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<br />GG.:.354 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Based on our review, we believe that the pr incipal <br />thrust of S. 1696 is the establishment of a Colorado River <br />floodway while the Task Force that would be authorized by S. <br />498 emphas i zes the ques t ion of compensation for those <br />affected by the 1983 high flows. S. 498 would defer any <br />future floodway action pending the deliberations and <br />subsequent recommendations of the proposed Task Force. S. <br />1696 would provide for more comprehensive and timely <br />accomplishments relative to flood protection and river <br />management than S. 498. We, therefore, recommend that the <br />Senate enact S. 1696 at this time. <br /> <br />Technical Comments on Selected <br />Sections of Senate Bill S. 1696 <br /> <br />Sec. 2(b). PURPOSE. In this section, the bill sets <br />forth its purpose: to establish the Colorado River Floodway <br />so as to prov ide benef i ts to river user s and to m in im i ze loss <br />of human life, protect health and safety, and minimize damage <br />to property and natural resources by restricting future <br />federal expenditures which have the effect of encouraging <br />development within the floodway. This purpose is similar to <br />that adopted, by congress in establishing the Coastal Barrier <br />Resources Act of 1982, Public Law 97-348. The riparian lands <br />along the Colorado River experienced damages to structures <br />located thereon from the controlled releases of flood waters <br />in 1983. The federal government should not encourage <br />development on lands subject to inundation by such controlled <br />releases through federal expenditures related to those <br />developments, and this goal is stated in Section 2(b). <br /> <br />Sec. 4~b). This section describes the duties of the <br />Colorado River Floodway Task Force established in Section <br />4(a), which is to prepare recommendations concerning the <br />Colorado River Floodway. The Task Force, by including <br />representatives of the communities, districts, counties, and <br />Indian Reservations along the river, as well as federal and <br />state agencies, brings together those organizations that <br />would be most affected by the recommendations on how the <br />lands within the floodway could be best managed. <br /> <br />Sec. 5(b) (1). Since the flows carried by the Colorado <br />River below Davis Dam include both the releases from Davis <br />Dam and any inflow from the ephemeral tributaries entering <br />the mainstream below the Dam, a floodway, to be effective, <br />must have the capacity to carry both the controlled releases <br />and such tributary inflows. In this section, the Secretary <br />is directed to complete, in consultation with the Task Force, <br />the seven Basin states and other interested parties, a study <br />of these tr ibutrary inflows and to determine the boundar ies <br />of the Colorado River Floodway to accommodate both controlled <br />releases and tributary inflows. <br /> <br />-9- <br />