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<br />L <br /> <br />Closed Basin Division <br /> <br />San Luis Valley Project, Colorado <br /> <br />Background and Stat'!_s, Narch 17,) 98Q. <br /> <br />Regarding item No.9 on the Colorado vlatcr Conservat.ion Board I s agenon, Water <br />I <br /> <br />and Power Resource$ Service (~1atcr and PO~ver) pcrcelVCS fiscal year 1981 fundi.ng <br /> <br />for Closed llasin as being in a~ indeterminate state. Technical prerequisite <br /> <br />tasks for the' start of cunstruction have been completed. Such technical prer8- <br /> <br />quisites are the acquisitIon of "later. righls.l filing of the Final Environmental <br /> <br />Stat2mcnt (August 1979), and approval of the Definite Plan Repoy.t (DPR--Novembcr <br /> <br />1979). Ho~cvcr, c0n~truction of t}lC pr~jcct division h2S not been Gt3rtcd~ Thn <br /> <br />DepartmcnL of the Ip-terior has concluded that Congressional reauthorization will <br /> <br />be necessary before construction is sta:cted. The reas-ons for requesting <br /> <br />reauthorization ar(~ that major dEsign cllanges have occurred si.nce authorizat10n <br /> <br />of the project divisionin 1972 (Public La" 92-514), and that estimated costs <br /> <br />for the entire project division no" exceed the cost ceiling indexed from the <br /> <br />1972 authorization. <br /> <br />The Closed Basin is an intermountain basin "ith internal surface drainage in the <br /> <br />San Luis Valley of Colorado. Involved in the basic purposes of the project <br /> <br />division is to annually salvage and deliver to the Rio Grande about 100,800 <br /> <br />acre-feet of "ater that other"ise "ould be consumed by evapotranspiration in the <br /> <br />sump area of the Closed Basin. The water to be salvaged is entirely ground <br /> <br />water. Other project division purposes include furnishing water to and <br /> <br />establishing wildlife refuges, furnishing water for fish, wildlife, and <br /> <br />