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<br />~ <br /> <br />Colorado River Star age praject Act (70 Stat. 105), authorized by <br />the Colorado River Basin Project Act (82 Stat. 885), had never <br />been appropriated by Congress. <br />These federal reclamation projects were critical to the <br />settlement because the existing water supply was insufficient to <br />meet both the Indian and non-Indian needs. Many af the rivers <br />and streams to which the tribes made claim were already fully or <br />over-appropriated. If the existing supply of water was not aug- <br /> <br />mented, providing wet water to the tribes would displace existing <br /> <br />~I <br />2 <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />non-Indian water users. <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />In 1985, Congress appropriated $1 million for construction <br /> <br />of ALP, but conditioned this appropriatian on a non-federal cost- <br /> <br />share agreement for project construction being in place by June <br />30, 1986 (Chapter IV of Public Law 99-88, 99 Stat. 293). In' <br />addition, the federal negotiators from the Department of the <br />Interior stated that final federal approval would also be contin- <br />gent upon settlement of the reserved water rights claims of the <br />two Ute Tribes. <br /> <br />~~ <br /> <br />!: <br /> <br />, <br />~ <br />, <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br />f:~: <br /> <br />.~ <br /> <br />~: <br /> <br />With the June 30, 1986 deadline looming, the parties strug- <br /> <br />i <br />~ <br />,,' <br /> <br />gled to reach cost-share and reserved water rights agreements <br /> <br /> <br />satisfactory to the Department of the Interior and the Office of <br /> <br />Management and Budget, the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the <br /> <br />"\ <br /> <br />two ute Indian Tribes, and local water users. <br /> <br />There were many difficult issues which threatened the nego- <br /> <br />-5- <br />