123STA T . 13 87PUBLIC LA W 111 – 11 —M A R .3 0, 200 9(1)waterm a yb e div erted by t h e P r oj e c t f rom the S a nJu an R iver in the State of N ew M e x ico for u s e within New Mexico in the l ower basin , as that term is used in the C olorado River Com p act
( 2 ) any water diverted under para g raph (1) shall be a part of, and charged against, the consumptive use apportion - ment made to the State of New Mexico by A rticle I II(a) of the Compact and to the upper basin by Article III(a) of the Colorado River Compact; and ( 3 ) any water so diverted by the Project into the lower basin within the State of New Mexico shall not be credited as water reaching L ee F erry pursuant to Articles III(c) and III(d) of the Colorado River Compact . (g) P AYMENTOFOP E R AT I ON, MAINTENAN C E, AN D REP L ACEMENT CO S TS. — (1) IN G ENERAL.— T he Secretary is authori z ed to pay the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of the Project allocable to the Project Participants under section 1 06 0 4 until the date on which the Secretary declares any section of the Project to be substantially complete and delivery of water gen- erated by, and through, that section of the Project can be made to a Project participant. (2) PRO J ECT PARTICIPANT PAYMENTS.— B eginning on the date described in paragraph (1), each Project Participant shall pay all allocated operation, maintenance, and replacement costs for that substantially completed section of the Project, in accord- ance with contracts entered into pursuant to section 10604, except as provided in section 10604(f). (h) NO PRECEDENT.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing or establishing a precedent for any type of transfer of Colorado River System water between the U pper Basin and Lower Basin. Nor shall anything in this Act be construed as expanding the Secretary ’ s authority in the Upper Basin. (i) UNI QU E SITUATION.— D iversions by the Project consistent with this section address critical tribal and non-Indian water supply needs under uni q ue circumstances, which include, among other things— (1) the intent to benefit an American Indian tribe; (2) the Navajo Nation’s location in both the Upper and Lower Basin; (3) the intent to address critical Indian water needs in the State of Arizona and Indian and non-Indian water needs in the State of New Mexico, (4) the location of the Navajo Nation’s capital city of W indow Roc k in the State of Arizona in close proximity to the border of the State of New Mexico and the pipeline route for the Project; ( 5 ) the lack of other reasonable options available for devel- oping a firm, sustainable supply of municipal water for the Navajo Nation at Window Rock in the State of Arizona; and (6) the limited volume of water to be diverted by the Project to supply municipal uses in the Window Rock area in the State of Arizona. (j) CONSENSUS.—Congress notes the consensus of the G overnors’ Representatives on Colorado River Operations of the States that are signatory to the Colorado River Compact regarding the diver- sions authorized for the Project under this section. Ef f ectiv e da te .
