BOARD02386

• Board Meeting Date: 3/8/1972
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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MR. STAPLETON:

MR. SPARKS:

I think we would like to .look to the board for
some sort of indication on which action they
prefer on this. If they prefer us to go ahead
with this recommendation on West Bijou or defer
our recommendation until after the Soil Con-
servation Service completes their studies."

"Larry, is this the first time you have
seen this, is this right?"

"We had representatives at the public
meetings. We have reviewed this new plan.
Basically, as John has stated, it boils down
to elimination of the reservoirs on the East
Bijou and the Middle Bijou. The only project
that the Corps can find feasible under the new
interest rate is on West Bijou. The new project
plan would consist of a dam on the West Bijou
and a channel into the Narrows.

This is a bitter disappointment to the
people in the Bijou area. They have suffered
extensive damages over the years from Bijou
floods. There were several people drowned in
the 1965 flood. But with this criteria that
the Corps is forced to work under, the only
possible plan right now appears to be what they
have outlined here. The local people have
agreed that this is better than nothing, with
the understanding that we continue to seek some
control on the East Bijou and Middle Bijou
areas. We have requested the Soil Conservation
Service to re-initiate studies on those areas
to see what they could come up with in the way
of impoundments to reduce floods in those areas.

So you can see the deadly impact of these
interest rates on the projects. Under the
original computation, the original interest
rate we were working with in 1965 and now the
7 percent rate which is supposed to come in
effect, there is over a hundred million dollars
added cost through assessing this new interest
rate. This is where we get into an absurdity

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