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<br />(GENERAl MANAGER'S
<br />MESSAGE)
<br />
<br />very important.
<br />In the meantime, we all must
<br />do OUf part to show our support
<br />for CUP funding and send a
<br />strong signal to Congress that we,
<br />as CUP benefidaries, are willing
<br />to make wise use of the water
<br />resources that will result from
<br />completion of the project.
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />Central Utah Project
<br />One Step Closer
<br />to Final Funding
<br />
<br />Residents of 12 Utah counties
<br />soon may be assured of secure
<br />water resources. That's because
<br />recent legislative action on Capi-
<br />tol Hill saw the House Interior
<br />Committee pass a bill (HR 3960)
<br />that appropriates $680 million for
<br />the completion of the Central
<br />Utah Project. This action was a
<br />result of a delicate and somewhat
<br />complicated compromise that sat-
<br />isfies the interests of water users,
<br />environmentalists, Ute Indians
<br />and others.
<br />The bill still must pass a full
<br />vote on the floor of the House
<br />and Senate and then be signed
<br />into law by President Bush-a
<br />precarious process which may still
<br />pose some obstacles. However,
<br />the final step to fund CUP has
<br />gained support of key Washing-
<br />ton decision makers, including
<br />Congressman George Miller, D-
<br />CA, chairman of the House Sub-
<br />committee on Water, Power and
<br />Offshore Energy Resources. Rep.
<br />Miller, who previously opposed
<br />funding CUP, has reversed his
<br />position because of provisions in
<br />the bill that meet the needs of
<br />both water users and environ-
<br />mentalists and assurances that
<br />Utahns will make wise use of the
<br />water generated by the project.
<br />
<br />The funds allocated in the bill
<br />will be used to build the irrigation
<br />and drainage portion of the proj-
<br />ect that will transport water from
<br />the Uinta Basin to agricultural
<br />areas in central Utah. The legisla-
<br />tion also requires that the Ute
<br />Indian Tribe receive money for
<br />dams and irrigation canals and
<br />allocates funds for environmental
<br />projects to off set damage caused
<br />by CUP construction.
<br />Other key elements of the bill
<br />require the state of Utah to share
<br />a greater portion of CUP funding
<br />and calls for water users to make
<br />a commitment to use and pay
<br />for the water. This will require
<br />Utahns to demonstrate a larger
<br />commitment to CUP than they
<br />have ever made before.
<br />The CUP legislation has the full
<br />support of the Utah Congres-
<br />sional delegation, but all agree
<br />that getting the bill through the
<br />entire legislative process and
<br />through both houses of Congress
<br />will be a challenge.
<br />The next major hurdle for the
<br />CUP appropriations bill will be
<br />before the Senate Energy and
<br />Natural Resources Committee
<br />where there is an ongoing debate
<br />over the legislation.
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />Utah's Agricultural
<br />Boom Rides on
<br />C.U.P. Water
<br />
<br />Studies by Utah State Univer-
<br />sity have revealed that agriculture
<br />contributes more than $2.37 bil-
<br />Uon annually to Utah's economy
<br />and its success depends consid-
<br />erably on the efforts of the Cen-
<br />tral Utah Project, according to
<br />Booth Wallentine, executive vice
<br />president of the Utah Farm
<br />Bureau Federation. Because the
<br />latest figures were for the year
<br />1986. Wallentine says the total
<br />is about eight percent higher in
<br />1990 dollars. or approximately
<br />
<br />$2.56 billion. These figures were
<br />presented at a recent Central
<br />Utah Water Conservancy District
<br />Board of Directors meeting.
<br />Wallentine asked Central Utah
<br />Water Conservancy District board
<br />members to keep agriculture as a
<br />top priority. He identified the
<br />Central Utah Project as a vital
<br />program for the future of Utah's
<br />agriculture industry and pledged
<br />the continued support of the Utah
<br />Farm Bureau in completing the
<br />project,
<br />Wallen tine said that agriculture
<br />not only involves growing and
<br />processing agricultural products,
<br />but includes sales and service of
<br />machinery and equipment, retail
<br />food sales, wages, and supplies
<br />purchased by growers. "All of this
<br />helps add to the state's economy,
<br />making agriculture second only to
<br />defense as an economic force in
<br />Utah," he said.
<br />Citing two studies conducted
<br />by USU, Wallentine said that 21
<br />percent of the wages paid in Utah
<br />are related to agriculture workers,
<br />making it the largest employer in
<br />the state at 102,000. Total agri-
<br />culture assets in Utah were deter-
<br />mined to be worth $6.25 billion.
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<br />The percentage of the Utah
<br />population employed by agricul-
<br />ture was found to vary greatly
<br />depending on geographic
<br />regions. Along the Wasatch
<br />Front. 14.4 percent of the popu-
<br />lation is employed in agriculture-
<br />related jobs. In the central region,
<br />agriculture employs 30 percent
<br />and other areas dependent on
<br />agriculture are the Mountainland
<br />Region at 15 percent and Uinta
<br />with 24 percent.
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