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<br />'_ I <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Mr. Velarde's letter also raised a question with regard to the <br /> <br /> <br />adequacy of the water supply in the San Juan River Basin for <br /> <br /> <br />the proposed El Paso Natural Gas Company coal gasification <br /> <br /> <br />plant. The letter stated that the Secretary of the Interior <br /> <br /> <br />has recorrmended a provision in any legislation to authorize <br /> <br /> <br />a contract for water for the coal gasification plant that would <br /> <br /> <br />allow the Secretary, at his discretion, to subordinate deliveries <br /> <br /> <br />under the contract as the Secretary determines is necessary <br /> <br /> <br />'t~~rdtect Indian rights. The letter goes on to state that <br /> <br /> <br />such a provision would be unsatisfactory to the Jicarilla <br /> <br /> <br />Tribe as it is obvious that-water once allocated to El Paso <br /> <br /> <br />for a $600 million plant would not be taken away. <br /> <br /> <br />Since the State of New Mexico has filed a suit seeking <br /> <br /> <br />to determine the priority, nature and extent of the rights of <br /> <br /> <br />the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and others, it would, of course, <br /> <br /> <br />be quite improper for me to speculate about the rights of the <br /> <br /> <br />Jicarilla Indians, or others; however, it might be useful for <br /> <br /> <br />me to point out that the Jicarilla Apache Reservation was <br /> <br /> <br />created near the headwaters of the San Juan River system in <br /> <br /> <br />New Mexico by one executive order dated February 11, 1837 and <br /> <br /> <br />another dated January 28, 1908; the Navajo Reservation was <br /> <br /> <br />created downstream in the Four Corners area where the San Juan <br /> <br /> <br />River leaves the State of New Mexico by the Treaty of June 1, 1868. <br /> <br />-23- <br />