can be dealt with appropriately during the final planning stages of central Utah project. While recommending construction of the projects proposed in the report, Utah believes that such construction should be deferred, if it in any way impedes the defense effort or injures our economy. It would appear to be desirable in view of the shortage of material and manpower to defer such projects until these shortages no longer exist. The director, Utah fish and game commission, comments that the report of the Fish and Wildlife Service has been examined and that Utah is in agreement with its contents. WYOMING From the report it appears that the storage project and participating projects are feasible, economically justified, and financially sound. The upper Colorado River account will permit uniform power rates, equate costs of the developments with revenues from all sources, and assist in repayment of the costs of participating irrigation projects made possible by the storage reservoirs. The setting up of the upper Colorado River development fund is a sound and equitable basis upon which to construct the entire project. The report appears to be comprehensive and very well prepared and Wyoming urges its approval. Wyoming notes that there is no recommendation in the proposed report for legislation permitting preferential use in the upper basin of electric energy generated by Colorado River storage project units. It is the belief of Wyoming that such a provision should be included in the bill for authorization of the project. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE It is of vital importance that the Nation make the most of the resources with which nature has so richly endowed the Colorado Basin. A comprehensive and coordinated long-range plan should be developed for the Colorado Basin at an early date. It is especially important that the system of storage reservoirs proposed in the report be complemented by a coordinate program for the land. To insure that the overall project will yield a maximum return and that individual projects will constitute harmonious and effective elements in the ultimate program for the basin, additional economic studies should be undertaken. The desirability of establishing the upper Colorado River account is questionable. Such an account might prevent full and equitable consideration of all components of a comprehensive program and would thus set an undesirable precedent. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY The comments of the Chief of Engineers, writing on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, are summarized as follows: It appears that the report on the Colorado River storage project and participating projects is insufficiently advanced to permit satisfactory comments to be made on the engineering and economic justification of the plan at this time. Substantiating data are not available to permit reaching conclusions with respect to the justification of the project units or the project as a whole at this time. In addition, some of the basic premises and assumptions used in the economic analysis appear to be questionable, and the effect of modification of these premises may be of major importance in the computation of the benefit-cost ratio. The questions of policy regarding subsidization of irrigation projects which cannot be paid for by irrigators under existing reclamation law is a matter which should require the most careful consideration because of its far-reaching implications in the field of Federal public works. In conclusion, the Chief of Engineers states that he is unable to concur in the recommendations in the report with respect to approval of the overall plan and the immediate authorization of the initial phase. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE The Bureau of Public Roads comments that the project report indicates that the Bureau of Reclamation's estimates are generally sufficient to take care of necessary replacement of roads to be inundated. However, in regard to the Glen Canyon Reservoir, there is some doubt whether provision has been made for the increment in cost of the Blending-Henksville Federal-aid secondary route which will be constructed at some time in the future. The Coast and Geodetic Survey comments that the various maps included in the report do not have any projection lines. FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION The Federal Power Commission comments that its staff has given considerable study to problems of the development of the Colorado River Basin over the past several years and that the results of these studies with respect to generation of power at the proposed projects are in substantial agreement with the estimates in the report. In their futher comments, the Federal Power Commission reanalyzed the project on the basis of their method of determining power benefits, and found that, even on the basis of this conservative method, the storage project was economically justified. The Federal Power Commission observes that economic justification for each unit in the storage project was not given in the report and suggests that in the continuing studies such economic analysis be made for each unit. The Federal Power Commission states that its staff has made independent studies of the present and future needs for power in the areas that could be served with power produced at Colorado River storage project powerplants, and that its estimates are somewhat lower than the estimates given in the report. The difference in the estimates results from the differing determinations as to the needs for power in the fringe areas of the upper basin and differing assumption as to the export of power to adjacent areas. In respect to use of the interest component, the Federal Power Commission states that it has consistently taken the position that the public interest would best be served if the interest component were returned to the Treasury of the United States. The Commission recognizes that the program proposed is long-range in character and that modifications may be found desirable from time to time as studies continue. The Com mission suggests discussions between its staff and representatives of the Bureau of Reclamation as studies and detailed consideration of the Colorado storage project continue. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE The Public Health Service suggests that a paragraph covering taste and odor control relative to domestic water be added to their portion of the report. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DOUGLAS MCKAY, SECRETARY BUREAU OF RECLAMATION E. O. LARSON, REGIONAL DIRECTOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT OF DECEMBER 1950 ON COLORADO RIVER STORAGE PROJECT AND PARTICIPATING PROJECTS UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN 45515-54--—5 59 |