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Show 164 UPDATING THE HOOVER DAM DOCUMENTS On February 18, 1969, the United States responded to California's questions regarding the Federal reclamation projects in Arizona and California. On March 3, 1969, the Chairman of the Committee provided a progress report on the status of the questions posed and the answers provided by each of the parties, and noted that thus far the United States had responded to California's inquiry and California had replied, in part, to the United States questions regarding Bard. This was followed by another status report of July 22, 1969, which noted that no additional responses had been received. On August 1, 1969, Arizona provided answers to California's questions regarding Arizona's eighteen miscellaneous PPR claims. On August 14, 1969, Imperial Irrigation District provided answers to the questions asked by the United States on January 9, 1969, and by Arizona's inquiry of January 14, 1969. These included records of diversions from the mainstream for 1923-1969; breakdown of the quantities of water wasted, lost in sluicing, lost by evaporation, and all other losses of water in Mexico and in the United States; the quantity of water delivered to users in Mexico 1923-1929; the gross and net acres irrigated in both countries in the period 1923-1929; the quantities of water returned from Mexico and delivered to the United States; the quantity of water delivered to users in the United States; return flows; date of construction of diversion facilities; and the date diversions began. On August 18, 1969, California provided a further response regarding Bard Irrigation District and noted the difficulty in answering the United States questions regarding miscellaneous PPR claims. Palo Verde Irrigation District responded on September 3, 1969. /. Preparation of "Compromise PPR Statement" Following discussions between the Solicitor's Office and Reclamation in Washington on November 4, 1969, and in Boulder City on November 20, 1969, and pursuant to a request therefor as a means of compromising the existing impasse between the parties on PPRs, the Regional Solicitor's Office on December 15, 1969, provided Reclamation with drafts of statements designated "Reg. Sol. Draft 12-15-69" for the major PPR claimants in Arizona and California. (The statement actually had been drafted jointly by Reclamation and the Regional Solicitor's Office prior to that date.) It recited the California claims for Imperial and Palo Verde Irrigation Districts, the apparent rationale therefor, such as the acreage irrigated and the quantity of water used, the later enlarged claims, the rationale for the claims for the Federal reclamation projects, the United States objections to the States claim, and a statement and rationale therefor of the extent of each claim which would be acceptable to the United States and which were premised on a water duty of approximately 5.6 acre-feet of water per irrigated acre. An effort was made therein to place all PPR claimants on an equal basis. A summary tabulation of the proposed compromise claims follows: State U.S. Informal Revised U.S. Listed Proposed State Claims Claims Claim Compromise (March 1967) (Jan. 8, 1969) (March 1967) Claim California Imperial 2,806,000 acre- 3.086,600 acre- None Consumptive use of Irrigation feet within feet (no other 2,483,000 acre-feet District boundaries of IID change) with priority date of - priority date - 1901 1895 Palo Vcrdc 208,100 acre-feet 241,400 acre-feet None Consumptive use of Irrigation within boundaries (no other change) 182,000 acre-feet District of Palo Verde with a priority date Irrigation District of 1877 - priority date - 1877 |