WSP10526

• File Number: 8210.110.60
• Description: Colorado River Water Users Association
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 12/6/1962
• Author: CRWUA
• Title: Proceedings of the 19th Annual Conference
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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As now constituted, an Inter-Agency Committee is a coordinating mechan~
ism without administrative or operational authority. It has no funds of its own,
The committee is not an independent agency. Its conclusions and recommenda~
tions can be implemented only by the constituent agency or State having responsi-
bility for the functions involved. Consequently, one measure of a coordinating
Committee's accomplishment is the extent to which the participating agencies and
States reach agreements or make adjustments in programs which enable the State
and Federal agencies to do a better job than they could do working independently.

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It is not realistic to expect that a Regional Inter~Agency Committee can or
should attempt to resolve significant policy issues. Most of such is sues have
implications beyond the region and the established means for resolving them in-
clude the Cabinet and,. in the final analysis, the Congress.

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Another limitation on a Regional Inter-Ageney Committee concerns the
budget process. While it is entirely appropriate for a Committee to consider long-
range needs and recommend measures. with estimates of cost to meet these needs,
each Federal member of a Committee is bound by the budget estimates approved
by his agency and included in the President's budget. The whole Federal budget
structure is based on the principle that the President, in light of National fiscal
policy and after extensive budget review in the Executive Branch, decides how
much money will be requested for each Federal agency.

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In other matters, as well as budgetary, Federal representatives on an Inter-
Agency Committee must also conform to established policies and decisions. This
requires that they consider, not only the factors pertinent to a problem from the
viewpoint in the area in which they operate, but also the relation of the problem to
other areas and its implications from a National point of view. This is the funda-
mental consideration which, in effect, dictates the role that Federal members can
assume in aFederal~State Committee. Indeed, representatives of the States are
themsel ves bound by similar considerations with respect to their obligations to
their States. All of these matters inexorably point up the necessity for a basic
concept of an Inter-Agency Committee designed primarily for coordination of ac-
tivities rather than promotion of regional interests.

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In keeping with the Charter and the expressed views of ICWR, PSIAC has
moved toward the goal of being a Committee in which Federal-States I relations and
inter-agency coordination are paramount considerations. Meetings of the Parent
Committee and the five Technical Subcommittees are held four times each year.
All of the States are represented on the Parent Committee, and most of the States
are represented on each of the five Technical Subcommittees. With rare exception,
each meeting is held in a different State.

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The States included in the area of PSIAC, in whole or in part, and the Fed-
eral Departments are as follows:

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State s

Federal Departments

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Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico

Department of Agriculture
Department of the Army
Department of Commerce
Department of Health,
Education and Welfare
Department of the Interior

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