8014

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8014
• Author: McDonald, W. J.
• Title: The Upper Basins' Political Conundrum
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: A Deal is Not a Deal.
• Copyright Material: NO

1

ll

1
1
1

Contents
Page
Introduction .................................................... 1
An Overview of the Institutional Setting ............................. 3
Introduction ................................................. 3
Western Water Law ........................................... 4
Apportionment of Interstate Rivers .............................. 5
1. Litigation .............................................. 6
2. Interstate Compacts ..................................... 8
3. Acts of Congress ......................................... 9
Federal Irrigation Projects ...................................... 9
Federal Flood Control and Navigation Projects .................... 12
The Colorado River Basin: The Agreements and the Results ........... 13
Introduction ................................................ 13
The Historical Agreements .................................... 14
The Actual Results ........................................... 27
The Missouri River Basin: The Agreements and the Results ........... 32
Introduction ................................................ 32
The Historical Agreements .................................... 34
The Actual Results ........................................... 44
A Deal is Not a Deal ............................................. 49
Introduction ................................................ 49
What Went"Wrong?" ......................................... 49
1. More Projects Were Authorized Than Could be Funded ....... 50
2. Sustained Support for Appropriations ...................... 52
3. Federal Budget Constraints .............................. 54
4. Non-Federal, Up-Front Cost Sharing ...................... 57
5. Project Economics ...................................... 58
6. Incomplete Project Planning ............................. 60
7. Environmental Concerns ................................ 61
The Realities of Political Agreements ............................ 63
Conclusions and Recommendations to the Commission ................ 65
Introduction ................................................ 65
A Clash of Perspectives ....................................... 65
What Should the Commission Do? .............................. 69
A Postscript ................................................. 73
Tables
Page
1 Irrigation development (full service acres) ........................ 45
2 Rural water development projects .............................. 47