TRUCKEE RIVER OPERATING AGREEMENT (TROA) (NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA)

The Truckee River Operating Agreement is incorporated in Section 205 of Public Law 101-618 (the Negotiated Settlement) and requires that the U.S. Secretary of the Interior negotiate an operating agreement for the Truckee River with the States of Nevada and California, and other parties. The intent of the TROA is to supplant the current Truckee River Agreement and provide for the comprehensive management of the Truckee River waters in California and Nevada, as well as to provide important long-term drought protection for the Reno-Sparks (Nevada) Metropolitan Area. The primary purpose of the TROA is to improve management of Truckee River reservoirs located in California by expanding existing operations for the benefit of municipal and industrial water use, increase drought storage, aid in the recovery of endangered and threatened fish species, and, in general, improve fish and wildlife habitat within the Truckee River Basin. This would be accomplished by "networking" reservoir releases and storage (i.e., unify reservoir operations for a common objective and into a single schedule) in a manner that would not infringe on existing water storage, release, and use rights or flood control requirements. The TROA would also allow for the exchange, transfer, and release of waters from the upstream reservoirs to improve the likelihood of maintaining instream flows for fish and wildlife. The TROA is intended to provided a number of substantive benefits to users of Truckee River waters. These benefits may be listed in four fundamental areas: (1) Reservoir Management: Improve river flow and river management by improving flexibility, coordinate reservoir storage and release, allow transfers and exchanges among various reservoirs to reduce spills, provide for recreational pools, etc., create a water credit system, promote more efficient use of existing water supplies, allow for the storage of "other waters", centralize Truckee River water management, improve water accounting (budgeting) and forecasting, eliminate releases solely for power generation, permit storage of water savings from conservation in the Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area, and provide for greater water marketing among private water rights holders; (2) Fish and Wildlife: Enhance spawning potential of the Pyramid Lake endangered cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) and threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) fish species through improved overall river operations, commitment of specified waters, increased water availability, and mitigation of significant adverse environmental impacts; (3) Municipal and Industrial Use: Provide additional M&I drought relief storage for the Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area through an M&I Water Credit System; (4) Conservation: Promote water conservation in the Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area through water metering and various conservation programs.