Reclamation offers $72 per acre-foot with inflation index; county had proposed $115

Rates and amortization were a central focus of the negotiation. Daggett County had proposed an initial rate in the $115 per acre-foot range and an amortization structure modeled on the 2001 contract; Reclamation presented alternative modeling and recommended a lower starting price with inflation indexing.

Rick Backstrom of the Bureau of Reclamation said the bureau's team "would like to have you consider today is a price of $72 per acre foot, plus inflation beginning in that next year." Reclamation staff recommended tying future adjustments to an agreed benchmark, such as Reclamation's O&M index or the CPI-U (Western urban area), and suggested a practical cadence for formal review every 10 years rather than annual automatic adjustment. Jeff Hardy illustrated how different index choices and amortization methods would affect long-term cost projections, noting that a $72 starting point with indexation could result in lower long-term average costs than a higher front-loaded start under some interest-rate scenarios.

County commissioners asked whether indexing would be tied to annual adjustments or reviewed at decade intervals; Reclamation recommended a 10-year review to set the new rate based on the chosen index. Parties agreed to continue negotiating the precise benchmark and review cadence for inclusion in the revised contract draft.