OCR Text |
Show THE -DElIVIiR UEETIMG When the compact commission convened at Denver on December 2, 19^2* those present, in addition to the three State commissioners and the repre- sentative of the United States, were legal advisers of the commissioners and representatives of the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Y/ar» All suggestions made by representatives of Federal agencies were given careful attention by the Commission* Particularly thorough consideration was given to the Federal Power. Commission's desire, presented in letter to me of November 3°t 19^2, to have the "paramountcy clause" eliminated. The State commissioners were gr atly disturbed by this desire of the Federal Power Commission because they felt that the effectiveness of the proposed compact required some specific assurance by the Federal Government that the allocation of the water and the rights established thereunder would be recognized. After much discussion the State commissioners were unanimous in the opinion that an adequate compact could not be consummated by the States without providing in some manner for allocating the water according to the principle of beneficial consumptive use and for protecting the right of such use when once established. The negotiations at the Denver meeting were completed on December 3 after agreement had been reached on another draft which thereafter was re- ferred to as the "Denver draft*" That draft included the paramountcy • clause but was free of most of the other objections previously directed against.provisions of, or omissions from the compact formerly proposed* It also contained other provisions intended to correlate Federal and State interests, without impairing the underlying Federal jurisdiction. The Denver draft was transmitted within a week after the Denver meet- ing -fco representatives of the Federal Power Commission and the Departments of Agriculture, Interior,, and \»rar, .with the request that suggestions, com- ments, or desired amendments be -..furnished to me as promptly as possible so that they might be convas.sed and analyzed prior to the second meeting of the commission which had been scheduled at Lincoln, Nebr., on December 29, 19ij2» I also discussed that draft informally with representatives of the National Resources Planning Board. The foregoing Federal agencies were asked to have representatives at the Lincoln meeting for the purpose of protecting their interests and collaborating with the compact commission in working out a final draft that would be satisfactory to all concerned. THE LINCOLN MEETING The second meeting of the Republican River compact commission con- vened at Lincoln December 29, 19^2* Legal advisers to the State commis- sioners and Federal representatives of the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and War were present. In addition, upon my request, an observer, detailed by the National Resources Planning Board, was present. After preliminaries, the first order of new business was presentation of a substitute draft recommended by the Federal Power Commission. That draft made no reference to beneficial consumptive use or to the paramountcy |