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<br />IU:S. authorities rain
<br />on proposed water dea'
<br />
<br />. .
<br />not be amenable to Romer's plan.;
<br />V,S, Sen, Hank Brown, R-CoIo:',
<br />said his principal concern was that
<br />Romer might give away Colorado'
<br />water and never get it back.' .
<br />If California does not guarantee,
<br />Colorado credit against future wa:
<br />ier deliveries, "it means, in effect,
<br />that we've forfeited that water,"
<br />Brown said, : ,
<br />Vnder the Colorado River com;
<br />pact, 'by which seven Western
<br />states share the rights to river
<br />water, Colorado and other upper
<br />basin states are obligated to pro'
<br />vide downstream states, such as
<br />California, with a minimum
<br />amount of water each year, . .
<br />"By overdelivering this year,
<br />our hope would be to diminish the
<br />amount we have to deliver in the
<br />future," Brown said.' .
<br />Rep, Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
<br />D-Colo., put it more bluntly:
<br />"Cold cash for cold water -'--
<br />that's what I want." .
<br />. Campbell said he liked the idea.
<br />.of extracting from California a rec-
<br />ognition of Colorado's right to wa,
<br />ter that it doesn't put to beneficial.
<br />use, as is Romer's hope, But that
<br />in itself is not enough, . :
<br />"There needs to be some finan-
<br />cial benefit to Colorado, not just a
<br />reaffirmation that we own it,"
<br />Campbell said,
<br />
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<br />Colorado and California
<br />need federal approval;
<br />. Brown and Campbell
<br />want more guarantees
<br />
<br />By John Brinkley
<br />News WashingtON Bureau
<br />
<br />( ~
<br />l.:
<br />
<br />WASHINGTON - Any decision
<br />about water deliveries from Lake.
<br />Mead to California are to be made
<br />by the federal government, not by
<br />Gov, Roy Romer, a federal official
<br />said yesterday,
<br />"There's no way the federal
<br />government cannot be involved,"
<br />said Bill McDonald, assistant com-
<br />missioner of the Interior Depart-.
<br />ment's Bureau of Reclamation,.
<br />"We're the ones that have to make
<br />the decisions about how much wa- '
<br />ter is available and when and how
<br />it gets delivered ~ at Lake Mead,
<br />specifically, "
<br />Another Interior' Department
<br />official,-speaking on condition that
<br />he not be identified,' said Romer
<br />did not have the authority to prom-
<br />ise California any water deliveries
<br />from Lake Mead, which is down-
<br />stream.from Colorado on the Ari-
<br />zona-Nevada border.
<br />However, neither he nor Mc-
<br />'Donald said the government would
<br />
<br />I
<br />
<br />ROcky,Mountain'News' Fri.; Fob, 22; 199.1
<br />
<br />Calif. already gets extra water
<br />
<br />RIVER fro';' 6
<br />
<br />Colorado would be hurt by t.his
<br />year's gift to California,
<br />But he acknowledged Califor-
<br />nia's woes won't go away in a year.
<br />Drought. or no drought, Califor-
<br />nia is growing by 300,000 people
<br />per year, A family of four uses
<br />about 1 acre foot - 326,000 gal-
<br />lons - a year,
<br />And Arizona is about to open it.s
<br />Central Arizona project, which will
<br />use 650,000 acre feet yearly and
<br />bring that state closer to its Colo-
<br />rado River entitlement.
<br />Romer hopes to link the deal to
<br />California taking strong water con-
<br />servation measures, steps it has
<br />
<br />;
<br />
<br />alreJiy started, .
<br />V,S, Rep, Ben Nighthorse
<br />Campbell, a' Democrat .who repre-
<br />sents southern Colorado, last
<br />week proposed that the state lease
<br />the water to California,
<br />Romer prefers giving it away
<br />for two reasons.
<br />First, he believes a tighter guar-
<br />antee of perpetual Colorado water
<br />rights is more valuable than mon-
<br />ey, lf the water is worth $150 an
<br />acre foot, its leasing could net
<br />Colorado about $60 million yearly,
<br />Second, he believes that treat-
<br />ing Colorado River water as a
<br />commodity.- that is, leasing it-
<br />will tear asunder the guarantees of
<br />the 1922 compact.
<br />
<br />J.l~~,",..^.~~....._"'r"'_'V"o.~__,",.'Io ....~ t....
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