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<br />189 <br /> <br />January 24, 1950 <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Mr. Avery Batson <br />Director, Region VII <br />U. S. Bureau of Reclamation <br />New Customhouse <br />Denver, Colorado <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Batson: <br /> <br />On September 1, 1948, you transmitted to the Liovernor of Colorado <br />copies of a preliminary draft of planning report and appendices dated June <br />1948, on the potential Gunnison-Arkansas Project, Colorado. At that time <br />you requested the State to review the report in its present form and favor <br />you with its comments in order that they could be considered together with <br />comments by the various Bureau of Reclamation offices to assist you in the <br />preparation of the report in final fonn for transmittal to the Commissioner <br />of Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior. <br /> <br />Pursuant to action of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, a <br />Policy and Review Committee was organized on November 24, 1948, to review <br />the draft of report. This Connnittee has met at various times to consider <br />the report, its appendices and the subsequent studies made available by your <br />organization. Sufficient agreement had been reached by the Committee on <br />certain factual matters that at its meeting on January 3 and 4, 1950, the <br />Committee decided to recommend that your report be prepared in final form <br />and that it incorporate the suggestions contained in this letter. <br /> <br />During the course of review you also made available to the Committee <br />a draft of a special report dated September 1949 which incorporated changes <br />made in the June 1948 draft of report due to studies conducted subsequently <br />by the Bureau. That special report has been reviewed also by the Committee. <br />To facilitate its review, the Committee appointed an Engineering Advisory <br />Subcommittee. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Initial Phase To Be An Independent D3velopment <br /> <br />Review of the report discloses the fact that the initial phase <br />of the project does not concern itself with the Gunnison River Basin but is <br />concerned wi th the transmountain diversion to the Arkansas River watershed <br />from Frying Pan Creek and tributaries and Hunter Creek, all of which are <br />tributaries of the Roaring Fork River, and also the provision of additional <br />storage capacity which will permit increased diversions from the Roaring <br />Fork through the Independence Pass Tunnel owned b~' the Twin Lakes Reservoir <br />and Canal 'Company. The Committee feels that since the potential uses of <br />water in Western Colorado have not been completely determined at this time, <br />it is not prepared to make any recommendations with respect to the avail- <br />ability of water for large transmountain diversion projects. However, it <br />is recognized that there is urgent need in Colorado for supplemental water <br />supplies in the Arkansas Valley, particularly for domestic and municipal <br />purposes. Hence, it was agreed by the Committee that any action by it on <br />the initial phase of the Gunnison-Arkansas Project should be based on that <br />