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Show 214 UPDATING THE HOOVER DAM DOCUMENTS H.9.1. Details of Public Law 90-537 This complex bill includes the following key items: (a) Authorization of the Central Arizona Project at an estimated cost of $832,000,000; (b) Authorization of five Upper Colorado River Basin projects at an estimated cost of $392,000,000; (c) Existing California, Arizona, and Nevada Colorado River water contractors would receive a priority over the Central Arizona Project whenever the annual usable supply is less than 7.5 million acre-feet, with California's priority limited to 4.4 million acre-feet per year; thus, the 27-year limit on California's 4.4 maf priority (to allow California time to pay off its Colorado River Aqueduct bonds) was dropped; (d) Assumption of the Mexican Treaty burden by the United States as a National obligation when the river is augmented below Lee Ferry by 2.5 maf per year; (e) The Secretary of the Interior is to determine water supplies and requirements and develop a plan to meet the water needs of the West but is prohibited for 10 years from undertaking reconnaissance studies of any plan for importation of water from any other natural river drainage basin lying outside the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and outside of those portions of Nevada, Utah and Wyoming which are in the natural drainage basin of the Colorado River; (f) A development fund is established to help repay future costs of augmentation; (g) Establishment of priorities for the coordinated long-range operation of the major Colorado River reservoirs; (h) Provision for purchase of capacity in a non-Federal thermal powerplant by the Federal Government in lieu of construction of new dams on the Colorado River; (i) Reauthorization of the Dixie Project in Utah, in order to permit it to receive financial assistance from the Lower Basin Development Fund established by the Act; (j) Conditional authorization of the Uintah Unit of the Central Utah Project; (k) The right of the States to sue the United States if the Federal Government fails to comply with the "Law of the River"; (1) Direction to the Secretary to make reports as to the annual consumptive uses and losses of water from the Colorado River system after each successive 5-year period starting October 1970; and (m) Removal from the Federal Power Commission of the right to approve the construction of any dams on the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam so as to permit Congress to retain control of future construction (see pages 12-15, Colorado River Board of California, Annual Report, 1968. For a section analysis see "Analysis of Public Law 90-537, Colorado River Basin Project" - Paul L. Billhymer, pages 69-97', Twentieth Annual Report of the Upper Colorado River Commission, September 30,1968). The text of the Colorado River Basin Project Act, dated September 30, 1968, Public Law 90-537, appears as Appendix 1202. H.9.2 Reports Provided for by Public Law 90-537 Section 201 of Public Law 90-537 directs the Secretary of the Interior to "...conduct full and complete reconnaissance investigations for the purpose of developing a general plan to meet the future water needs of the Western United States. Such investigations shall include the long-range water supply available and the long-range water requirements in each water resource region of the Western United States. ...a final reconnaissance report shall be submitted not later than June 30, 1977...." In April 1975, the Secretary submitted two reports on the "Critical Water Problems Facing the Eleven Western States." These are the Westwide Study Report and an Executive Summary Report. Because of their length (457 pages and 85 pages, respectively) they are not included herein, but portions of the Executive Summary appear as Appendix 1203. However, the summary table taken from the report shows, by States and Basins, the annual onsite consumptive uses and losses including water uses satisfied by ground-water overdraft. For the 5-year period (October 1970 to September 1975 inclusive) the average annual uses and losses for the Upper and Lower Basins are summarized as follows: |