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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />SECTION 3 <br /> <br />REGIONAL ECONOMY <br />WITHOUT PROJECT <br /> <br />It is necessary to examine the consequences that would result if ALP was not constructed <br /> <br /> <br />as intended by the Settlement Agreement and the Settlement Act in any evaluation of the <br /> <br /> <br />economics of the development of the Animas-La Plata Participating Project as a means of <br /> <br /> <br />solving the Indian water rights issues of southwestern Colorado and northwestern New <br /> <br /> <br />Mexico. <br /> <br />The potential impacts on regional water supplies by failure to construct ALP were evaluated <br />primarily in terms of alternatives to an ALP water supply for the principal beneficiaries of <br />the Project. The principal beneficiaries of water supplies from ALP are listed in Section 2 <br />in Table 2.1 and 23.2 and include municipal, industrial, and Indian and non-Indian irrigators <br />supplies in Colorado and New Mexico. Secondary impacts could potentially arise in terms <br />of available water supplies for endangered fish species, operation of Navajo Reservoir, <br />impacts on water supplies for the Navajo Indian and Jicarilla-Apache Indian Tribes, and <br />delivery of the state of New Mexico's allotment of Colorado River water. These secondary <br />impacts have not been fully identified or evaluated at this time. <br /> <br />The litigation expenses that would be incurred if the needed water for the Tribes were not <br />delivered and it became necessary to go back to court to determine the Tribes' water rights <br />must be considered and evaluated. Much of the information in this section was developed <br />through interviews with interested parties and reflects their views and estimates of the <br />impact of not constructing ALP. It also considers costs increased by similar number of <br />parties in other water rights disputes in the West which have yet to reach settlement. In <br />presenting the impacts, a balanced and conservative approach was used, but even with a <br />conservative estimate, the failure to construct the ALP could have a major impact on the <br />economy of the region that should not be ignored in determining the economic impact of <br />the Project. <br /> <br />3-1 <br />