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Qiti:r&PAN-ARKANSAS PROJECT, COLORADO 29 San Juan-Chama project heretofore considered by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, pointing out that if the Sun Juun-Chama diversion were authorized it might adversely nffect the development of a portion of the western slope of Colorado. 6. This bill for the first time puts the Secretury of the In terior and the Bureau of Reclamat,ion iu the business of subsidizing public schools in the district served by the Fryingpe.n-Arkl\n~aS project. Despite its adverse report on this provision by both the Depart- ment of the Interior llIld the Bureau of the Budget, the committee has continued to keep this provision iu the bill. 7. In prior bills no attempt was mfluc to protect existing Witter rights. In nIl effort to show that these rights were nOw being pro- tected the commit,tee went far beyond protection and now has made this bill a vehicle for institution of a multiplicity of suits under uny and all circumstances and by any and all persons, Section 6(e) of the bill, beginning on line 10 through the end of the section on pag8 12 contains the following language: * * * and any pel'son or e.ntit.y whose right,s may _be affected, imj>aired-;-or infringed upon by reason. or as a result; of slich.noncolllpliullce nwy maintain fin adion, suit, 01' procee"diiig ill-the Ullited Stnl-t's Dist.riet Court., in find for the District 'of Colornclo s(lf'king npproprint,e !,pEef, and t'on- sent is hereby giw>n to t.he joinder of t.he United States, the Secretary of tIte Illtel'ioJ'~ !lud Ilis '6uhonliJlHt.p officinl~, cm-_ ployces, awl ngenLs fiS a party or parties to such ut'tion, suit; or proceeding, as a defendant or otherwise. This language constitutes an open invitation to lUlIlecessarily burden the operation of this project, intendcd for the bcncfit or all the people, with a multiplieity or individual suits with diverse claims for relief, which could well involve the actual operation of the project in the inj unctive processes of the courts. Despite Ihe request, of the Department of the Interior to delete this language it was retllined by the committ.ee. 8. The changes ill the present bill from former bills by subst.ituting the Rueth Resen'oir for the Aspen Reservoir will work nn undue hardship on the .Aspen arcn for a numuer of reasons: (a-) It ICllves t.hc Aspen areu wit,hout n,ny repl:tcemcnt storage, while at the same tinle containing the saDle collection system which can only help t,hose downst.reaJ1l from the Bnslllt projeet. (b) The bill directs the uddit,ionlll diversion above Aspen of 14,000 ilcrc-feet. t,hrough t.he Twin Lnkes diversion. 9. The original de\'elopment plan llnd a wllter right, decree of June :20, 1955, ror the Basnlt project provided for full use of the wuters of the Fryingpan River in western Colorf\do. The supplemenlnl consent decree, approved by the Jist,rict court of Gnrfield County, Colo., .August ;~, ]950.. estnhlished an equal priority dut.e of July 29, ]9.57, fol' the lIse of the Fryingpun River wnt.er for servinCT both projects. Obviously, in reaching t.hls consent agrcC'lncnt. it WI~ ne(~essary t,hat a part of the water prcYiously decreed t.o t.he Bustl.lt projeet. for mltximum development lInt/pI' the project. be surrendered t,o nlllke possible a decree of cquuI date for Fryingpan River wllt,ef needed for "the Fryingpnn-ArkansHs project.