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HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program TABLE 1-2 CRITICAL PERIOD WITHDRAWAL REDUCTION STAGES FOR THE UVALDE POOL Index Well J-27 Withdrawal Reduction Critical Period Stage Level (MSL) Uvalde Pool I N/A N/A II <850 5% III <845 20% IV <842 35% MSL = mean sea level; NA== not applicable [b]eginning September 1, 2007, the authority [EAA] may not require the volume of permitted withdrawals to be less than an annualized rate of 340,000 acre- feet, under critical period Stage IV.(EAA Act § 1.26A(d)). [a]fter January 1, 2013, the [EAA] may not require the volume of permitted withdrawals to be less than an annualized rate of 320,000 acre-feet, under critical period Stage IV unless, after review . . . the [EAA] determines that a different volume of withdrawals is consistent with . . . maintaining protection for federally listed threatened and endangered species associated with the aquifer to the extent required by federal law.(Id. at (e)). As another requirement of the Senate Bill 3 legislation, the EAA must cooperatively develop a Recovery Implementation Program (RIP) through a facilitated, consensus-based process that involves input from the USFWS, other appropriate federal agencies, and all interested stakeholders, including those listed under Section 1.26A(e)(1) of the EAA Act. SB 3 further directed the EAA and other state agencies to participate in the EARIP and to jointly prepare, along with other stakeholders, (EAA Act § 1.26A(d)). The EARIP stakeholders agreed that the program document would be an HCP in support of an ITP. SB 3 requires that this program document: (1) Provide recommendations for withdrawal adjustments based on a combination of spring discharge rates of the San Marcos and Comal springs and levels at the J-17 and J-27 index wells during critical periods to ensure that federally listed, threatened, and endangered species associated with the Aquifer will be protected at all times, including throughout a repeat of the drought of record; (2) Include provisions to pursue cooperative and grant funding to the extent available from all state, federal, and other sources for eligible programs included in the cooperative agreement under SB 3, including funding for a program director; and (3) Be approved and executed by the EAA, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and the USFWS not later than September 1, 2012. 1-6