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<br />11 <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />CRSP ratemaking and, in order to determine the degree of <br />the environmental impact, Western is preparing an <br />environmental review (ER). In an ER, five factors are <br />considered: <br /> <br />a. the size of the proposed increase, <br /> <br />b. the percentage of the area demand supplied by the <br />particular project, <br /> <br />c. the price of Federal power after the increase compared <br />to the price of alternate power, <br /> <br />d. the level of any possible switching by customers from <br />Federal power to other fuel generated power, and <br /> <br />e. the impact on the project's ultimate customers, such as <br />industrial or other consumers. <br /> <br />The intent of the ER is to determine the need for an environ- <br />mental statement by analyzing the five criteria mentioned <br />above. This is in accordance with DOE guidelines which are <br />now in force. The ER will be made and presented prior to <br />approval by the Assistant Secretary for Resource Applications. <br /> <br />2. Leavitt Act <br /> <br />Comments also questioned whether the Leavitt Act <br />authorized reduced rates for Indians. The Leavitt Act, <br />25 U.S.C. 3a (1932), authorized the Secretary of the <br />Interior "to adjust or eliminate reimbursable charges of <br />the Government of the United States existing as debts." <br />The Act does not specifically state that the Secretary <br />of the Interior (and now the Secretary of Energy) has <br />the authority to adjust power rates for Indians. <br />Moreover, the Act has not been cited or used as an <br />authority in case law or related statutes to enable the <br />Secretary to adjust power rates for Indians. In none of <br />the related statutes is there any reference, explicit or <br />implied, to any authority on behalf of the Secretary to <br />adjust such power rates. Therefore, the Secretary seems <br />to have neither apparent nor actual authority to adjust <br />power rates for Indians. <br /> <br />3. Wage and Price Control Guidelines <br /> <br />Customers questioned whether any rate increases which <br />Western might promulgate would be limited to a 7 percent <br />increase by the Wage and Price Standards of the Wage <br />and Price Council. On March 19, 1979, the Director of <br />the Council on Wage and Price Stability stated in the <br />