§ 41-12-401 — Generally

That ratification and approval is hereby given to the Upper
Colorado River Basin Compact as signed at the city of Santa Fe,
in the state of New Mexico, on the 11th day of October, A.D.
1948, by L. C. Bishop, the state engineer of the state of
Wyoming, under and in accordance with the authority of the act
of the twenty-sixth Wyoming legislature approved the 24th day of
February, 1941, entitled "An act relating to the appointment of
interstate streams commissioner and assistant commissioners to
negotiate agreements relative to interstate streams and
providing for the governor of Wyoming to notify the governors of
other states as to the appointment of said commissioner,
detailing the authority of said commissioner", (now section
71-2601, Wyoming Compiled Statutes, 1945) which compact was also
signed by the duly authorized commissioners of the states of
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah and approved by the
representative of the United States, which Upper Colorado River
Basin Compact is in full as follows:
UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN COMPACT
The state of Arizona, the state of Colorado, the state of New
Mexico, the state of Utah and the state of Wyoming, acting
through their commissioners,
Charles A. Carson for the state of Arizona,
Clifford H. Stone for the state of Colorado,
Fred E. Wilson for the state of New Mexico,
Edward H. Watson for the state of Utah and
L. C. Bishop for the state of Wyoming,
after negotiations participated in by Harry W. Bashore,
appointed by the president as the representative of the United
States of America, have agreed, subject to the provisions of the
Colorado River Compact, to determine the rights and obligations
of each signatory state respecting the uses and deliveries of
the water of the upper basin of the Colorado River, as follows:
Article I
(a) The major purposes of this compact are to provide for
the equitable division and apportionment of the use of the
waters of the Colorado River system, the use of which was
apportioned in perpetuity to the upper basin by the Colorado
River Compact; to establish the obligations of each state of the
upper division with respect to the deliveries of water required
to be made at Lee Ferry by the Colorado River Compact; to
promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and
future controversies; to secure the expeditious agricultural and
industrial development of the upper basin, the storage of water
and to protect life and property from floods.
(b) It is recognized that the Colorado River Compact is in
full force and effect and all of the provisions hereof are
subject thereto.
Article II
(a) As used in this compact:
(i) The term "Colorado River system" means that
portion of the Colorado River and its tributaries within the
United States of America;
(ii) The term "Colorado River basin" means all of the
drainage area of the Colorado River system and all other
territory within the United States of America to which the
waters of the Colorado River system shall be beneficially
applied;
(iii) The term "states of the upper division" means
the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming;
(iv) The term "states of the lower division" means
the states of Arizona, California and Nevada;
(v) The term "Lee Ferry" means a point in the main
stream of the Colorado River one (1) mile below the mouth of the
Paria River;
(vi) The term "upper basin" means those parts of the
states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming within
and from which waters naturally drain into the Colorado River
system above Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said states
located without the drainage area of the Colorado River system
which are now or shall hereafter be beneficially served by
waters diverted from the Colorado River system above Lee Ferry;
(vii) The term "lower basin" means those parts of the
states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah
within and from which waters naturally drain into the Colorado
River system below Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said states
located without the drainage area of the Colorado River system
which are now or shall hereafter be beneficially served by
waters diverted from the Colorado River system below Lee Ferry;
(viii) The term "Colorado River Compact" means the
agreement concerning the apportionment of the use of the waters
of the Colorado River system dated November 24, 1922, executed
by commissioners for the states of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, approved by
Herbert Hoover, representative of the United States of America,
and proclaimed effective by the president of the United States
of America, June 25, 1929;
(ix) The term "upper Colorado River system" means
that portion of the Colorado River system above Lee Ferry;
(x) The term "commission" means the administrative
agency created by article VIII of this compact;
(xi) The term "water year" means that period of
twelve (12) months ending September 30 of each year;
(xii) The term "acre-foot" means the quantity of
water required to cover an acre to the depth of one (1) foot and
is equivalent to forty-three thousand five hundred sixty
(43,560) cubic feet;
(xiii) The term "domestic use" shall include the use
of water for household, stock, municipal, mining, milling,
industrial and other like purposes, but shall exclude the
generation of electrical power;
(xiv) The term "virgin flow" means the flow of any
stream undepleted by the activities of man.
Article III
(a) Subject to the provisions and limitations contained in
the Colorado River Compact and in this compact, there is hereby
apportioned from the upper Colorado River system in perpetuity
to the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming, respectively, the consumptive use of water as follows:
(i) To the state of Arizona the consumptive use of
fifty thousand (50,000) acre-feet of water per annum.
(ii) To the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming, respectively, the consumptive use per annum of the
quantities resulting from the application of the following
percentages to the total quantity of consumptive use per annum
apportioned in perpetuity to and available for use each year by
upper basin under the Colorado River Compact and remaining after
the deduction of the use, not to exceed fifty thousand (50,000)
acre-feet per annum, made in the state of Arizona.
(A) State of Colorado .... fifty-one and
seventy-five hundredths percent (51.75%),
(B) State of New Mexico .... eleven and
twenty-five hundredths percent (11.25%),
(C) State of Utah .... twenty-three percent
(23%),
(D) State of Wyoming .... fourteen percent
(14%).
(b) The apportionment made to the respective states by
paragraph (a) of this article is based upon, and shall be
applied in conformity with, the following principles and each of
them:
(i) The apportionment is of any and all man-made
depletions;
(ii) Beneficial use is the basis, the measure and the
limit of the right to use;
(iii) No state shall exceed its apportioned use in
any water year when the effect of such excess use, as determined
by the commission, is to deprive another signatory state of its
apportioned use during that water year; provided, that this
subparagraph (b)(iii) shall not be construed as:
(A) Altering the apportionment of use, or
obligations to make deliveries as provided in articles XI, XII,
XIII or XIV of this compact;
(B) Purporting to apportion among the signatory
states such uses of water as the upper basin may be entitled to
under paragraphs (f) and (g) of article III of the Colorado
River Compact; or
(C) Countenancing average uses by any signatory
state in excess of its apportionment.
(iv) The apportionment to each state includes all
water necessary for the supply of any rights which now exist.
(c) No apportionment is hereby made, or intended to be
made, of such uses of water as the upper basin may be entitled
to under paragraphs (f) and (g) of article III of the Colorado
River Compact.
(d) The apportionment made by this article shall not be
taken as any basis for the allocation among the signatory states
of any benefits resulting from the generation of power.
Article IV
(a) In the event curtailment of use of water by the states
of the upper division at any time shall become necessary in
order that the flow at Lee Ferry shall not be depleted below
that required by article III of the Colorado River Compact, the
extent of curtailment by each state of the consumptive use of
water apportioned to it by article III of this compact shall be
in such quantities and at such times as shall be determined by
the commission upon the application of the following principles:
(i) The extent and times of curtailment shall be such
as to assure full compliance with article III of the Colorado
River Compact;
(ii) If any state or states of the upper division, in
the ten (10) years immediately preceding the water year in which
curtailment is necessary, shall have consumptively used more
water than it was or they were, as the case may be, entitled to
use under the apportionment made by article III of this compact,
such state or states shall be required to supply at Lee Ferry a
quantity of water equal to its, or the aggregate of their,
overdraft or the proportionate part of such overdraft, as may be
necessary to assure compliance with article III of the Colorado
River Compact, before demand is made on any other state of the
upper division;
(iii) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this
article, the extent of curtailment by each state of the upper
division of the consumptive use of water apportioned to it by
article III of this compact shall be such as to result in the
delivery at Lee Ferry of a quantity of water which bears the
same relation to the total required curtailment of use by the
states of the upper division as the consumptive use of upper
Colorado River system water which was made by each such state
during the water year immediately preceding the year in which
the curtailment becomes necessary bears to the total consumptive
use of such water in the states of the upper division during the
same water year; provided, that in determining such relation the
uses of water under rights perfected prior to November 24, 1922,
shall be excluded.
Article V
(a) All losses of water occurring from or as the result of
the storage of water in reservoirs constructed prior to the
signing of this compact shall be charged to the state in which
such reservoir or reservoirs are located. Water stored in
reservoirs covered by this paragraph (a) shall be for the
exclusive use of and shall be charged to the state in which the
reservoir or reservoirs are located.
(b) All losses of water occurring from or as the result of
the storage of water in reservoirs constructed after the signing
of this compact shall be charged as follows:
(i) If the commission finds that the reservoir is
used, in whole or in part, to assist the states of the upper
division in meeting their obligations to deliver water at Lee
Ferry imposed by article III of the Colorado River Compact, the
commission shall make findings, which in no event shall be
contrary to the laws of the United States of America under which
any reservoir is constructed, as to the reservoir capacity
allocated for that purpose. The whole or that proportion, as the
case may be, of reservoir losses as found by the commission to
be reasonably and properly chargeable to the reservoir or
reservoir capacity utilized to assure deliveries at Lee Ferry
shall be charged to the states of the upper division in the
proportion which the consumptive use of water in each state of
the upper division during the water year in which the charge is
made bears to the total consumptive use of water in all states
of the upper division during the same water year. Water stored
in reservoirs or in reservoir capacity covered by this
subparagraph (b)(i) shall be for the common benefit of all of
the states of the upper division.
(ii) If the commission finds that the reservoir is
used, in whole or in part, to supply water for use in a state of
the upper division, the commission shall make findings, which in
no event shall be contrary to the laws of the United States of
America under which any reservoir is constructed, as to the
reservoir or reservoir capacity utilized to supply water for use
and the state in which such water will be used. The whole or
that proportion, as the case may be, of reservoir losses as
found by the commission to be reasonably and properly chargeable
to the state in which such water will be used shall be borne by
that state. As determined by the commission, water stored in
reservoirs covered by this subparagraph (b)(ii) shall be
earmarked for and charged to the state in which the water will
be used.
(c) In the event the commission finds that a reservoir
site is available both to assure deliveries at Lee Ferry and to
store water for consumptive use in a state of the upper
division, the storage of water for consumptive use shall be
given preference. Any reservoir or reservoir capacity hereafter
used to assure deliveries at Lee Ferry shall by order of the
commission be used to store water for consumptive use in a
state, provided the commission finds that such storage is
reasonably necessary to permit such state to make the use of the
water apportioned to it by this compact.
Article VI
The commission shall determine the quantity of the consumptive
use of water, which use is apportioned by article III hereof,
for the upper basin and for each state of the upper basin by the
inflow-outflow method in terms of man-made depletions of the
virgin flow at Lee Ferry, unless the commission, by unanimous
action, shall adopt a different method of determination.
Article VII
The consumptive use of water by the United States of America or
any of its agencies, instrumentalities or wards shall be charged
as a use by the state in which the use is made; provided, that
such consumptive use incident to the diversion, impounding, or
conveyance of water in one state for use in another shall be
charged to such latter state.
Article VIII
(a) There is hereby created an interstate administrative
agency to be known as the "Upper Colorado River Commission". The
commission shall be composed of one (1) commissioner
representing each of the states of the upper division, namely,
the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, designated
or appointed in accordance with the laws of each such state and,
if designated by the president, one (1) commissioner
representing the United States of America. The president is
hereby requested to designate a commissioner. If so designated
the commissioner representing the United States of America shall
be the presiding officer of the commission and shall be entitled
to the same powers and rights as the commissioner of any state.
Any four (4) members of the commission shall constitute a
quorum.
(b) The salaries and personal expenses of each
commissioner shall be paid by the government which he
represents. All other expenses which are incurred by the
commission incident to the administration of this compact, and
which are not paid by the United States of America, shall be
borne by the four (4) states according to the percentage of
consumptive use apportioned to each. On or before December 1 of
each year, the commission shall adopt and transmit to the
governors of the four (4) states and to the president a budget
covering an estimate of its expenses for the following year, and
of the amount payable by each state. Each state shall pay the
amount due by it to the commission on or before April 1 of the
year following. The payment of the expenses of the commission
and of its employees shall not be subject to the audit and
accounting procedures of any of the four (4) states; however,
all receipt and disbursement of funds handled by the commission
shall be audited yearly by a qualified independent public
accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and
become a part of the annual report of the commission.
(c) The commission shall appoint a secretary, who shall
not be a member of the commission, or an employee of any
signatory state or of the United States of America while so
acting. He shall serve for such term and receive such salary and
perform such duties as the commission may direct. The commission
may employ such engineering, legal, clerical and other personnel
as, in its judgment, may be necessary for the performance of its
functions under this compact. In the hiring of employees, the
commission shall not be bound by the civil service laws of any
state.
(d) The commission, so far as consistent with this
compact, shall have the power to:
(i) Adopt rules and regulations;
(ii) Locate, establish, construct, abandon, operate
and maintain water gauging stations;
(iii) Make estimates to forecast water run-off on the
Colorado River and any of its tributaries;
(iv) Engage in cooperative studies of water supplies
of the Colorado River and its tributaries;
(v) Collect, analyze, correlate, preserve and report
on data as to the stream flows, storage, diversions and use of
the waters of the Colorado River, and any of its tributaries;
(vi) Make findings as to the quantity of water of the
upper Colorado River system used each year in the upper Colorado
River basin and in each state thereof;
(vii) Make findings as to the quantity of water
deliveries at Lee Ferry during each water year;
(viii) Make findings as to the necessity for and the
extent of the curtailment of use, required, if any, pursuant to
article IV hereof;
(ix) Make findings as to the quantity of reservoir
losses and as to the share thereof chargeable under article V
hereof to each of the states;
(x) Make findings of fact in the event of the
occurrence of extraordinary drought or serious accident to the
irrigation system in the upper basin, whereby deliveries by the
upper basin of water which it may be required to deliver in
order to aid in fulfilling obligations of the United States of
America to the United Mexican States arising under the treaty
between the United States of America and the United Mexican
States, dated February 3, 1944 (Treaty Series 994) become
difficult, and report such findings to the governors of the
upper basin states, the president of the United States of
America, the United States section of the international boundary
and water commission, and such other federal officials and
agencies as it may deem appropriate to the end that the water
allotted to Mexico under division III of such treaty may be
reduced in accordance with the terms of such treaty;
(xi) Acquire and hold such personal and real property
as may be necessary for the performance of its duties hereunder
and to dispose of the same when no longer required;
(xii) Perform all functions required of it by this
compact and do all things necessary, proper or convenient in the
performance of its duties hereunder, either independently or in
cooperation with any state or federal agency;
(xiii) Make and transmit annually to the governors of
the signatory states and the president of the United States of
America, with the estimated budget, a report covering the
activities of the commission for the preceding water year.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this compact the
concurrence of four members of the commission shall be required
in any action taken by it.
(f) The commission and its secretary shall make available
to the governor of each of the signatory states any information
within its possession at any time, and shall always provide free
access to its records by the governors of each of the states, or
their representatives, or authorized representatives of the
United States of America.
(g) Findings of fact made by the commission shall not be
conclusive in any court, or before any agency or tribunal, but
shall constitute prima facie evidence of the facts found.
(h) The organization meeting of the commission shall be
held within four (4) months from the effective date of this
compact.
Article IX
(a) No state shall deny the right of the United States of
America and, subject to the conditions hereinafter contained, no
state shall deny the right of another signatory state, any
person, or entity of any signatory state to acquire rights to
the use of water, or to construct or participate in the
construction and use of diversion works and storage reservoirs
with appurtenant works, canals and conduits in one (1) state for
the purpose of diverting, conveying, storing, regulating and
releasing water to satisfy the provisions of the Colorado River
Compact relating to the obligation of the states of the upper
division to make deliveries of water at Lee Ferry, or for the
purpose of diverting, conveying, storing or regulating water in
any upper signatory state for consumptive use in a lower
signatory state, when such use is within the apportionment to
such lower state made by this compact. Such rights shall be
subject to the rights of water users, in a state in which such
reservoir or works are located, to receive and use water, the
use of which is within the apportionment to such state by this
compact.
(b) Any signatory state, any person or any entity of any
signatory state shall have the right to acquire such property
rights as are necessary to the use of water in conformity with
this compact in any other signatory state by donation, purchase
or through the exercise of the power of eminent domain. Any
signatory state, upon the written request of the governor of any
other signatory state, for the benefit of whose water users
property is to be acquired in the state to which such written
request is made, shall proceed expeditiously to acquire the
desired property either by purchase at a price satisfactory to
the requesting state, or, if such purchase cannot be made, then
through the exercise of its power of eminent domain and shall
convey such property to the requesting state or such entity as
may be designated by the requesting state; provided, that all
costs of acquisition and expenses of every kind and nature
whatsoever incurred in obtaining the requested property shall be
paid by the requesting state at the time and in the manner
prescribed by the state requested to acquire the property.
(c) Should any facility be constructed in a signatory
state by and for the benefit of another signatory state or
states or the water users thereof, as above provided, the
construction, repair, replacement, maintenance and operation of
such facility shall be subject to the laws of the state in which
the facility is located, except that, in the case of a reservoir
constructed in one state for the benefit of another state or
states, the water administration officials of the state in which
the facility is located shall permit the storage and release of
any water which, as determined by findings of the commission,
falls within the apportionment of the state or states for whose
benefit the facility is constructed. In the case of a regulating
reservoir for the joint benefit of all states in making Lee
Ferry deliveries, the water administration officials of the
state in which the facility is located, in permitting the
storage and release of water, shall comply with the findings and
orders of the commission.
(d) In the event property is acquired by a signatory state
in another signatory state for the use and benefit of the
former, the users of water made available by such facilities, as
a condition precedent to the use thereof, shall pay to the
political subdivisions of the state in which such works are
located, each and every year during which such rights are
enjoyed for such purposes, a sum of money equivalent to the
average annual amount of taxes levied and assessed against the
land and improvements thereon during the ten (10) years
preceding the acquisition of such land. Said payments shall be
in full reimbursement for the loss of taxes in such political
subdivisions of the state, and in lieu of any and all taxes on
said property, improvements and rights. The signatory states
recommend to the president and the congress that, in the event
the United States of America shall acquire property in one of
the signatory states for the benefit of another signatory state,
or its water users, provision be made for like payment in
reimbursement of loss of taxes.
Article X
(a) The signatory states recognize La Plata River Compact
entered into between the states of Colorado and New Mexico,
dated November 27, 1922, approved by the congress on January 29,
1925 (43 Stat. 796), and this compact shall not affect the
apportionment therein made.
(b) All consumptive use of water of La Plata River and its
tributaries shall be charged under the apportionment of article
III hereof to the state in which the use is made; provided, that
consumptive use incident to the diversion, impounding or
conveyance of water in one state for use in the other shall be
charged to the latter state.
Article XI
(a) Subject to the provisions of this compact, the
consumptive use of the water of the Little Snake River and its
tributaries is hereby apportioned between the states of Colorado
and Wyoming in such quantities as shall result from the
application of the following principles and procedures:
(i) Water Used Under Rights Existing Prior to the
Signing of This Compact:
(A) Water diverted from any tributary of the
Little Snake River or from the main stem of the Little Snake
River above a point one hundred (100) feet below the confluence
of Savery Creek and the Little Snake River shall be administered
without regard to rights covering the diversion of water from
any downstream points.
(B) Water diverted from the main stem of the
Little Snake River below a point one hundred (100) feet below
the confluence of Savery Creek and the Little Snake River shall
be administered on the basis of an interstate priority schedule
prepared by the commission in conformity with priority dates
established by the laws of the respective states.
(ii) Water Used Under Rights Initiated Subsequent to
the Signing of This Compact:
(A) Direct flow diversions shall be so
administered that, in time of shortage, the curtailment of use
on each acre of land irrigated thereunder shall be as nearly
equal as may be possible in both of the states.
(B) The storage of water by projects located in
either state, whether of supplemental supply or of water used to
irrigate land not irrigated at the date of the signing of this
compact, shall be so administered that in times of water
shortage the curtailment of storage water available for each
acre of land irrigated thereunder shall be as nearly equal as
may be possible in both states.
(iii) Water uses under the apportionment made by this
article shall be in accordance with the principle that
beneficial use shall be the basis, measure and limit of the
right to use.
(iv) The states of Colorado and Wyoming each assent
to diversions and storage of water in one (1) state for use in
the other state, subject to compliance with article IX of this
compact.
(v) In the event of the importation of water to the
Little Snake River basin from any other river basin, the state
making the importation shall have the exclusive use of such
imported water unless by written agreement, made by the
representatives of the states of Colorado and Wyoming on the
commission, it is otherwise provided.
(vi) Water use projects initiated after the signing
of this compact, to the greatest extent possible, shall permit
the full use within the basin in the most feasible manner of the
waters of the Little Snake River and its tributaries, without
regard to the state line; and, so far as is practicable, shall
result in an equal division between the states of the use of
water not used under rights existing prior to the signing of
this compact.
(vii) All consumptive use of the waters of the Little
Snake River and its tributaries shall be charged under the
apportionment of article III hereof to the state in which the
use is made; provided, that consumptive use incident to the
diversion, impounding or conveyance of water in one (1) state
for use in the other shall be charged to the latter state.
Article XII
(a) Subject to the provisions of this compact, the
consumptive use of the waters of Henry's Fork, a tributary of
Green River originating in the state of Utah and flowing into
the state of Wyoming and thence into the Green River in the
state of Utah; Beaver Creek, originating in the state of Utah
and flowing into Henry's Fork in the state of Wyoming; Burnt
Fork, a tributary of Henry's Fork, originating in the state of
Utah and flowing into Henry's Fork in the state of Wyoming;
Birch Creek, a tributary of Henry's Fork originating in the
state of Utah and flowing into Henry's Fork in the state of
Wyoming; and Sheep Creek, a tributary of Green River in the
state of Utah, and their tributaries, are hereby apportioned
between the states of Utah and Wyoming in such quantities as
will result from the application of the following principles and
procedures:
(i) Waters diverted from Henry's Fork, Beaver Creek,
Burnt Fork, Birch Creek and their tributaries, shall be
administered without regard to the state line on the basis of an
interstate priority schedule to be prepared by the states
affected and approved by the commission in conformity with the
actual priority of right of use, the water requirements of the
land irrigated and the acreage irrigated in connection
therewith.
(ii) Waters used under rights from Henry's Fork,
Beaver Creek, Burnt Fork, Birch Creek and their tributaries,
initiated after the signing of this compact shall be divided
fifty percent (50%) to the state of Wyoming and fifty percent
(50%) to the state of Utah and each state may use said waters as
and where it deems advisable.
(iii) The state of Wyoming assents to the exclusive
use by the state of Utah of the water of Sheep Creek, except
that the lands, if any, presently irrigated in the state of
Wyoming from the water of Sheep Creek shall be supplied with
water from Sheep Creek in order of priority and in such
quantities as are in conformity with the laws of the state of
Utah.
(iv) In the event of the importation of water to
Henry's Fork, or any of its tributaries, from any other river
basin, the state making the importation shall have the exclusive
use of such imported water unless by written agreement made by
the representatives of the states of Utah and Wyoming on the
commission, it is otherwise provided.
(v) All consumptive use of waters of Henry's Fork,
Beaver Creek, Burnt Fork, Birch Creek, Sheep Creek, and their
tributaries shall be charged under the apportionment of article
III hereof to the state in which the use is made; provided, that
consumptive use incident to the diversion, impounding or
conveyance of water in one (1) state for use in the other shall
be charged to the latter state.
(vi) The states of Utah and Wyoming each assent to
the diversion and storage of water in one (1) state for use in
the other state, subject to compliance with article IX of this
compact. It shall be the duty of the water administrative
officials of the state where the water is stored to release said
stored water to the other state upon demand. If either the state
of Utah or the state of Wyoming shall construct a reservoir in
the other state for use in its own state, the water users of the
state in which said facilities are constructed may purchase at
cost a portion of the capacity of said reservoir sufficient for
the irrigation of their lands thereunder.
(vii) In order to measure the flow of water diverted,
each state shall cause suitable measuring devices to be
constructed, maintained and operated at or near the point of
diversion into each ditch.
(viii) The state engineers of the two (2) states
jointly shall appoint a special water commissioner who shall
have authority to administer the water in both states in
accordance with the terms of this article. The salary and
expenses of such special water commissioner shall be paid,
thirty percent (30%) by the state of Utah and seventy percent
(70%) by the state of Wyoming.
Article XIII
(a) Subject to the provisions of this compact, the rights
to the consumptive use of the water of the Yampa River, a
tributary entering the Green River in the state of Colorado, are
hereby apportioned between the states of Colorado and Utah in
accordance with the following principles:
(i) The state of Colorado will not cause the flow of
the Yampa River at the Maybell Gaging Station to be depleted
below an aggregate of five million (5,000,000) acre-feet for any
period of ten (10) consecutive years reckoned in continuing
progressive series beginning with the first day of October next
succeeding the ratification and approval of this compact. In the
event any diversion is made from the Yampa River or from
tributaries entering the Yampa River above the Maybell Gaging
Station for the benefit of any water use project in the state of
Utah, then the gross amount of all such diversions for use in
the state of Utah, less any returns from such diversions to the
river above Maybell, shall be added to the actual flow at the
Maybell Gaging Station to determine the total flow at the
Maybell Gaging Station.
(ii) All consumptive use of the waters of the Yampa
River and its tributaries shall be charged under the
apportionment of article III hereof to the state in which the
use is made; provided, that consumptive use incident to the
diversion, impounding or conveyance of water in one (1) state
for use in the other shall be charged to the latter state.
Article XIV
(a) Subject to the provisions of this compact, the
consumptive use of the waters of the San Juan River and its
tributaries is hereby apportioned between the states of Colorado
and New Mexico as follows:
(i) The state of Colorado agrees to deliver to the
state of New Mexico from the San Juan River and its tributaries
which rise in the state of Colorado a quantity of water which
shall be sufficient, together with water originating in the San
Juan basin in the state of New Mexico, to enable the state of
New Mexico to make full use of the water apportioned to the
state of New Mexico by article III of this compact, subject
however, to the following:
(A) A first and prior right shall be recognized
as to:
(I) All uses of water made in either state
at the time of the signing of this compact; and
(II) All uses of water contemplated by
projects authorized, at the time of the signing of this compact,
under the laws of the United States of America whether or not
such projects are eventually constructed by the United States of
America or by some other entity.
(B) The state of Colorado assents to diversions
and storage of water in the state of Colorado for use in the
state of New Mexico, subject to compliance with article IX of
this compact.
(C) The uses of the waters of the San Juan River
and any of its tributaries within either state which are
dependent upon a common source of water and which are not
covered by (A) hereof, shall in times of water shortages be
reduced in such quantity that the resulting consumptive use in
each state will bear the same proportionate relation to the
consumptive use made in each state during times of average water
supply as determined by the commission; provided, that any
preferential uses of water to which Indians are entitled under
article XIX shall be excluded in determining the amount of
curtailment to be made under this paragraph.
(D) The curtailment of water use by either state
in order to make deliveries at Lee Ferry as required by article
IV of this compact shall be independent of any and all
conditions imposed by this article and shall be made by each
state, as and when required, without regard to any provision of
this article.
(E) All consumptive use of the waters of the San
Juan River and its tributaries shall be charged under the
apportionment of article III hereof to the state in which the
use is made; provided, that consumptive use incident to the
diversion, impounding or conveyance of water in one (1) state
for use in the other shall be charged to the latter state.
Article XV
(a) Subject to the provisions of the Colorado River
Compact and of this compact, water of the upper Colorado River
system may be impounded and used for the generation of
electrical power, but such impounding and use shall be
subservient to the use and consumption of such water for
agricultural and domestic purposes and shall not interfere with
or prevent use for such dominant purposes.
(b) The provisions of this compact shall not apply to or
interfere with the right or power of any signatory state to
regulate within its boundaries the appropriation, use and
control of water, the consumptive use of which is apportioned
and available to such state by this compact.
Article XVI
The failure of any state to use the water, or any part
thereof, the use of which is apportioned to it under the terms
of this compact, shall not constitute a relinquishment of the
right to such use to the lower basin or to any other state, nor
shall it constitute a forfeiture or abandonment of the right to
such use.
Article XVII
The use of any water now or hereafter imported into the
natural drainage basin of the upper Colorado River system shall
not be charged to any state under the apportionment of
consumptive use made by this compact.
Article XVIII
(a) The state of Arizona reserves its rights and interests
under the Colorado River Compact as a state of the lower
division and as a state of the lower basin.
(b) The state of New Mexico and the state of Utah reserve
their respective rights and interests under the Colorado River
Compact as states of the lower basin.
Article XIX
(a) Nothing in this compact shall be construed as:
(i) Affecting the obligations of the United States of
America to Indian tribes;
(ii) Affecting the obligations of the United States
of America under the treaty with the United Mexican States
(Treaty Series 994);
(iii) Affecting any rights or powers of the United
States of America, its agencies or instrumentalities, in or to
the waters of the Upper Colorado River system, or its capacity
to acquire rights in and to the use of said waters;
(iv) Subjecting any property of the United States of
America, its agencies or instrumentalities, to taxation by any
state or subdivision thereof, or creating any obligation on the
part of the United States of America, its agencies or
instrumentalities, by reason of the acquisition, construction or
operation of any property or works of whatever kind, to make any
payment to any state or political subdivision thereof, state
agency, municipality or entity whatsoever, in reimbursement for
the loss of taxes;
(v) Subjecting any property of the United States of
America, its agencies or instrumentalities, to the laws of any
state to an extent other than the extent to which such laws
would apply without regard to this compact.
Article XX
This compact may be terminated at any time by the unanimous
agreement of the signatory states. In the event of such
termination, all rights established under it shall continue
unimpaired.
Article XXI
This compact shall become binding and obligatory when it shall
have been ratified by the legislatures of each of the signatory
states and approved by the congress of the United States of
America. Notice of ratification by the legislatures of the
signatory states shall be given by the governor of each
signatory state to the governor of each of the other signatory
states and to the president of the United States of America, and
the president is hereby requested to give notice to the governor
of each of the signatory states of approval by the congress of
the United States of America.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the commissioners have executed six (6)
counterparts hereof each of which shall be and constitute an
original, one (1) of which shall be deposited in the archives of
the department of state of the United States of America, and one
(1) of which shall be forwarded to the governor of each of the
signatory states.
Done at the city of Santa Fe, state of New Mexico, this 11th day
of October, 1948.
/s/ Charles A. Carson
Charles A. Carson
Commissioner for the State of Arizona
/s/ Clifford H. Stone
Clifford H. Stone
Commissioner for the State of Colorado
/s/ Fred E. Wilson
Fred E. Wilson
Commissioner for the State of New Mexico
/s/ Edward H. Watson
Edward H. Watson
Commissioner for the State of Utah
/s/ L. C. Bishop
L. C. Bishop
Commissioner for the State of Wyoming
/s/ Grover A. Giles
Grover A. Giles, secretary
Approved:
/s/ Harry W. Bashore
Harry W. Bashore
Representative of the United States of America.