|
<br />oon221 '
<br />"8 SANTA MARGARITA WATER RIGHTS CONTROVERSY, CALIFORNIA
<br />
<br />NAVY MANEUVERS
<br />
<br />It is apparent from the testimony that the Navy does not come into
<br />the court of puhlic opinion with entirely clean hands, The Navy had
<br />participated in the original negotiations with the Fallhrook puhlic
<br />utility district, which culminated in the memorandum of understand-
<br />ing approved on Decemher 14, 1949.' From the negotiations it was
<br />apparent that the Navy was not only willing but anxious that the
<br />Army engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Fallbrook public
<br />utility district j'ointlY undertake the necessary steps to build the res-
<br />ervoir contemp ated at, the DeLuz site, It was obvious that the Navy
<br />saw no chance of building the project itself at that time, and hoped to
<br />gain by the sponsorship of the project by the Bureau of Reclamation,
<br />the Army erigineers, and the Fallbrook public utility district, After
<br />the passage of the olIlllibus defense'public works hill, which in effect
<br />authorized the Defense Department to build anything it wanted to
<br />'provided the construction was connected with a defense installation;
<br />the situation was quite different, The Navy saw the chance to build
<br />the project itself and to exclusively own and operate it, Thereupon,
<br />the Navy took advantage of the technical machinations of the legalists
<br />in the Attorney General's Office as a convenient method of escape
<br />from an agreement mutually and openly arrived at, This was nothing
<br />more or less than Federal interagency power politics in the raw,
<br />
<br />CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH REQUIRED
<br />
<br />As wc developed the testimony during the hearings it became
<br />apparent that not enough water could be available to meet all of the
<br />requiremen ts of the Federal Government and the needs of the rapidly
<br />growing local area unless the floodwaters of the Santa Margarita River
<br />could be controlled and put to beneficial use. Therefore, we endeav-
<br />ored to take a constructive approach to the problem, bearing in mind
<br />that litigation over limited water supplies doesn't make new water
<br />available. During the hearings we also kept in mind a major issue in
<br />the hearings which dealt with the right of the Federal Governmeut to
<br />take water for its use without regard to the. laws of the State which
<br />pertain to water rights,
<br />
<br />RECOMMENDATIONS
<br />
<br />Two major recommendations were made and unanimously approved
<br />by the subcommittee as a result of this approach to the problem, The
<br />recommendations to the Committee all Interior and Insular Affairs
<br />are as follows: .
<br />(1) That the committee approve legislation implementing the
<br />memomndulll of understanding, which was first approved by the
<br />Fallbrook utility district on Deoember 14, 1949, and which had the
<br />approval of the local representatives of the Department of the Navy,
<br />Department of the Interior, and Department of the Army, This
<br />memorandum of understanding suggested a distribution of the waters
<br />that would be stored behind the DeLuz Dam, which is to be con-
<br />structcd on the Santa Margarita River by the Department of the
<br />Navy, Already funds have been approprieted to pre'l!1I'e plans ",nd
<br />specifications for construction of the dam, These funds were author-
<br />
<br />: t, ," .'<",. ~ ..
<br />:.<-.}~.<::'
<br />,;:.;....
<br />
<br />"
<br />
<br />:.<~"''''
<br />
<br />.........
<br />"", ,: ':'~':'.<,'.;.:.....;.,. .... .....
<br />~ . .;';'. "::. ..
<br />
<br />.:~::--.:;~..(.'..:..:..
<br />
<br />....,...... ...", .....
<br />-. .)':!......:. '-"':.;~:..: " ....~ .
<br />.:, :.'< ...... .. "':'..' .'
<br />
<br />:<.,
<br />
<br />..:..\ ~
<br />
<br />,>:-".'
<br />
<br />.,...
<br />
<br />
<br />"
<br />
<br />..,....
<br />
<br />,.:....;::
<br />
<br />>;.
<br />
<br />....
<br />....,.
<br />
<br />::'";/~>:(:~~'~;~~~:'~~~-''' ~.. ,:,:';'. .....;~ .f...:.......
<br />
<br />~~~I!f,:~,:,~.,~,;J11;t{s~t~~~,::iiE~;:"~,~f;-B[t~~i~B.~
<br />
<br />, . _. .....~..
<br />.' ".: .; ,.'::"'.
<br />
<br />.' ........-
<br />
<br />.,......,
<br />
<br />
<br />.' -.
<br />
<br />. . '''".~~'.:.::'::;'- '::{.~;~5~:':~<',J;-":~'
<br />'.,'
<br />
<br />'.- .-.
<br />.' '.'
<br />
<br />.'.'
<br />
<br />....,~;..,.~.......:-'.'..~;.;..: '::. .;-:-..... ~.-..:.;:. :~.,
<br />, .... .... ~'''J' ,;:, .,: ". .>-}........:. .. ~ '
<br />.' . -.:-';'. ': '.:.':' .:..-. . . ":""' '~" ::.:
<br />;';'-;.: ':",
<br />
<br />:. / ..:~~.
<br />
<br />'.)
<br />
<br />. .~ ,.{ .'
<br />'J_ ~".
<br />
<br />. .....~./_....
<br />
<br />.. ::.':.:.:.>:';.~:~.>,
<br />~ :~
<br />'.~ -; .
<br />
<br />.......-.,.......:
<br />
<br />. /~. '-~
<br />,,,"',
<br />
<br />,',
<br />
<br />"
<br />
<br />'.',',
<br />. . '. .:'~':.~;::; .'
<br />
<br />'..,.
<br />
<br />',.
<br />
<br />'." '.'
<br />y:~ .' ':"
<br />
<br />.......
<br />
<br />~... ':.
<br />
<br />'_-,1'..-:'
<br />
<br />.;.
<br />
<br />. <.'" ..,...
<br />
<br />,. .,'
<br />
<br />.; "-':
<br />
<br />.,'
<br />
<br />'<'
<br />
<br />'.-' ~'
<br />
<br />.....
<br />......
<br />
<br />..,0; "
<br />
|