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There is still that hidden gimmick where the White House staff will make the final determination, based upon their own criteria, which is known only to them. I A third thing he says, "We need more project review." The fact that we may have reviewed a project for 30 years carries no weight. What he proposed 'is, an "independent panel." The independent panel would be composed of the President's appointees. Some independent panel: What we would have is another layer added to the already lengthy, exhaustive review process. So much for his improvements in the federal water picture. The second main item of the four categories is the establishment of water conservation as a new national priority. We had always been under the impression that water conservation was always a priority, whether national or local. In any event, the President said that he has already directed all federal agencies to incorporate water conservation measures in all applicable programs. We have been doing this for a ~undred years. He also proposes legislation which would authorize the federal government to increase the charges for municipal and industrial water. I don't know how they will get around the existing contracts. In any event, the contracts would become null, and void, as I take it under this proposed policy, and increased charges would be levied for the water. However, to soften this blow, the increased charges would go to the cities or municipaliti~s involved. He also deplores the fact that, in his op~n~on, all water charges for any purpose are too low and they all should be raised. I The third major point was the enhancement of federal-state cooperation and this is a real gasser. The proposed policy actually will reduce federal and state cooperation and suggests greater federal control. Under this heading, the President proposes grant programs totaling .50 million dollars to help states plan for their water needs. If there is anything we don't need, it is more planning. We have planning reports that would cover this whole desk that are gathering dust in our office today. We have so damn many plans that we can't find places to store them anymore. What we don't have is the means of implementing those plans. But this 50 million dollars would help us plan some more. And then we would create a task force of state and local and federal officials to examine water related problems., We have been doing this for a hundred years. This task force purportedly would deepen the -15-