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<br />r. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />OO~1~' <br /> <br />v <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. " <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />823 state centennial Building <br />1313 Sherman Street <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />NOvember 30, 1979 <br /> <br />M E M 0 RAN DUM <br /> <br />TO: Members, Colorado Water Conservation Board <br /> <br />FROM: J. William McDonald, Director <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Status Report, Closed Basin Division, <br />San Luis Valley Project <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />In October, 1972, the United States Congress enacted Public <br />Law 92-514, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to construct, <br />operate, and maintain the Closed Basin Division, San Luis Valley <br />Project. Section 106 of the authorizing act provipes that recrea- <br />tion and fish and wildlife developments in connection with project <br />facilities shall be in accordance with provisions of the Federal <br />Water Project Recreation Act (Public Law 89-72). This latter <br />legislation, as amended, provides that a non-federal agency shall <br />administer project land and water areas for recreation and fish <br />and wildlife purposes and shall bear not less than one-half of the <br />separable (specific) construction costs of recreation developments <br />and not less than one-fourth of the separable (specific) construc- <br />tion cOsts of fish and wildlife developments, as well as all the <br />costs of operation, maintenance, and replacement incurred therefor. <br /> <br />The authorizing legislation also provides that state-owned <br />lands must be conveyed to the United States for easements and <br />rights-of-way fOr project purposes as a prerequisite to initiating <br />project construction. <br /> <br />CURRENT STATUS <br /> <br />Construction funds totaling $100,000 were appropriated to the <br />Water and Power Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of Reclama- <br />tion) in fiscal year 1979. FOr the current fiscal year (1980), <br />$4.2 million were included in the Service's appropriations. <br />According to current schedules, the Service plans to initiate con- <br />struction activities on the project in December, 1979, with the <br />acquisition of lands fOr a construction headquarters facility. <br />However. since the total estimated cost of the project now exceeds <br />the indexed cost ceiling authorized by Congress, Commissioner <br />Higginson has chosen to advise certain congressional cOmmittees <br />before proceeding (see attached letter to Jack Sanders, dated <br />