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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />has multiplied by a factor of about five in the past couple of years. <br />The amount that comes into the basin fund to pay interest and retire <br />debt is considerably reduced. Hopefully, we will have some better water <br />years and we can have greater power production out of our hydro system <br />and some of the difficulties in pOWer generation and marketing will <br />level off. <br /> <br />The other factor I would like to invite your attention.to is the trans- <br />fer of reclamation transmission and power marketing functions to the <br />newly created Department of Energy. In our region this involves some- <br />thing over a hundred employees and a significant amount of our historic <br />activities. We have summarized for you, beginning on page 14, the total <br />reclamation program in the Colorado River Basin. You can see, with the <br />additions of the construction programs, that it is upwards of $30,000,000 <br />for Fiscal Year 1978. And if you add to it the Department of Energy <br />power functions, the total program is around $50,000,000. We have added <br />in here the exact language in the Appropriation Act that relates to the <br />recission of the funds on projects that were deleted from the program. <br /> <br />The Drought Act has been a very compelling and important program for us <br />during this summer. It is summari2ed for you on pages 18 and 19. Our <br />work is summarized there, our emergency activities in Colorado. There <br />have been some amendments which extended the time for application and <br />also the time for completion of the actions under 'this program, and they <br />are on page 20. <br /> <br />We have a new youth program. It is called the "Young Adult Conservation <br />Corps Program." Reclamation will have some funding and responsibilities <br />in this area. We hope to establish one of these youth conservation camps <br />in Western Colorado, and we are earnestly looking for worthwhile, year- <br />round conservation type work to assign these young people to. We seek <br />your help in that program. <br /> <br />The final item here deals with our environmental program. We are start- <br />ing up a comprehensive environmental statement, a two-year program on the <br />Colorado River Basin. This is being done in cooperation with the Lower <br />Region and in response to pressures for NEPA compliance in operation of <br />future project plans dealing with the environmental factors on an accumu- <br />lative basis. <br /> <br />The Environmental Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit concerning the estab- <br />lishment of salinity standards. The Secretary has published proposed <br />rule-making dealing with the excess lands portion of the Reclamation Act. <br /> <br />An then, finally, we invite your attention to the Water Resources policy <br />Review that is underway. <br /> <br />so, Mr. Chairman, that is a capsule of the reclamation activities. There <br />are a lot of varied items, and myself and my colleagues are here, and it <br /> <br />-7- <br />