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<br />,""\ ~ n"') <br />(.J.vi- <br /> <br />On March 15, 1968, Assemblyman Porter <br />introduced Assembly Bill 1021 to broaden the <br />statutory authority of the Advisory Committee <br />in order to strengthen its role in Western States <br />water planning. The bill, which was subse- <br />quently signed into law, requires representatives <br />of the' Governor concerned with formulating <br />the state's position on proposed federal legisla- <br />tion or other actions involving regional planning <br />to consult with and seek the advice of the Ad- <br />visory Committee in the same manner that Cali- <br />fornia members of the ,\Vestern States Water <br />Council are required to consult with the Advis- <br />ory Committee. <br />The Committee focused much of its attention <br />on the proposed Colorado River Basin Project <br />legislation. Oral and written reports by the Chief <br />Engineer of the Board and by officials of the <br />Department of Water Resources kept the Com- <br />mittee informed about the progress and status of <br />the legislation and the problems involved. <br />The position of the Advisory Committee on <br />Colorado River legislation remained as had been <br />previously stated on March 21, 1967, and April <br />18, 1967. <br /> <br />The important essence of the program is recog- <br />nition of shortage of supplies to meet commit- <br />ments of the Colorado River and, therefore, the <br />necessity to include at least the preliminaries of <br />an augmentation project in any project legisla- <br />tion. <br /> <br />\Vhether this is to be accomplished through a <br />National Commission or otherwise, or through a <br />provision in Ihe Colorado River Bill, or by a <br />'eparate \Valer Commi,sion Bill, the end resull <br />musl be the same, i.e., a study of availability of <br />water to augment the river flo\v and formulation <br />of plans for Ihe ways and means to accomplish <br />such augmentation. <br /> <br />With recognition of Ihe inherent shortages and <br />implementation of the augmentation project it <br />logically follows that Ihere mu't be protection of <br />exi,ting projects in Ihe interim until the shortage <br />no longer exists. <br /> <br />Regional water studies should be undertaken <br />immediately of all alternative means of augment- <br />ing Ihe deficient /lows of Ihe Colorado River. All <br />alrernati ves should be studied at the same level of <br />inlensity, including Northern California and Ihe <br />Columbia River Basin. <br /> <br />After the passage of PL 90-537 in September <br />1968, the Advisory Committee concentrated its <br />efforts on the Western States Water CounciL <br /> <br />18 <br /> <br />, <br />" <br /> <br />The Committee generally meets quarterly prior <br />to meeting of the Western States Water Council. <br />U. S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett (Utah) sug- <br />gested, in an August 28, 1968, letter to Gover- <br />nors of the Colorado Basin States, that the seven <br />states". . . join together immediately and initiate <br />our own study of augmenting future deficie(1c3'. 'j;i <br />in the Colorado River." The Advisory Commit- <br />tee, after consideration of the matter, concluded <br />that seven state studies may be premature and <br />more thought should be given to the idea. The <br />Committee stated that California's future de- <br />pends on augmentation of the Colorado River <br />but it was not convinced that a seven-state study <br />would accelerate augmentation at this time. <br /> <br />Type I Comprehensive Framework 5tudie~ <br /> <br />A comprehensive reconnaissance type survey <br />of America's land and water resources and needs <br />is now underway. Under the direction of the <br />Water Resources Council, State and Federal <br />agencies are working on about haIf of the river <br />basins and regions that cover the U nit!'_-l States. <br />Commonly referred to as "comprehensive", <br />"f k" "T I" d' h fl' ~ <br />ramewor , or ype stu les, t e orma . <br />title is "Comprehensive Framework Study of <br />Water and Related Land Resources (Type I)." <br />In the Pacific Southwest, these studies are <br />proceeding in four interdependent regions: Cali- <br />fornia, Great Basin, Upper Colorado, and Lower" I <br />Colorado. The regions are shown on Plate 3. <br />The Water Resources Council has delegated <br />overall direction of these studies to the Pacific <br />Southwest Inter-Agency Committee (PSIAC), <br />an organization with representatives from nine <br />Federal agencies and from each of the seven <br />states of the Colorado River Basin. In turn, <br />PSIAC has delegated the direction of each re- <br />gion's study to a regional State-Federal Inter- <br />Agency Group, with overall coordination ef- <br />fected through PSIAC'S Coordinated Planning <br />"'1 ' <br />Subcommittee. <br />The Colorado River Board was designated as <br />California's representative on the Lower Colo- <br />rado Region comprehensive studies. Members <br />of the Board staff are participating in the Lower <br />Colorado Region State-Federal Inter-Agency <br />Group, and in the various committees and work <br />groups performing the investigations. This ac- <br />tive participation by the Board is essential so as <br />to provide continuity of purpose and goals <br />within the framework studies as related to Cali- <br />