BOARD00767 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I MR. VANDEMOER: And then later on you think they will build into camps like the old CCC? MR. CRANDALL: Yes, We will establish residential centers, and they will work from there on conservation projects. I think we are free to work on the established project areas and maybe state programs that you would like to suggest to us, some public interest activities. MR. STAPLETON: Larry, do we have any way to get input into that? MR. SPARKS: Yes. I will touch upon that in my report a little later. We have a state drought council that is making projections and predic- tions. Our computations are that it will take about 125 percent of the long-term average this coming year to get us back into a normal configu- ration on water supply. In other words, the snow-pack would have to be about 125 percent of the long-term average. The chances of this happen- ing are very small. We have a statistical projection on that, too. It is something like a 15 or 20 percent chance of that happening, a very small probability. All of the federal and state agencies are making projections and keeping close track of the water supplies for next year. The Drought Council has issued various pUblications based upon various assumptions as to what the supply will be next year. The problem is no one really knows. While Mr. Crandall is here, I do have some questions and a few observa- tions. I have on my desk some inquiries from the Governor's office on several subjects that I am not able to answer at this time. I am not sure that I can ever answer them, but I must try. First, I want to advise the Board that this afternoon at 1:30 there will be a brief ceremony in the Courthouse here in Cortez, which is not on our agenda. That ceremony will be in the District Court with the District Judge present for the signing of the Dolores contract. We have had to change our dates serveral times on the ground-breaking ceremony for the Dolores Project because we simply did not know whether the proj- ect was going or not. Under the 1956 Act, which authorized the ColoradO River Storage Project, there is a provision which is somewhat unique in reclamation history. This provision requires that, for any project con- structed under the authority of the ColoradO River Storage Project Act, an executed contract must be in existence before construction can start. That Act says that not only must there be an executed contract, but the contract must be executed by an organization which has the authority to levy ad valorem taxes. Obviously, our water conservancy districts in Colorado qualify under the Act. I met with the Commissioner of Reclamation this past summer to review the contract. proceedings with him. He assured me that we would obtain an executed contract on the Dolores Project any day. That was about the -9-