C06__Attachment_2_-_Final_Determination_Letter_0001.pdf

INTERIOR REGION 10 • CALIFORNIA-GREAT BASIN

CA LIFORN IA*, NEVADA*, OREGON*

'PARTIAL

United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

Lahontan Basin Area Office 705 North Plaza Street, Room 320

Carson City, NV 89701-4015

LO-960

2.2.4.22

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Interested Parties (See Attached List)

Subject: Final Determination of Irrigated Acreage and Disincentive Debit for 2022 and Lahontan Reservoir Storage Targets for Water Year (WY) 2024

Dear Interested Parties:

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has completed final determinations of the eligible irrigated acreage (water-righted and irrigated), ineligible lands appearing irrigated (non-water-righted but appearing irrigated), and eligible land that was not irrigated (water-righted but not irrigated) for the 2022 irrigation season. Reclamation has also completed final calculations of the WY 2024 Carson Division Total Diversion Requirement (CDT) and adjustments to Lahontan Reservoir storage targets. The results of these determinations are summarized below, and the calculation procedures and results are detailed in the Final Determination Report (Enclosure 1).

Section 418.8 of the Operating Criteria and Procedures (OCAP) for the Newlands Project (Project), Nevada, directs the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (District), in coordination with the Reclamation, to identify and report “the number of acres of eligible land irrigated” in the Project as well as “possible irrigation of ineligible land” and “eligible land that was not irrigated.” OCAP Sections 418.36 and 418.37 specify procedures for calculating Incentive Credit or Disincentive Debit based on distribution efficiency. Section 418.22 of OCAP provides for adjustment of Lahontan Reservoir storage targets each year based on the CDT.

Acreage Determinations for the 2022 Irrigation Season

The Truckee and Carson Divisions of the Project started the 2022 irrigation season with a 70% water allocation with water orders beginning on March 15th and April 6th, respectively. The allocation was updated to 85% for both divisions in June, and on September 8th the Truckee Division allocation was increased to 100%. Water deliveries ended for the season on October 31st. Table 1 contains a summary of Reclamation’s final determination of irrigated acreage in the Project for the 2022 irrigation season. The final determination of water-righted and irrigated lands is 54,990 acres with a maximum headgate entitlement (MHE) of 193,886 ac-ft. Table 1 also lists the non-water-righted irrigated acres, allocated acres, allocated volumes, and total delivered volumes reported by the District. Appendices A, B, and C of the Final Determination Report list the lands determined to be water-righted and irrigated, non-water-righted but appearing irrigated, and water-righted but not irrigated, respectively.

https://2.2.4.22

Table 1. Summary of Irrigated Acreage in the Carson and Truckee Divisions of the Newlands Project for the 2022 Irrigation Season1.

Water- Righted

Irrigated Acres (ac)

Non- Water- Righted

Irrigated Acres (ac)

Allocated Acres8

(ac)

MHE

(ac-ft)

Allocated Volume at 100%9

(ac-ft)

Pct. Year Allocation

(CD-85%)

(TD-100%)

(ac-ft)

Total Delivered 10 (ac-ft)

Carson Division2

Truckee Division3

Fallon Indian Reservation4

Fallon Indian Reservation Wetlands5

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge 6

Carson Lake and Pasture7

41,285 1,513 2,276

7,296 2,151 n/a n/a n/a n/a

42,494 1,875 2,537

8,622 2,406

149,573 6,772 7,966

1,401

21,742 6,432

152,573 8,316 8,878

1,400

25,720 7,195

129,709 8,216 8,056

1,400

21,862 6,115

120,747 7,126 7,851

1,401

21,742 6,432

Total11 54,990 669 58,402 193,886 204,082 175,358 165,299 1 The data sources and methodology, including the steps referenced in the notes below, are described in the Final

Determination Report (Enclosure 1).

2 Irrigated lands in all Carson Division serial numbers except 712-x, 970, 970-C, and 975 (Percent Year Allocation for 2022 was 85%). Irrigated acres and MHE were calculated as described in Step 1.3.1.

3 Irrigated lands and stockwater line deliveries (Step 1.3.1.1) for all Truckee Division serial numbers (Percent Year

Allocation for 2022 was 100%). Irrigated acres and MHE were calculated as described in Step 1.3.1. and Step 1.3.1.1.

4 Irrigated lands in all 712-x District serial numbers except 712-37 (Fallon Indian Reservation Wetlands). Irrigated acres and MHE were calculated as described in Step 1.3.2.

5 District serial number 712-37. Irrigated acres and MHE were estimated as described in Step 1.3.3.

6 District serial numbers 970 and 970-C. Irrigated acres and MHE were estimated as described in Step 1.3.4.

7 District serial number 975. Irrigated acres and MHE were estimated as described in Step 1.3.5.

8 Acres eligible for delivery of Project water as reported by the District at the end of the irrigation season. The

‘allocated acres’ figure for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe (Fallon Tribe) does not represent acres ‘eligible for delivery’, the Fallon Tribe’s water rights or the quantity of Newlands Project water to which the Fallon Tribe irrigators and wetlands are entitled to receive, but instead represent estimates of the acres likely to be irrigated in the coming irrigation season based on District data.

9 The allocation at 100% from the District Report does not accurately reflect the annual use cap of 10,692.85 ac-ft for the Fallon Indian Reservation.

10 The headgate deductions include excess water applied to water-righted lands and water applied to non-water-righted lands. Headgate deductions totaled 3,509 ac-ft (Step 2.2), resulting in valid deliveries of 161,790 ac-ft (Step 2.4).

The total diversion was 258,655 ac-ft (Step 2.9).

11 Totals for Irrigated Acres, MHE, and Total Delivered columns include stockwater line deliveries (Step 1.3.1.1), which are not included in Appendix A.

2022 Project Efficiency and Incentive Credit/Disincentive Debit Calculation

Reclamation’s calculation of actual Project efficiency for the 2022 irrigation season is 62.6% (Enclosure 1, Section 4, Step 2.10). Reclamation’s calculation of percent of MHE delivered is 83.4% (Enclosure 1, Section 4, Step 2.6) and the calculation of the expected efficiency for the Project, as set forth by Section 418.13 of OCAP, is 63.3% (Enclosure 1, Section 4, Step 2.7).

The actual Project efficiency is less than the target efficiency resulting in a disincentive debit of 3,100 ac-ft, pursuant to Section 418.37 of OCAP (Enclosure 1, Section 4, Step 2.12 and Section 4.2). A disincentive debit is an accounting for water “[in effect] borrowed from a subsequent year” as a result of failure to meet the efficiency targets established by OCAP. This debit amount will be added to the actual Lahontan Reservoir storage for the purposes of determining https://10,692.85 allowable monthly diversions and other operating decisions, beginning in WY 2024 and continuing until the debit is repaid. The debit can be repaid by crediting incentive water earned by the District or through a voluntary headgate shortage or natural drought in following years as described in OCAP Section 418.37.

Carson Division Total Diversion Requirement and Lahontan Reservoir Storage Targets for

WY 2024

Reclamation’s final calculation of the CDT for WY 2024 is 277,800 ac-ft (Enclosure 1, Section 4, Step 3.2.5). Adjustments to Lahontan Reservoir Storage Targets based on the revised CDT are determined from the table in OCAP Section 418.22, entitled “Adjustments to Lahontan Reservoir Storage Targets.” These adjustments will be effective on October 1, 2023. For the CDT of 277,800 ac-ft, the adjusted storage targets are determined as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Adjusted Lahontan Reservoir Storage Targets.

Target Storage (ac-ft)

CDT

(ac-ft) TSM/J1 (ac-ft) LSOCM2 (ac-ft)

Jan-May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Previous

(WY 2023) 277,500 188,000 204,000 174,000 114,000 78,000 66,000 88,000 115,000

Adjusted

(WY 2024) 277,800 188,000 204,000 174,000 114,000 78,000 66,000 88,000 115,000

1 End-of-month May/June Lahontan Reservoir target storage.

2 Current Month End-of-month Storage Objectives for Lahontan Reservoir.

Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please contact Mr. Dan Lahde at dlahde@usbr.gov, (775) 884-8358, or TTY Federal Relay System (800) 877-8339.

Sincerely, Jack Worsley Area Manager

Enclosures – 4

Enclosure 1 – Final Determination Report 2022 Enclosure 2 – Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Comments Enclosure 3 – Reclamation’s Response to Comments Enclosure 4 – NewlandsFields_2022_Final.gdb.zip mailto:dlahde@usbr.gov

INTERESTED PARTIES

Benjamin Shawcroft, Esq.

Truckee-Carson Irrigation District ben@tcid.org

Mr. Rodney Smith Office of the Solicitor rodney.smith@sol.doi.gov

Mr. Jeff Payne Bureau of Reclamation jpayne@usbr.gov

Mr. Seann Woster Bureau of Indian Affairs seann.woster@bia.gov

Ms. Lisa Heki U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lisa_g_heki@fws.gov

Ms. Tara Vogel U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tara_vogel@fws.gov

Ms. Kellie Berry U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service kellie_berry@fws.gov

Mr. Patrick Fritchel Federal Water Master pfritchel@uswatermaster.org

Dr. Scott Fennema Federal Water Master sfennema@uswm.org

Mr. Mike Adams Truckee-Carson Irrigation District mike@tcid.org

Ms. Lydia Altick City of Fernley laltick@cityoffernley.org

Continued on next page.

Ms. Eve W. McDonald U.S. Department of Justice evelyn.mcdonald@usdoj.gov

Ms. Amy Aufdemberge Office of the Solicitor amy.aufdemberge@sol.doi.gov

Ms. Francia Morales Bureau of Reclamation fmorales@usbr.gov

Mr. Justin Barrett U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service justin_barrett@fws.gov

Mr. Carl Lunderstadt U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Carl_lunderstadt@fws.gov

Ms. Rachael Youmans U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rachael_youmans@fws.gov

Mr. Chad Blanchard Federal Water Master cblanchard@uswatermaster.org

Mr. Dave Wathen Federal Water Master dwathen@uswatermaster.org

Mr. Adam Sullivan Nevada Division of Water Resources asullivan@water.nv.gov

Mr. Kelly Herwick Truckee-Carson Irrigation District kherwick@tcid.org

Mr. Barry Williams City of Fernley bwilliams@cityoffernley.org mailto:bwilliams@cityoffernley.org mailto:kherwick@tcid.org mailto:asullivan@water.nv.gov mailto:dwathen@uswatermaster.org mailto:cblanchard@uswatermaster.org mailto:Rachael_youmans@fws.gov mailto:Carl_lunderstadt@fws.gov mailto:justin_barrett@fws.gov mailto:fmorales@usbr.gov mailto:amy.aufdemberge@sol.doi.gov mailto:evelyn.mcdonald@usdoj.gov mailto:laltick@cityoffernley.org mailto:mike@tcid.org mailto:sfennema@uswm.org mailto:pfritchel@uswatermaster.org mailto:kellie_berry@fws.gov mailto:tara_vogel@fws.gov mailto:Lisa_g_heki@fws.gov mailto:seann.woster@bia.gov mailto:jpayne@usbr.gov mailto:rodney.smith@sol.doi.gov mailto:ben@tcid.org cc: Continued from previous page.

Mr. Neal McIntyre City of Fernley nemcintyre@cityoffernley.org

Ms. Mitzi Carter City of Fernley mcarter@cityoffernley.org

Ms. Donna Noel Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe dnoel@plpt.nsn.us

Ms. Leanna Hale Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe landwaterdir@fpst.org

Mr. Curtis Lawler Stetson Engineers curtisl@stetsonengineers.com

Mr. Paul G. Taggart Taggart & Taggart Ltd.

paul@legaltnt.com

Mr. Christopher W. Mixson Kemp Jones Attorneys at Law, LLP c.mixson@kempjones.com

Mr. Michael J. Van Zandt Hanson Bridgett, LLP mvanzandt@hansonbridgett.com

Mr. Allan Richards Stetson Engineers allanr@stetsonengineers.com

Ms. Olivia John City of Fernley ojohn@cityoffernley.org

Mr. Bill Hauck Truckee Meadows Water Authority bhauck@tmwa.com

Ms. Cathi Tuni Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe chairman@fpst.org

Ms. Crystal Allen Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe tribaladministrator@fpst.org

Mr. Shane Dyer Dyer Engineering shane@dyerengineering.com

Mr. Don Springmeyer Kemp Jones Attorneys at Law, LLP d.springmeyer@kempjones.com

Mr. Wyatt Golding Ziontz Chestnut wgolding@ziontzchestnut.com

Mr. Ali Shahroody Stetson Engineers alis@stetsonengineers.com

Ms. Cara Hazzard Ziontz Chestnut chazzard@ziontzchestnut.com mailto:chazzard@ziontzchestnut.com mailto:alis@stetsonengineers.com mailto:wgolding@ziontzchestnut.com mailto:d.springmeyer@kempjones.com mailto:shane@dyerengineering.com mailto:tribaladministrator@fpst.org mailto:chairman@fpst.org mailto:bhauck@tmwa.com mailto:ojohn@cityoffernley.org mailto:allanr@stetsonengineers.com mailto:mvanzandt@hansonbridgett.com mailto:c.mixson@kempjones.com mailto:paul@legaltnt.com mailto:curtisl@stetsonengineers.com mailto:landwaterdir@fpst.org mailto:dnoel@plpt.nsn.us mailto:mcarter@cityoffernley.org mailto:nemcintyre@cityoffernley.org

Date2_af_date: Sep 29, 2023