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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />to tell. that is the end of those projects for the time being. A lot <br />of people will have to be dismissed from the various Bureau offices. <br /> <br />Not only were there no funds requested for the next fiscal year. but <br />the funds appropriated for this year were largely frozen. The cut <br />comes today. as well as next year. Although Congress had already <br />appropriated funds for various projects, the President has seen fit <br />to impound them. We have been told that the reason that all those <br />projects are being suspended is to determine what effect they would <br />have on the salinity of the Colorado River. This is a false premise. <br />We already know what effect those projects will have on the river. <br />That has already been studied and was included in a million dollar <br />EPA report put out just a year or so ago. There is no reason to study <br />them any further as far as salinity is concerned. I don't know how <br />the salinity argument applies to the Narrows project. It is not a <br />part of the Colorado River system. but it was terminated in the same <br />manner. <br /> <br />In the early 60's when Arizona won its lawsuit with California. <br />California in effect lost about 700.000 acre-feet of water it had <br />previously been diverting. and which it still is diverting up to this <br />time. That water in ,effect was taken away from California and reallo- <br />cated to Arizona by the Supreme Court decision. California has <br />developed a considerable economy based upon that 700,000 feet of <br />water and they don't want to lose it. The next thing we knew we had <br />California arguing about the salinity problem. That problem was <br />aggravated by the Well ton-Mohawk project in Arizona dumping salt water <br />into the river at the international boundary. Mexico became incensed <br />and since then we have had the great furor about the salinity of the <br />Colorado River. And as you recall. the President of Mexico addressed <br />Congress just a few months ago saying that we were not good neighbors. <br />He made some unkind remarks about }~he salinity problem of the Colorado <br />River. <br /> <br />We have devoted a great deal of time and considerable money. both the <br />state and federal governments. in exploring the salinity problem. <br />We now find that the salinity issue is being utilized to destroy any <br />further Upper Basin development. That's a clever way of winning the <br />Arizona vs. California case by keeping the Upper Basin in its present <br />state of developm~nt. Whether by coincidence or accident. the state <br />of Colorado has now been asked by the Environmental Protection Agency <br />to put a numerical standard upon the waters of the Colorado River at <br />the state line. If the Lower Basin states can maintain the premise <br />that no further salinity should be permitted in the Colorado River. <br /> <br />-23- <br />