The group requested to include the

Department of Ag and WRRI in future meetings and they have been added. Presentations were

given by each agency on 1-2 of their datasets and provided answers to the questions related to

their top datasets. The data inventory process is underway. Agency staff presented 1-2 examples

of their current datasets, and provided answers to provided questions about specifics about top

datasets. These meetings are meant to keep everyone up to date, but not be a large time sink on

any one agency. Appropriate agency team meetings, (Directing agencies, Technical Working

Group, Data Users Working Group) are in the early stages of development and meeting notices

for participation will be sent out accordingly to the tailored audiences. An additional of $25,000

was gifted to the Water Data Account by the Healy Foundation to “carry out the purposes of the

Water Data Act.” Funding will help support the data platform and data ingestion process. Legal

review by the Utton Center is underway and should be providing the implementation team with

guidance on data sharing amongst state agencies. Folks from the Internet of Water are providing

a prioritization of data platform recommendations. The Implementation Team continues to work

toward a web accessible data platform by January 2020 which combines some key datasets to the

data catalog, map and available tools. The Implementation Team is also working on some ideas

toward digitizing existing agency paper data; eventually, allowing for ease of accessibility by the

public.

In early July, the Water Planning Program and the Water Use and Conservation Bureau Chief

participated in the first Forest and Watershed Restoration Advisory Board (FWRA) meeting.

Working together, they ranked proposed projects for FY20 funding under the Forest and

Watershed Restoration Act. On August 6th

, the FAWRA board met to review FY20 project

recommendation rankings and to vote on project recommendations. The board also initiated

planning for the FY21 guidelines and process. FAWRA Board set November 13, 2019 as

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another meeting date, for the purpose of evaluating the FY20 process and preparing guidelines

for recommending FY21 projects.

In addition to assisting with the implementation of the Water Data Act and participation in the

Forest and Watershed Restoration Advisory Board, the Water Planning Program will begin

strategic planning and scoping for the 50-year water plan. Efforts to continue conducting water

policy topic discussions based on the 2018 State Water Plan are anticipated for fiscal year 2020

and the program is in the early stages of planning topical meetings. Various sister state agency

staff will be invited to coordinate and present at events based on their subject matter expertise.

Work will continue into the fiscal year to maintain the website for the 2018 State Water Plan.

Staff will continue to engage with regional steering committees in fiscal year 2020 to organize

and disseminate new and relevant water planning information. Staff will work with steering

committees to update projects, program and policy lists, participate in Bureau of Reclamation’s

Middle Rio Grande basin study, coordinate regional working groups and engage with grassroots

organizations dedicated to water planning efforts.

i El Niño–Southern Oscillation