OCR Text |
Show -76- or the waters thereofj * * * In my opinion, unusual care was taken in drafting the provisions of article XI, to avoid seeking the enactment of Federal legislation that could be con- strued as withdrawing Federal jurisdiction over the waters of the basin, or that v/ould require onerous procedures by Federal agencies in their present or prospective operations affecting the waters of the basin. I have a statement in my report about the position in which the irrigation farmer finds himself. I believe it would-be .worth Y/hile to read this to you* Some of the principles embodied in the proposed compact are aptly illustrated by the case of the irrigation farmer, who must, of necessity, consumptively use waterc It evaporates into the air and it is transpired by vegetation. According- ly, he cannot irrigate the land by diversion of water frcm an interstate stream without depleting the natural water supply and thereby affecting the regimen of that stream to some extent. In addition to a considerable monetary investment, he also has to invest his own life and energy as well as that of his- family in establishiaag an irrigation farm. A good many of you who live in western States know of many serious crises that have arisen to make the irrigation farmer lose everything. In other words, his money, his life, and the welfare of his family are at stake. For that reason, it is inconceivable that the Federal Government should exercise any right which would divest the irrigation farmer of water after he had once put it to beneficial use, without just compensation for damages sustained. Further- more, he must depend upon State laws, State regulations, and State court decrees to establish and to protect his water right; those laws, regulations, and de- croes have been evolved throughout a long period of years largely by cut-and-dry methods9 They cannot be set aside precipitately without disastrous consequences. The legislative procedure set forth in article XI would give assurance to the irrigation farmer, and to the State as well, that rights to use water from an inter.sta.te stream, which he has acquired under State law, will be recognized. I would like to tell the committee here that the relationships of the State commissioners and their advisers to the Federal representative and representa- tives detailed to attend the meetings by the several Government agencies con- cerned, were very highly appreciated, I think, by the State commissioners, and I know they were from my point of view. The Federal and State representatives v/ere, at all times, courteous and considerate, even when widely divergent views were exprossed. The wilLlingness to weigh suggestions carefully, whether made by Federal or State participants, was highly commendable. Now, tfcie proposed compact, as you know, has been ratified by the States. I believe tfciat it does not infringe upon the rights of ,the United States, or its agencies, and that it affords the best means of assuring the most advantageous use and control of the water resources in the Republican River Basin for multiple purposes. ' |