BOARD02177

• Board Meeting Date: 5/5/1952
• Description: Minutes and Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

67

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New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and it is conceivable that insistence by
Colorado that storage on the .Gunnison River be given priority over
all other units of the plan would result in a controversy which could
delay for a long period of time any Congressional authorization. In
his opinion, the Director stated , it could lead to controversy in the
Upper Colorado River Basin contrary to the best interests of Colorado
and its program of water development. Judge Hughes asked if Director
Stone would have any objection to presenting the priority id~a for the
Gunnison River storage to the other states to see whether they would
go along with it. The Director replied that he had no objection to doing
so, but did not believe he would receive a favorable reaction. He Called
attention to the fact that the Gunnison River storage, under the official
comments of the State of Colorado, was designated as one of the initial
units; and further that the Upper Colorado River Conunission had approved
such storage as constituting an initial .unit for authorization.

The Director stated that he would not report on Item 5(f), "Colorado
Irrigation Centennial" as there had been extensive publicity given to this
affair and what had been done was common knowledge among those interested
in the matter.

There then came on for consideration by the Board Item 1 on the agenda,
"Consideration of the Report of the Policy and Review Committee-Gunn;j.son
River Storage."

The Director submitted tatoo Board the "Report of the Policy and
Review Committee--Gunnison River Storage to the Colocado Water Conservation
Board," dated April 3, 1952. He called attention to the fact that a copy
of this report had been mailed to the members of the Board for their study
in advance of this meeting. He reviewed various provisions of the report
and reasons for their inclusion. He particularly mentioned the efforts
which had been made to revise the preliminary draft of report which had been
sent to members of the Policy and Review Committee for their comments and
suggested revisions. He said that this process had consumed a large amount
of time and effort after the Committee had agreed upon the essential pro-
visions of its report.

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The Director reminded the Board that further official connnents of
the State of Colorado to the Secretary of the Interior on the Colorado
River Storage Project regarding Gunnison River storage, a feature of the
project, as contemplated in its official comments of June 12, 1951, should
be delayed until recommendations of this report of the Policy and Review
Committee had been discussed with the Bureau of Reclamation. . It is necessary,
he said, that before such discussions with the Bureau could be undertaken,
for the Board to act upon the report of its Policy and Reviev{ Committee.

Thereupon, discussion of the report ensued.

It was moved by Judge Dan H. Hughes and seconded by Dan Hunter
that the "Report of the Policy and Review Committee-Gunnison River
Storage to the Colorado Water Conservation Board" be accepted and
approved by the Board; that, since the Policy and Review Committee
under its recolllillendations approved by the Board, may be required to