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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Censtructien funds were appropriated seme feur years ago for that <br />preject. They are still being apprepriated, but censtructien never <br />starts. <br /> <br />Each censtruction schedule that we've seen in the past ten years has been <br />materially altered frem meeting to meeting of this board. Our minutes <br />will clearly reflect this. We have experienced ene interminable delay <br />after another. The path of r~clamation in Western Celorade is strewn <br />with breken pledges and empty promises. <br /> <br />In recent menths, Mr. Crandall and I have met a number of times. He has <br />expressed a great sense of urgency in getting seme ef these projects <br />under way. We met repeatedly with the Dallas Creek and Savery-Pothook <br />peeple. Every time, I was given to. understand that these delays, some <br />ef which were our fault but many of which were also. suggested by the <br />Bureau of Reclamation, weuld hardly slow anything up at all. Fer the <br />Dallas Creek, the repayment contract electien was tentatively schedul~d <br />fer the past May of this year. That has now been changed to. much later <br />this year. <br /> <br />I was shocked to. find out yesterday that the time schedule has been set <br />forward to about May ef 1977. The envirenmental impact statement <br />hearings have already been held. The enly contreversial item has been <br />remeved frem the preject. We assumed that the preject weu1d meve ferward <br />rapidly. and the E.I.S. would be filed in accerdance with the law. New, <br />what de we find? Eleven months will have elapsed from the time of the <br />hearing befere the statement is filed. ' <br /> <br />Yesterrlay I checked with the ether censervancy districts. I found that <br />all four of the districts have been infermed in the last few days ef the <br />same type of changes. Strangely enough, almest every project now shews <br />a constructien status as of September 1977, except the Deleres which <br />will even be later. <br /> <br />We have werked diligently. This board has gene to Washington. We've <br />presented testimeny to the Cengress starting five years ago that some <br />ef these projects were ready for constructien. Based upen infermation <br />furnished to. us by the Bureau ef Reclamatien this past year, we went <br />again to. Washingten. We told Cengress that we weu1d be ready for con- <br />structien on the Doleres during the next fiscal year. We said to. Cen- <br />gress, give us $800,000 to start this preject. Cengress responded and <br />added that to. the President's budget. New, I understand that we might <br />net be in a censtruction status on the Deleres preject in the coming <br />fiscal year. It was explained to me by the preject manager.here in <br />Western Colorado. that perhaps it was a matter of semantics as to whether <br />or net we weuld be under constructien. Well, semantics are damned <br />important. Either we are or we're not under censtruction. <br /> <br />This has been a precess that has been censtant1y changing almest frem <br />week to week, in such a bewildering fashien that we are unable to <br />cemprehend it. What we de knew is that we can paper the wall ef this <br />room with a continueus flow of breken schedules. Net ene schedule haR <br />been met yet, but now we're asked to believe that at long last~one will <br /> <br />-31- <br />