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<br />I <br /> <br />We feel that that shortage being forced <br />upon that project and other uses in Colo- <br />rado, in times of extreme shortages, is not <br />fair and would very likely cause the Animas- <br />La Plata Project to be infeasible because of <br />the shortage of the water supply. The water <br />supply of the Animas-La Plata is already <br />short. There is a limited quantity of water <br />that can be used at the point of diversion <br />on the Animas River. The reason being that <br />there is a great deal of development in the <br />Animas Valley in Colorado below the point of <br />diversion. There is also a great deal of <br />development in the Animas Valley" in New <br />Mexico above Farmington and the water for <br />those uses, being old uses, must be bypassed <br />before a diversion can be made for the <br />Animas-La Plata Project. Due to that fact, <br />shortages already exist. We call them <br />natural shortages, actually they are not but <br />they are shortages that we are saddled with <br />because of prior commitments, <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Now, since it is already a short water <br />supply, any further shortages saddled upon <br />the Animas-La Plata Project could make it <br />infeasible. I can't say for sure. The Bur- <br />eau is conducting studies on that, I think, <br />at this time. However, this small quantity <br />of water again will not make the San Juan- <br />Chamainfeasible nor will it make the Navajo <br />Indian Irrigation Project infeasible. <br /> <br />To get back to this proviso again, there <br />are certain things involved in the Compact, <br />the shortage provision that we have - we don't <br />like it but we can do nothing about it - but <br />this won't change it. All this would do would <br />cause an operation situation which, in our <br />opinion, would make it worse. Also the Rio <br />Grande Compact, has a clause in it, Article IX, <br />that we think is effective and I want to read <br />it to you: <br /> <br />'Colorado agrees with New Mexico that in <br />the event the United States or the State of <br />New Mexico decides to cohstruct the necessary <br />works for diverting the waters of the San Juan <br />River, or any of its tributaries, into the <br />Rio Grande' (and that, of course, is the San <br />Juan-Chama Project which diverts it into the <br />