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. 002757 . . may be stated that agreement has been reached among the affected water users in the Trinidad Project area regarding the internal operations of the project after construction. It may be stated here that the staff of the Water Conservation Board has taken the position that the internal operations of the project is beyond the scope and duties of this Board unless help is requested by the people in the project area. To date the staff has limited its participation in project operating criteria to those broad elements in the criteria which will effect the Arkansas Valley Ditch Asso- ciation and the Arkansas River Compact. We have not deviated from the position taken by the Board in its comments before the respec- tive Committees of Congress in authorization hearings. It is my understanding at this time that the detailed intra-project oper- ating criteria are not in conflict with the provisions set forth in comments before the Congressional Committees at authorization hearings. Aqenda Item #8c, Arkansas River Compact Administration During the past several years controversy has existed between the water users generally upstream and generally downstream from John Martin Reservoir. In analyzing these controversies it appears that they have developed from alleged differences in inter- pretation of the Arkansas River Compact from year to year. No standard operating procedure has ever been developed for the oper- ation of John Martin Dam. Such an operating procedure would involve interpretation of the Compact by the Arkansas River Compact Administration. At the request of the Acting Director of this Board a committee has been appointed to develop standard operating procedures Which will be used by the Secretary of the compact Administration for the operation of John Martin Darn during those periods when such operation is a function of the Compact Adminis- tration. Some river budget studies must be completed before these standard operating procedures can be completed and formalized. These studies are in progress at this time by the staff of this Board. The objective of the operating procedures is to eliminate, 50 far as possible, the wastage of water that occurs under the present method of operation. It is the feeling of the Administra- tion that the provisions of the contract insofar as the adminis- trative discretion of the Compact Administration is concerned are such that it is within the purview of the Compact Administration to develop operating principles which can well result in the saving, for beneficial use, of considerable amounts of flood flows which are now lost to the downstream reaches of the river. LRK:lk 3/7/63 2