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. r.....,,"'i"o"!N.AA.)O..II,TI..... ~...urd..,.M.., 3.1"6 ~ An~m.as""La PJata S!alemeni \I\/as ~Rjdacu'oIUS' . llyTimcs Stall Writer Contnbutlons from Colorado and ~.~W :>lulCo to the Animas-La Plata prOject wiU soon be the only matter to be resuln~d In order to win tne fa\'or of tho:> U_S. Secretary of the (mertor said V.S. Pete Domentcl. R.:--;.:.l. Frada\'. The s('nalot's statement con. lrastl.'d .~n.1rp!y With news e:ulier l~IS ..\....0:-10: l~dlrJ.tm~ th,ll Donald Hodel. the Interior secretary. was unhk('l1' to T('kit In ~lS Opposition to Ull' pn.lJI't'L .\bo. lhl' I"OlllllIlSSlon\'r ,jf the fLoderal ];llreau of n~l:mla. tlon. \\hJcl1 \lIl1lld budd the project. ~Jld this Wf'ek thJt pluncln~ en...r~)' prices lnake the project Jess sen- _~lbll' nllw. iil'nellts 01 the prOject UI'pt'lId llpon :'l.'lIin..: {"oal. said the C'OrlUmSslo/wr, Dale Du~'alL "P:ltt.'nth' ruliculous" is thl! W:lV Dom~nl('l descrlbl't! the RecJ.1ma- tlon COmnllS'iIOnt'r's \'ll'W, ,,' don't "~'l'n l!IVC that a..pet:'t scrlOus con- sIOJer:Hlun," tl'll' ~('natur said. l'h(' \'It'W as.sumes thai IlII \\'llJ be $10 pl.'r b,1rrel whcn the projt'ct is finished, The pr.:l]ect wIll take enough yrars to builcl for the price to .1t.JJUSt up- u..ard, DUmenlCISald. :>linin..: tor Industrial coal III ~outhWl'~t l\l!flrado IS ;\ pHtI.'nllal h..nCIIC!:lr\' uf \\':.It('r fr...lll Ill..: Allllll;IS-LI I'I:lta I'roJcrt, ;jnd cual prlCl'S art' lJdit'\'eo to ft'late, In the !un~ run. to 011 pncl's. lJulnemcl didn't .....~' why he ue- 1lt'\'l!d the InterIOr secret.:Jrv !l:IS Ch:lO~l'\J Ins mmd. 1{0\''-l'Vt'~, the it'nator Solid.' ,1 :ml as ('l.'rtam as I can lle Without havln~ someUun~ v[flclal!\'" from tIle sccretan' that he \1111 ,lhandon his previous POSI- tIOn. Th;Jt ~ltlOn, WhlCh would ha\"(' t'm,k'<l the prort't"t, OI.llnCmCI sauJ, ,ld\'Ot'ah'tJ a w;ller plpcltnl.' for thE' Southern Utcs and UtE' .\tountaln Vtes in SOuthwest Colorado as a "first sta~e" of the prOjeet, The idea appears to ha\'E' been an at- tempt to satisfy c1amlS of the tribes while abandonrng the rest of the project. . 0273 Hodel advocated such a pOSition when Domemcl and Sen. William Annstron~, R,Colo.. met ""1h him about two months ago, DomeniCl said. Ross Swirruner. who heads the Bureau of Indian ..\ffalrs in the In- teClor Department, has since taken the plpl!line proposaJ to southwest Colorado and was rebuifed by the Inulan tribes, Uomenlcl s.lId he believes the In- t,'nor l>t!crI't.ary WIll rndicate in a Il'w .I'-I;-s that th~ proposal for cost- sharrn~ by :-:ew :>le.'(I('O and Colo- r::lUu rnterl.'sts IS the only issue to be re~uh'ed. The cost.benefit ratio of the project as a whole or of the gen- t'ral \':Jlu~ uf the project will no lunt;er UI' dIsputed by the secretary, Do,"e/1\[.'1 saId. "l.on~standmg comrmtments" by the feJ~ral Kovernment to New :>Ie:<ico and Culorado and to the In- tllOin trIbes alon!! with commitments 10 other C"lorJdo River s)"stem prolt'cts mean that the project should ue built, Domenici said. The two Indian tribes have ;!~rC1:'d. to 3CCl'pt some COst-shanng crr-..llt m exch;!n~e for their cl;lIms luwatcrlromlhepruJect. Domenicl saId hI' h.h complimented the ch:llrmen of the Southern Vtes and Ute :>lount:un Ute tribes for theIr ;!~recmt'nt to settle their water rli:hts c1:llms 10 this war. The Inbt..s have "a substantlal claim :Il~amst the federal gO\'(~m' ment \I'hlch IS umque to them." and most I\'at..r experts beheve the daim is valid, Domenlci s:ud. Bt.'enU5e of the ltkelr success of the lnbt.'s' pursuit of their c!;:llm m fcdl'rall'Ourt" there IS mort' risk in nut bUlldm~ the project than to l>ulldin~ it, the senator said. Some irn~:ltors have expressed llo'Orry Ihat they mill:ht lose theIr wa- ter rights PriOrities because of the proJect, Domenici said. but there IS "no chanre" they WIll lose theIr nn,,~;r;..~