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<br />-6- <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado to help meet Colorado's Rio Grande Compact ob- <br /> <br />ligations to the States of New Mexico and Texas and a <br /> <br />substantial segment of the annual salvage would be used <br /> <br />to payoff an alleged Colorado debit of about a million <br /> <br />acre-feet under the Compact. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation reports that sufficient water <br /> <br />can be salvaged in the "Closed Basin" to meet the annual <br /> <br />Compact requirements, payoff the accumulated debit in 35 <br /> <br />years, and subsequently have a substantial volume of water <br /> <br />available annually for new uses in Colorado. Possible new <br /> <br />uses, according to the U.S.B.R., could be: (1) irrigation <br /> <br />of new lands, (2) supplemental water for lands now being <br />inadequately irrigated, and/or (3) the enhancement of wild- <br />life and recreational facilities.* <br /> <br />The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation project plan proposes <br /> <br />that all costs with the exception of some lands and rights- <br /> <br />of-way and some basic recreational facilities, be paid by <br /> <br />the Federal Government. Although the Bureau admits that <br /> <br />this is a departure from usual Reclamation practice, it is <br /> <br />considered to be justified because of (1) the difficulty of <br /> <br />identifying the benefi ciaries, (2) interstate river compact <br />requirements, and (3) United States Treaty obligations with <br /> <br />Mexico. <br /> <br /> <br />* <br />See comments under Administrative and Legal Requirements, <br />Page 21 <br /> <br />f1; ;.300 <br />\..~ l.,; \.. 1] <br />