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<br />-" -lJOIlH.fi-- <br /> <br />LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL <br /> <br />Hon, .Jom, W, ;"[CCOR'lACK. <br />Speaker oj the House, <br />Washington, D.O. <br />DEAR ;"IR, SPEAKEH: As providl'd hy section 9(a) of the Reclama- <br />tion Project Act of 1939 (53 StilL 1187), trnnsmittcd herewith is the <br />report of lll{' S('crctu.ry of the Interior on the Closed Basin Divi::;ion, <br />SUIl Luis Vlllley Project, COIOflldo. <br />The J'('port prc...;ents 1\ plan for 11 multiple-purpose water resource <br />dc\OclopIIleIlt whieh ,,"uuld slllYnge shallow ground wut.(~r now nOIl- <br />oencfieill11y l'ollsUl1Ipd in the Closl..'d Basin of the San Luis Valley <br />in Colorado und dplin'f it to the Rio Grunde for beneficiu.l use in <br />llccordlUlt'C with the Hio Grande Compllet l1Illung the 8tft,tes of <br />Colomdo, Nt'\\' :\Iexieo, llnd Texas. A snmlI portion of the water so <br />:;tdvugf'd would abo be Illude llnlilnolc to the Alumosn. N" lltional <br />'Vildlife Rf'fuge. In tu.ldition, tlw plan provides for development of <br />the ~lishl1k Nationul 'Vildlife Refugt., for cOIl~(>.rvation and develop- <br />ment of fishery resoul'ees and for constl"tJction of recreation facilities. <br />The plun ~f development hus enl!ineering fensibilit.y and is eco- <br />nomically justified. As pointed out in the report, nil of the Federal <br />construction {'ost.s nllocnted to water salvage iLrc considered to be <br />nonreimbursable nnd nonreturnable on the hn...,is of the discussions <br />presented therein. The non-Feuernl share of the ~epanlble costs nl- <br />locnted to recreat.ion filld fish and wildlife enhancement, howc\"er. are <br />considered to be rPimhursnbll' as providl-d by the Federnl 'Vn,ter <br />Project Recreat.ion Act of .July 9, 1965. <br />In respect to reimhufSC'ment of the UIlOClltcd water snl\"tlge costs, <br />We rceommend thlit whellcn'l" Colorudo achie\'(>s debit-free stut-us <br />undpr the compact lind lIse of sulvaged wnter sur/litiS to requirements <br />of such wuter for mninh'llllnCf' of such dehit- rPl' stutus becomes <br />uppropriutf' through exchllnge or dirt'ct di\-ersions, contract arrange- <br />ments be entered into betwl'l'll the idl'ntifiable user'5 of ~uch surplus <br />wnter and the Secretary of the Intl'rior for payment of appropriate <br />portions of the eonstrtlction, operation. and lIl11intenl1l1Ce of the wllter <br />sltlnl!:;l' faeilities_ \Yp nlso fl>(,OIllIlWlld that. if the project should be <br />authorized, the legislntioll :-;hollld include provi:-;ion:-; to tl:,>sllre thnt <br />lmy illcrl'n:o:e:o: in \\'t\ter u~e in the ~an Luis '''nlley not dehl\" the accom- <br />plishment of the debit-fn'e stntll:5 for Color;Hlo prop(;sed by this <br />project. <br />A proposed report on this Di\pi::,ioll \\'ns transmitted tu the Stntes <br />of thl' Rio Gmnde Bnsill. the S('crctllrv of the Army, and interested <br />. . <br /> <br />DEPART).tE:-;T OF THE INTERIOR, <br />OFFICE OF THE SECHETARY, <br />lVashingt<m, D,U, July 17, 1970, <br /> <br />(Ill) <br />