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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />~ <br />/ <br /> <br />The last draft we saw, which was not distributed generally, wasn't too <br />bad, actually. There were still some sticky points that we disagreed_ <br />with. The last draft was shown to the Governors only, and I just <br />accidently happened to hear about it. Well, not exactly accidently. <br /> <br />considerable progress has been made in trying to convince the President <br />that'not all water development is as bad as it was portrayed to be 'a <br />year ago. The President hassome--like any new administration--has a <br />bunch of new advisors. Each new president gets some idiots among his <br />advisors to start with. This 'president is no exception. It is no <br />change from what has been going on now for many years. I think the <br />President is coming around to the fact that the state of the world is <br />not as bad as he thought, orat least not as bad as his people told him. <br />We are seeing some definite improvement from the administration with <br />reference to water resource development, which is very encouraging. To <br />me, personally, it is encouraging in the sense that I think the Presi- <br />dent is a reasonable man and is willing to learn. I wouldn't have said <br />that a year ago, but I am beginning to see 'some signs of encouragement. <br /> <br />You have read in the newspapers about a decision of the federal court <br />in North Dakota in which the state of North Dakota brought suit against <br />the President's water policy, in effect. They were hard hit, as we were, <br />with some of their projects.: One of the grounds that they brought suit <br />against the Secretary of the Interior and others on was that there, had <br />not been an environmental impact statement filed on the President's <br />recommendations. The federal judge agreed. He enjoined the President's <br />people from giving him any further advice. I don't know how that is <br />going to stand up. Anyway, he told the President's people they couldn't <br />advise the President any further until they had prepared an environmental <br />impact statement. This gets us into one of the craziest doings in the <br />united States. It is the around-and-around and never ending process of <br />environmental impact statements. They never end. It is costing us not <br />millions but.billions'of dollars today in delays and costs of this never <br />ending series of environmental impact statements. We just can't ever <br />seem to get one finished. When it is finished, :it is immediately <br />attacked via the federal courts. <br /> <br />The weakness of the whole federal process today is that Congress has <br />said 'in almost every law it enacts that anyone can bring a lawsuit in <br />the federal- court. And, believe me, anyone does: They have to show no <br />financial responsibility. : They have to show no responsibility of any <br />kind. It is a fundamental change in the rules of judicial process. <br />We have complicated matters now being tried before some judge,who is <br />ill equiped to review a thousand pages of complex reports and make a <br />decision on it. It is burdening the federal courts beyond belief, with <br />not just dozens but hundreds and hundreds of these cases being filed. <br />All you have to do is pay a docket fee and you can tie up the whole <br />united States.: <br /> <br />. <br />I found out on my last trip to Washington that some people in Congress <br />are beginning to become concerned. It is time they became concerned: <br /> <br />If you confer unlimited jurisdiction on anybody who wants to go to : <br />court, we have defeated the whole democratic process. The people who <br /> <br />-33- <br />