Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release July 30, 1999

Contact: Tim Ahern (202) 208-5089

FEDERAL NOTICE PUBLISHED ABOUT
CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT PROCESS

The Department of the Interior is publishing today a public notice in the Federal Register announcing the initiation of an environmental review process to accompany settlement discussions regarding the operation of the Central Arizona Project, which was constructed by the federal government to bring Colorado River water to central Arizona for a variety of public uses.

The environmental review will put the Department in a position to implement Central Arizona Project water allocations to municipalities, agricultural districts and Indian Tribes. These allocations have been the subject of extensive discussions over the past several months by state, federal and tribal parties. The Department of the Interior does not anticipate it will implement water allocations until the environmental review and negotiation processes have been completed.

In connection with the release of the Federal Register notice, Secretary Bruce Babbitt commented that "we are taking today a necessary step that will enable Arizonans to implement a negotiated reconfiguration of the Central Arizona Project for the benefit of future municipal and agricultural water needs and tribal water needs and rights. A negotiated settlement provides Arizonas with a unique opportunity to help shape their water future, rather than leaving the issue for the courts. We look forward to continuing to work with Arizona parties to complete the settlement discussions that all parties have been diligently pursuing over the past many months."

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