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<br />r\c~5~5 <br />l;t.. _ ..I.. <br /> <br />Floyd A. Bishop <br />Wyoming <br /> <br />One thing the report does not perhaps reflect is that there were significant <br />differences among the Basin States. Many of us felt that the Wellton-Mohawk <br />project should be cut back [bought out] because the drainage was ridiculously high <br />in salt. It was a good solution, but it never did fly. We_ had very extensive _ <br />deliberations though we did come to agreement in the end. <br /> <br />During the Task Force deliberations, we felt that the matter was somewhat out of <br />our hands. I thought the Committee of Fourteen had some influence early on, but <br />very little after the State Department became involved. I did not tour Yuma with <br />Brownell-I don't remember that Committee of Fourteen members were invited <br />to-and I had no private conversations with him or any member of the Task Force <br />during that period. <br /> <br />The final solution did not affect Wyoming adversely, though it was inordinately <br />expensive. We were more concerned about being able to develop our water, and <br />that numerical water quality standards for upstream states should not be part of <br />the agreement. We opposed the long-term use of upstream storage as a <br />solution-that would have had serious implications for Upper Basin development <br />and particularly for Wyoming, which had the most unused water. <br /> <br />Among the other measures proposed, I thought the canal lining was a sensible <br />step. I felt that improvements in irrigation efficiency were inevitable, but would <br />be of more limited benefit in solving the salinity problem that their supporters <br />believed. <br /> <br />:. <br /> <br />The desalting plant was the easiest way out, though it was a substantial burden on <br />the Federal government-how substantial we didn't then realize. We had faith in <br />the desalting technology, and believed that improvements would reduce costs. Our <br />hopes, obviously, didn't materialize. <br /> <br />brownell,rpt <br /> <br />B-2 <br /> <br />September 1991 <br />