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<br />to go on the Narrows Project, they simply made their decisions without <br />any meetings or consultation with the state. <br /> <br />Subsequent to that, the Hunter Creek issue came up. The Solicitor's <br />office had been working approximately for a year on this Hunter Creek <br />opinion, which we knew nothing abOut. We felt that it was a rather <br />strange and bizarre situation for Interior to have given such a high <br />priority to an issue and not have included us at any point during their <br />approximately 12 months of deliberation on that issue. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />So I wrote a letter to GUY Martin explaining our concern over this <br />ongoing breakdown in communication. His response to me was, essen- <br />tially, that he acknowledged the .fact that the Department of the <br />Interior had not met with the state on the Narrows issue. He said <br />that that was regrettable but the time pressures made it impossible to <br />do that, but he felt very confident that he understood our pOlicies and <br />our views on the issue and that he had well represented those views to <br />the Secretary. <br /> <br />On the issue of Hunter Creek, as I recollect, there was really no answer <br />except to say that Hunter Creek was basically a legal issue that normally <br />does not involve the participation of states, and including the state <br />in the evaluation of the legal issue would not have added any insight to <br />their deliberations. <br /> <br />So we continue to have the problem of communication that we have had in <br />the past. <br /> <br />MR. JACKSON: Mr. Chairman, I, first, would like to compliment Larry <br />and the Governor and his staff and most of our congressional delegation <br />for the fine job that they did fOr us and tried to do for us on this <br />whole issue. I certainly think it has been a frustrating year. <br /> <br />I put a file together yesterday on many of these issues, and it is <br />amazing how many of these things have come untied and broken over the <br />last few months and have occupied Larry's attention. I think it was a <br />magnificent effort. <br /> <br />Secondly, I would urge very strongly that we do accept a major role. <br />through the committee that you have proposed, Mr. Chairman, on this <br />matter of spending and water project financing in the state. You have <br />addressed it and Larry has addressed it and Harris has made many good <br />comments. It seems to me that there are many things we have to deal <br />with besides just the amount of money for a project. <br /> <br />The National Water policy is going to change our method of operation, I <br />without question, whether we like it or not. Probably the state will <br />spend more money because of the National Water pOlicy. I think we <br />should be asking for more money, anyway, a la Wyoming or other states, <br />to respond to these many fine projects that are proposed to us as <br />well as a percentage of some of the larger projects which we may have <br />to incur. <br /> <br />We also have to deal with the political realities of this 7 percent <br /> <br />-10- <br />