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Show ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY CENTER 317 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 (202) 547-6500 Fred Reimherr January 2, 1978 CRCUP 727 6th Ave Salt Lake City, UTAH Dear Fred: I'm writing to commend you for your efforts on the Central Utah Project and to provide encouragement for continued vigorous pursuit of a responsible project from the Bureau of Reclamation. Dorothy Harvey spoke with me about the inability of the Bureau to provide written answers to your cost questionaire. I think that the Bureau1s inability to provide answers to recisonable questions about costs of a billion dollar undertaking is significant- You probably should put out a press release pointing out that the Interior Department has had months to prepare a reply but is unable to do so. In fact, all Interior can do is offer to meet with citizens in an effort postpone coming to grips with the tough economic probing that you are doing. I recommend that you don't meet with the Bureau until it answers your questions. Put out a press release on their failure to respond in writing. t One tactic that the Bureau of Reclamation often tries when it feels that critics are closing in is to promise to take some action to modify the project. For example, they may promise to give some minimum stream flows. Unfortunately, when it comes to implementation of-what they have promised, they don't follow through. In the case of the CUP it is quite possible that the Bureau will, for example, promise some minimum stream flow to lull you into passiveness. Then after your guard is down and your local organization has withered, the project will be built and will be operated as the Bureau has always wanted. The Bureau's scheme to divert water out of the National Forest should be stopped by preventing them from building the Strawberry Collection System. Once this system is in place they can do the diversion and get around stream flow agreements.. You may wish to consider having a symposium on the CUP with distinguished experts talking about various aspects of the project and how deficient the proposal is from the standpoint of the economics, the environment, the consumer, the Indian, etc. If there is anything we can do here to help, please give a call. Sincerely, Brent Blackwelder cc: Barbara Polich, Dorothy Harvey |
