Chapter 1: Summary of "The Law of the River"

Home Browse Search

F CHAPTER I of at least six States and the consent of the United States. Utah and California took the required action in 1929. The United States approval of the Compact was contained in Section 13(a) of the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 (see House of Representatives Document No. 605, 67th Congress, 4th Session, March 2, 1923; see Appendix 1 B.4 for text of Compact) . B.5 California Limitation Act The consent of the United States to the Compact was conditioned by Section 4(a) of the Boulder Canyon Project Act upon California passing a Limitation Act whereby the required storage dam would be built only if California would agree "irrevocably and unconditionally" to limit her annual consumptive use of Colorado River water to 4.4 maf /yr of the 7.5 maf /yr apportioned to the Lower Basin by Article 111(a) of the Colorado River Compact, plus not more than one -half of any excess or surplus waters unapportioned by the Compact. California met this requirement by passing the California Limitation Act on March 4, 1929 (see Appendix 1 B.5). In the interim period following the Colorado River Compact and the passage of the California Limitation Act, the seven Basin States attempted to settle the division of the Lower Basin water supply and to bring about a seven State ratification of the Compact. The 'failure to resolve these points delayed action by Con- gress on legislation authorizing the construction of Hoover Dam. Finally, on December 21, 1928, the Boulder Canyon Project Act was enacted (45 Stat. 1057) notwithstanding the failure of Arizona to ratify the Compact and the inability of the States of the Lower Basin to agree on the division among themselves of the allocation of Colorado River water. By proclamation dated June 25, 1929, President Hoover declared the Boulder Canyon Project Act effective as of that date (see Appendix 1 B.6 for text of the Boulder Canyon Project Act) . C. Boulder Canyon Project Act 1 45 Stat. 1057) C.1 Major Impact The purposes of the Act, as stated in Section 1, were controlling the floods, improving navigation, regula- tion of flows. the storage and delivery of stored water for reclamation of public lands and other beneficial uses. "exclusively within the United States, and for the generation of electrical energy ... to make the project self - supporting and solvent." In Section 1 Congress authorized the construction of Hoover Dam and Powerplant and the„.All- American Canal to Imperial and Coachella Valleys in California. Congress also consented to the Colorado River Coin - pact (Section 13(a)). However, as noted above, Section 4(a) of the Act provided that in the absence of the _seven State approval of the Compact the Act would become effective only when the Compact was approved by California and five of the other seven States, and it further provided that California would be required to limit its consumptive use to 4.4 maf of the 7.5 maf /yr apportioned to the Lower Basin by Article III(a) of the Compact, plus not more than one -half of any surplus. California did so by enactment of the California Limita- tion Act on March 4, 1929 (see B.5) . The Project Act, with this limitation on California, not only reserved Lower Basin water for the States of Arizona and Nevada, but it provided protection to the Upper Basin against unlimited development in the Lower Basin with prior appropriative rights to the water so used, as well as assurance that the Colorado River Compact would not be nullified. C.2 Division of Lower Basin Water Section 4(a) of the Boulder Canyon Project Act authorized the Lower Basin States of Arizona, California and Nevada to enter into an agreement providing that of the 7.5 maf /yr annually apportioned to the Lower Basin by Article III(a) of the Compact there shall be apportioned to: (1) Nevada, 300,000 acre -feet annually;