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<br />C. Previous Studies <br />The WPRS initiated studies for a water quality improvement <br />program on the Colorado River, with the La Verkin Springs of south- <br />western Utah investigated during 1972-73. Further work at that time <br />was deferred in favor of other water quality programs which were <br />deemed more important. <br />In 1976, studies on the La Verkin Springs were resumed and a <br />draft feasibility report and a draft environmental impact statement <br />were prepared. It was found that the feasibility report was not <br />consistent with the Principles and Standards planning concepts and <br />additional studies were undertaken. <br />D. Authority for the Report <br />The authority for the preparation of this report is basically <br />derived from the Federal Reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, <br />32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary there- <br />to) . The Colorado River Storage Project and Participating Projects <br />(Public Law 84-485), the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project and the San <br />Juan-Chama Project Act (Public Law 87-483), and the Fryingpan- <br />Arkansas Project Act (Public Law 87-590) provided more specific <br />authority for a basinwide salinity control program. Title II of the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320), <br />authorized the Secretary of the Interior to expedite the completion of <br />planning reports on this and other units of the CRWQIP. <br />E. Setting <br />1. General. The project area lies within the Virgin River <br />Basin of southwestern Utah. The river, approximately 200 miles <br />long, follows along the southern rim of the Markagunt Plateau, flows <br />through Zion National Park on its path through the southwest corner <br />of Utah, crosses the extreme northwest corner of Arizona, and emp- <br />ties into Lake Mead in southeastern Nevada. (See Frontispiece Map). <br />The La Verkin Springs issue from both banks and the bottom of <br />a 2,000-foot reach of river near the lower end of Timpoweap Canyon, <br />a deep and narrow gorge in the Hurricane Fault Cliffs. The principal <br /> <br />002511 <br /> <br />4 <br />