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<br />Current water "'iGdom and '"ater 12.>1 gener.'ate explooing dev"lopC1€nts t"at turn
<br />"land into money," The massive Hater projects which stimulate rap;,d and
<br />uncontrolled groHth, to th3 prim'lry benefit of a sm~,ll number of people and
<br />to the detriment of the general public, are not predicated upon sound princi-
<br />ples of land use, And the creation of neH lan~ use patterns is the ultimate
<br />result of the projects. It is time to relate planning and dnelopment of
<br />water resources to proper land use p' anning. Federal lvney should no longer
<br />be used to perpetuate past mistakes "hich fail to, recognize the inextricable
<br />relationships between water resources development and land use decisions.
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<br />Water policy which has caused the TDS problem of the Colorado Basin needs to
<br />be re-examined in a whole ne" pe~'spective. Projects have been developed with-
<br />out a true assessment of total social costs and total social benefits. Re-
<br />accounting system for project justification.
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<br />In specific response to the Report, He would suggest a number of a.ctions,
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<br />(1) There should be a moratorium, perhaps per",anent, on ar.y federal assist-
<br />ance or approval of diversions out of the Basin, Fed3ral money or
<br />authorization should not 'oe involved in any proje:t ',Ih:..ch is p2,rt of
<br />a system resulting in such diversion. Thc proj0~ts ~8ntion8d in the
<br />Report ar~ not a cor"p:Lete Hsting; for example, the Bc'rc.o,u of r:"clam".-
<br />tion is planning dCL versions from the Green to the t-ii~:.;ouri Basin in
<br />\'Iyoming and Hontana. The EPA Report discusses the fact tho.t these are
<br />high-quali ty heaclHa ters ",hL:h Hill be di ver:.ed, reducl:1g ColorJ,do
<br />River floHs but not salt ::"oads by an equivaJe01t al'lou:Jt. Adc,:~tionally.
<br />most of these projects involve reservoirG. ...:hich ::.ncr:.....~,se 8v,-:l'70rc.tion
<br />losses (although such los""" are small comp2,rGd to La!:e Hcc.,~ ,'-T:d
<br />Lake Powell). Interbasin transfer economics often 2.r8 not fa\'orable
<br />"hen subject to close scrutiny, as is im;ic2,tGd bJ a r"ccn"; :'Cock by
<br />Ho"e and Easter,
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<br />(2) An Interstate Commission should be created to addr"ss the s8,linity
<br />problem compr8~1e.r,si vely, This CU,ll,issio!1 shouJ0. bs a St3.ts..-FsG-::::-al
<br />partnership, If lei t to thai.r OW), devices; thoe sta t2: individually
<br />will p:;.'obably n3ver l'esolve the problems and ach:',eve the necessary
<br />results in salinity control, The h~stoIY of Hater quality control to
<br />date substantiates this th8sis. Proposals for lining irrigatio~
<br />di tches, "flushing" salt--laden streams and building desalinizaFon
<br />plants are piece-me,,-l approaches thClt avoid the basic issues,
<br />
<br />In fact, '"'' are chsmayed by the discussion of s3veral of 'the alterna-
<br />tives to rEduce the sali:lity problem, He c2,nnot condone, 'at this point,
<br />any approach which perpetuat.es the presE:!lt ph'closoph:i of treating the
<br />symptoms rather than the d ,bedse, The appro:ich 0:0 out-basin diversions,
<br />augmentation into the Cusin, more storage and evaporation, and salinity
<br />control and removal may Hell become a technological-G8011omic treadmill.
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<br />(3) Numerical criteria should be established, It is recognized that addi-
<br />tional research is needed, but this should be conducted as rapidly as
<br />possible. Again, the ab8e~ce of numerical standards historically has
<br />resulted in an absence of po::"lution control in America,
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