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<br />The Rocky Hour.-:;a~ n C enter on Environnent (HOHCOE) has revie<led the Report on
<br />"The Hiner,~l QU2.U ty Problem in the Colorado Hi ver Basin' of 1971. U.:l appre-
<br />ciates the oI'Po:ctUi''-'. ty to subro.i t these comments for inclusion in the Conference
<br />proceedinp,
<br />
<br />ROI'iCOE J.S a p"l ",,,-tc, nc,n-profi t rcgio~l c;i\'lrolinenta,l s"rvice cE'nter, prov:di r;g
<br />a broad ran.:;" oi' eaVix'Ol1Jnc:mtal assistance to gOI,3:::::c"lent, cOl:>Jervation graul's,
<br />industry a?1ci t:le geueral pubEc ir. the eight Rocky Hountain States. These
<br />comments are :C:':C8pared by the ROhCOE stat'f and do not necessarily rdpre;;e:1t d.
<br />formal pas::. tic.,,, of the ROHCOE Board of Directors,
<br />
<br />ROHCOE has :::""o(;llized and been concec'ned about Colorado River Basin salinity
<br />for several years, The extremely rapid multiplication of the s~lt 1c~d in this
<br />century is another example of a stre8s on the ecosystem re8u1ting from nan's
<br />abuse of the principles of ecology. The basic cause of this stress_i~ the ex-
<br />ceedinl'; of "C,2rr~EB:"c.::=pacity" of the land, The efforts to manipulai;e natu::al
<br />processes, to extract more resources and biological production than the reg~on
<br />can support within naturally--created limit,s is causing the collapse 01 an
<br />element of th3 e':osystem. Man in the, Rocky Hountain Vlest must lea.rn to live
<br />ldthin the c2,,,,abiht:i.es o~ natu:i2l systc,:r.s,.
<br />
<br />The logic of the "~rater development syndrome, which is tl1p first cause of the
<br />saUDi ty problem, goes like this:
<br />
<br />(1) Economic growth, development and population growth arc '~tal to the
<br />futurc of th~ West.
<br />
<br />(2) Econo)~ic g:C'Jwth and dev=lopmQnt depend 2J_mc-st ci1tir2j.y 0~'. dG:Vb:cp;~:p,n:.
<br />anc r""'6H' "uti on of "d"r '''uppl
<br />'-" ....'_.. .._..... L.- .. ,:...... ~r.
<br />
<br />()) Incrc.:,sed crater supply will require oonsiderable accelerated water
<br />de';cJop'l1eelt (1'1d redistri bu-(.ton projects,
<br />
<br />(4) Ilat'21' cs.,Z'l.op;ncmt and redist'.:ibutioll will assure c'f€r,-,;,,;;ardir,g economic::
<br />growth a,,:l population e:>QanSion,
<br />
<br />(5) g"p"nf5:-:'G l1"p'~lations and cconomic growth ;Till gC:1t:Tc'tte ne>w clc;'-:o.:!ds
<br />for incrCD.si;;,s 1'1"- te~' dc"/elop"'3nt and redtstc-l butie;) pro J,""ts.
<br />
<br />(6) Returr. to Ste? 1.
<br />
<br />Ma.la~ff~~fti'l:~~ of_~'~h:,,~' :.::"ot C?"sc,> .of ~hc sa1iDit~problcm are: Ilestern water
<br />. - a~" aL" ~.lY OI tilTUl n.r lard lelt') man",] 1< beral s'--' ",(" Y"" f
<br />t .."0 .J-. .. l-'.L..L.lL .;...l.....~~ 0
<br />wa er; and accelc.rat~"3 bL'o"t.h ethic presc,',Tes fa:::, marc '/2.ter--related "por!'
<br />barrel, p::::oj8cl~, '
<br />
<br />\'leste:C\"il.'"8~ 1a.,' e\'ol:,cd at relatively the same time and under the same frontier
<br />circums "anc", as the H1.l12el(; Act of 1872. Both are in ne:ed of c>a,st'c ;- '....s'
<br />It i' t.. ',. I ~ ~ ..<"... ~on.
<br />s ~m]lera_L~c,:_t!.,:,:t ')estern. states recogni3'~ water-9.!.!~}iJLs.;',~trc1 a,y,LesOlGO'icG.l
<br />proc~sse,>.. a: .",?H..c1.s recreatlon, fish ~nd wildlife and aesthc'hcs. as "b(;nefi~ia1-
<br />uses of I.atcJ...I~2.e~, ,It 1.S essenhal that priorities of appropriated uses
<br />be rest~ctured to balance beneficial uses It is to EPA's c 't th .
<br />is identified in the Report; \'Iestern state~ can no 1anger c.Llc~~e qu~;t{~~~ issue
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