BOARD01858

• Board Meeting Date: 1/12/1967
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

5398

MR. CORNELIUS:

As the Board members will recall, the
Animas-La Plata project is a joint Colorado-
New Mexico project. About 20 percent of the
lands are located in New Mexico, 20 percent
of the lands are within the ute Reservation,
and the remaining 60 percent of the land~'"
are in Colorado. We have now been negotiat-
ing with New Mexico for about two years '6n :.5'.'
this matter. The principal work on the com-
pact has been done by the Southwestern Water
Conservation District. About a year or so
ago the Board passed a resolution recommend-
ing that I be appointed as commissioner for.
Colorado to negotiate this compact. We have
at long last agreed upon this very simple
compact which, in effect, gives New Mexico ..
a valid right equal to the rights in Colorado
for uses under the Animas-La Plata Project
only.

I

It is the recommendation of the staff
that the Board approve this compact as an
amendment to H. R. 4671, with the understand-
ing that nothing will be done in Colorado to
implement this compact until congress enacts
the legislation. If and when Congress does
enact the legislation then we would have to
formalize the compact, that is, the compact
commissioners would sit down and sign the
compact and then submit it to the legisla-
tures of Colorado and New Mexico for ratifi-
cation. So we here, by this act or this
recommendation, are not committing ourselves
to anything at this time, except as an amend-
ment to H. R. 467l. At some later date, next
year or the year after, assuming that Congress
enacts the legislation, then it would be sub-
mitted to our legislatures for ratification.
We would not submit it to the legislature
this year or at any time until the Congress
has actually approved the Animas-La Plata
project.

1

That's all I have to say, Mr. Chairman."

"Larry, may I ask a question?"