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<br />I <br /> <br />The impetus far that study, as has already:been stated by the gentleman, <br />is the prapased San Marcas pipeline. But aside fram that, Castilla <br />Caunty is in extremely bad shape cancerning available water supplies. <br />Abaut the anly industry dawn there is the agricultural industry. The <br />water supply situatian is critical every year. In additian, the many <br />small cammunities there have a canstant prablem with their dames tic <br />water supply. Far about the past ten years that I can recall, we have <br />been trying to. help aut same af thase small camunities; such as the <br />community af Garcia which is in sauthern Castilla.Caunty an the New <br />Mexico. barder, where the wells failed a few years ago.. We have been <br />trying to. find additional water to. supply.the damestic needs dawn J:here. <br />But we do. nat as yet have a tharaugh survey af the graund water <br />resaurces af the caunty. We do. understand the surface water resaurces <br />quite well, such as they are. <br /> <br />The San Marcas praject is a prablem which is plaguing both the legisla- <br />ture and the executive branch. Last year, in respanse to. the plans far <br />the San Marcas cansartium to. canstruct a pipeline, the legislature <br />enacted special legislatian prahibiting the importatian af wate~ fram <br />the state af Calarada af a caal slurry pipeline, unless Calarada receives <br />credit far .that water under an interstate campact. Whether or n.ot that <br />law is canstitutianal, I would nat hazard an ap in ion: at this time. In <br />any event, it shaws the great concern of the legislature aba).lt pra- <br />pased slurry pipelines. The Gavernar is also. deeply cancerned apaut <br />it, and the peaple in that area are extremely cancerned. <br /> <br />An applicatian has been filed by the San Marcas peaple to. abtain water <br />rights in Castilla Caunty. Almast everyane yau can think af in the <br />San Luis Valley has entered that litigatian appasing the applicatian. <br />The state af Calarada, thraugh the Attarney General, has intervened as <br />a party in that case. We are nat sure at this time, hawever, what <br />side the state is an.: (Laughter.) It's a r.ather peculiar situatian. <br />We filed an suspician that we wauld be 9n ane side ar t~e ather. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I wauld like to. review the situation briefly Sa that the baard and the <br />audience can have same understanding af it. It is a camp lex and . <br />critical issue and a very palitically sensitive matter, I think to. the <br />point where the legislatars are even :cansidering a canstitutianal <br />amendment to. prevent the use af water far caal slurry pipelines.: We <br />have lang had a statute which prahibits the apprapriation af water in <br />Calarada far use autside the state. I think that statute is canstitu- <br />tional. It merely states that apprapriatians in Calaradas~all have <br />no. extraterritarial effect, except that we can make exceptions to. that <br />by campact; and we have, in many cases, by specific campact pravis:i;ans. <br />The only way.ta get araund that state law is by campact. The questian <br />.is: Is the use af water far a caal slurry pipeline an apprapriation <br />in Calarada for use in anather state when the water itself is merely <br /> <br />-43- <br />