Today, we celebrate an historic event on the Colorado River - the river that brings life to this arid region of our nation.

With the signing of the Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement, we witness a resolution of issues that have been unresolved for more than 70 years.

We celebrate the fulfillment of the solemn promise in 1929 by the State of California to the United States and the other Colorado River Basin States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. California committed that it would live within its entitlement of 4.4 million acre feet of Colorado River water at such time as other states needed their share of the waters of the Colorado.

It is fitting to be here today, as that promise by California in 1929 allowed the Colorado River Compact of 1922 to be ratified and Hoover Dam to be authorized and constructed.

We also celebrate the fact that California water management entities have finally agreed as to how California's 4.4 million acre feet will be allocated within California.

Like the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which was conceived and negotiated by the States, the 2003 Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement is the product of leadership by the seven Colorado River Basin States and local entities.

In fact, this Agreement is further proof that difficult natural resources public policy issues are best addressed by my fundamental management precept for Interior: communication, consultation, and cooperation, in the service of conservation.

These principles are a template for how I believe the Interior Department should conduct business. This approach means that solutions come from the local entities most affected by resource decisions, and not by fiat from Washington, D.C.

The complicated and often contentious history of the Colorado River underscores the significance of this “Ten­Page” Agreement. Our commitment to the Law of the Colorado River remains clear. The future of the Basin is secured by this new addition to the Law of the River.

In 1928 Congress required California to "irrevocably and unconditionally" agree to limit its annual use of Colorado River water to 4.4.million acre­feet. Congress made the state's agreement a condition for building this engineering marvel, Reclamation’s keystone of the lower Colorado River distribution system.

Though California agreed to this limitation in 1929, the state has been drawing extra water from the river for the past several decades. While this use was legal, California still needed a plan to fulfill its promise to the other Colorado River Basin States and the Federal Government.

The key to meeting this commitment was dividing up California's 4.4 million acre­foot share among its southern farming and urban communities. This objective had eluded our grasp since 1931.

Without a firm understanding of each entity’s relative share of Colorado River water, market-based transfers of water from farms to cities were frustrated. All parties recognized that a clear division, or quantification, of the respective uses of water within California was necessary for these types of transfers.

The 2003 Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement is the long­sought quantification, the Federal Quantification Settlement Agreement, that enables California to meet the needs of its citizens in a manner that respects the rights of the other Colorado River Basin states.

The framework to implement a Quantification Settlement Agreement was reached after years of difficult negotiations. In late 2000, California, the other six Basin States, and the Department of the Interior agreed on this framework, known as the Interim Surplus Guidelines. The Guidelines provided California with a choice as to how it would reduce its over­reliance on the waters of the Colorado River.

If California met all of the Guidelines' benchmarks, it would continue to have access to extra water during the transition to its 4.4 million acre­foot limit. In other words, it would have a grace period to gradually wean itself off the use of too much water. This path was known as the "soft landing." The first benchmark required the relevant California water agencies to adopt a Quantification Settlement Agreement by December 31, 2002.

If California failed to meet any of the benchmarks in the Interim Surplus Guidelines, it would immediately lose access to that grace period of extra water, a path known as the "hard landing."

Despite the efforts of many local, state and federal officials, California failed to meet the first major benchmark under the Interim Surplus Guidelines by Dec. 31, 2001. Because it was unable to reach an internal consensus about how to divide up its water, California automatically lost its access to the extra Colorado River water available. It experienced the first stage of a hard landing.

Since then, negotiations among the four California water agencies, the Department, and representatives of all seven Colorado River Basin States continued. These negotiators worked through an astounding series of difficult issues. But they persevered, and as a result of the hard work, dedication, and persistence of those negotiators, we are here today to celebrate a success for the Colorado River.

The Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement marks an historic turning point for California and the Basin States. The Agreement is short, clear, and multi-faceted. By this Agreement:

• California will honor the commitment it made in1929 by adopting specific, incremental steps to gradually reduce its use of Colorado River water over the next 14 years to its basic annual allotment of 4.4 million acre­feet.
• For the other Basin States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, the Agreement provides certainty, allowing them to protect their authorized allocations and meet their future water needs.
• In the Lower Basin, Nevada, which lost access to surplus water from the Colorado River along with California, will again have access to surplus water. Nevada will be able to return to the long­term path it has developed to meet the needs of its growing population.
• The Agreement enables California to provide water for its growing cities, as well as its farming communities, and to address the environmental concerns of the Salton Sea.
• The Agreement allows farming communities in Southern California to strengthen their economies through water efficiency projects, canal modernization, conservation, and water marketing. In addition, divisive litigation regarding the use of Colorado River water has been resolved.
• This Agreement provides the critical water supply necessary to finally resolve the water rights claims of the La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, Rincon and San Pasqual Bands of Mission Indians.