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,;t~IMAS LA-PLATA PROJECT ',. GENERAL 1. WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT TODAY? Drafts of the Definite Plan Report and Environmental Impact Statement have been completed by the Local Office of the Bureau of Reclamation and they are currently being reviewed. It is expected that the Environmental Impact Hearings can be held by July and that this final Statement can be filed with the Council on Environmental Quality by December. 2. Is THE $600.000 OF PLANNING MONEY ENOUGH? There is a gray area in which either planning or construction funds can be used. Since the Definite Plan Report and Environmental Impact Statement have not been reviewed, the current plan it to seek about $450,000 of additional planning funds for fiscal year 1980 which will permit the completion of repayment contract negotiations, foundation drilling, archaeological investigations and the gathering of speci- fication data. A construction start is anticipated in fiscal year 1981. 3. WHAT HAPPENS ~THOUT THE PROJECT? The Animas-La Plata Project was author- ized 1n 1908 and erefore has a potential of sharing in the water still avail- able to Colorado under the river compact. But there is a long list of other projects that have been waiting in line for an allocation of water from the Colorado River system and if Animas-La Plata stumbles it will lose its place in the line and by the time it recovers there may be no water left. If there is no project the two Ute Indian tribes still will have some call on the Animas and La Plata Rivers under the so-called Winters Water Right Doctrine of 1908. This is a commitment of the federal government to furnish the Indians water sufficient to develop their natural resources. If they don't get this water from the project they could develop their own diversions and, using water rights that go back to 1868, create serious problems for non-Indian communities that have been using these waters for almost a century. Further, if there is no project, domestic water rights in the Durango area are in danger during times of low river flow. New Mexico has rights that are senior to those held in the Durango area and if the river gets too low, New Mexico can put a call on the river that could shut Durango off from its Animas River supply for a time. To get around this, the Durango area needs storage to carry through such a dry period. And as for the ranchers, if there is no project they will have little choice but to protect their equity in their lands by subdividing since they will have little chance to be competitive with the meager supply of water they have. ~~ ".! , (, /, r;- D? About 20,000 Am.mas R1ver downstream just south of Durango. Water law requires that the project by-pass enough water to satisfy these irrigation needs as their rights are senior to those of Animas-La Plata. In addition to satisfy- ing these rights, the project would bypass a minimum of 250 cubic feet per second in the summer time and 125 cubic feet per second in the winter. In the La Plata drainage, the project would provide full service for 4,910 acres of land in New Mexico below the Southern Ute Reservoir and supplemental water for 3,720 acres of land currently under irrigation but receiving only a partial supply of water needed for good farming. Downstream water users on the Animas River with rights prior to the pro- ject water rights will be satisfied before the project will be allowed to pump. This would be done whether the water users were located in Colorado or in New Mexico. Downstream users with rights subsequent to the project may have their diversions curtailed if there is inadequate flow in the river to satisfy prior rights, project rights and subsequent rights. '~~ :,,;7 :''1 1