Bill to authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance by the Secretary of the Interior of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Colorado

I

H. R.

236

IN TIIE IIOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 3, 1053

:Mr. CnE.°"OWETH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs

A

·

BILL

To authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance by the Secretary of the Interior of the Fryingpan-Arkan as project, Colorado.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-2 tives of the United States of America

in

3 That, for the purpose of supplying water for inigation,

muni-4 cipal, domestic, and industrial uses, generating and

trans-5 mitting hydroelectric power and energy, controlling floods,

6 providing for the preserYation and propagation of fish and

7 wildlife and pre erving and improving recreational

opportuni-8 ties, and for other useful and beneficial purposes, the Secretary 9 of the Interior, acting pursuant to the Federal reclamation

I

--1 laws, Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and Acts

2 amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, as far as those 3 laws are not iuconsi~tcnt "·ith the proYision~ of this Act,

4 and subject to the apportionments of the use of water fixed

5 in the Colorado RiYcr Compact and the Upper Colorado

6 River Basin Compart and to the terms of the Boulder

Can-7 yon Project Act, and to the terms oi the United

States-8 1Iexi<'o

,v

9 hereby authorized to construct, operate, and maintain the

10 Fryingpau-.Arkamms project, Colorado, in substantial

accord-11 ance with the engineering plans therefor set forth in Senate

12 ])ocurncut N tu11hered 106, Bighty-secoud Congress, second

13 sessiou, but with such modi:ficatious of, omi sions from, or

14 additio11s to the works therein described as the Secretary

15 may, from time to time, filHl necessary or proper for

a('-16 compli ·hing the objcctiYes of the projrct, and in

accord-17 ance, al o, ,Yith recommendations lettered E to K,

inclu-18 sive, set forth on page 25 and 26 of that document.

19 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior may appoint the

20 two representatiYcs of the United States to the Commi. sion

21 referred to in paragraph 17, page numbered 23, Senate 22 Document Numbered 106, Eighty-second Congress, second 23 session, and may adopt modifications of the operating

prin-24 ciples therein referred to upon the recommendations of the ~ 25 Commi sion: Provided, That such recommendations are

1 made and adopted by said Commission in conformity to the

2 provisions of paragraph 17 of said operating principles set

3 forth on page 23 of Senate Document Numbered 106,

4 Eighty-second Congress, second se. sion.

5 SEC. 3. Any and all benefits and rights of western Colo

-6 rado water users in and to water stored in the Green :

Moun-7 tain Reservoir, Colorado-Big Thompson project, as described,

8 set forth, and de.fined in Senate Document Numbered 80,

9 Seventy-filth Congress, first session, shall not be impaired,

10 prejudiced, abrogated, nullified, or diminished in any manner

11 whateYer by reason of the authorization, construction,

opera-12 tion, and maintenance of the Fryingpan-Arkansas project

13 authorized by this Act.

14 SEC. 4. Any proYision ?f law to the contrary

uotwith-15 standing, the project herein authorized shall be operated in

16 such a manner that those in eastern Colorado using project

17 watrr imported from the Colorado RiYcr Basin for domestic

18 pm·poses shall have preference over those claiming or using 19 the water for any other purpose.

20 SEC.

5.

21 operate, and maintain public recreational facilities on lands

22 withdrawn or acquired for the development of the

Fryingpan-23 Arkansas project, to conserve th<' scenery, the natuml,

his-24 toric, and archeologic objrcts, and the Vi·ildlifc on said lauds,

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-1 of the water areas created by these projects by such means 2 as are consistent with the primary purposes of said project 3 and to mitigate losses of and improve conditions for the 4 propagation of fish and wildlife in connection with the de-5 velopment of the Fryingpan-Arkansas project. The Secre-6 tary is authorized to acquire lands and to withdraw public

7 lands from entry or otlier disposition under the puJJlic...,..~',pt/"~ 8 laws for the construction, operation, and maintenance of

9 recreational facilities in connection with the said project, and 10 to dispose of them to Federal, State, and local governmental 11 agencies by lease, transfer, exchange, or conveyance, upon

12 such terms and conditions as will best promote their

develop-13 ment and operation in the public interest. The costs,

includ-14 ing the operation and m~intenance costs of all said

under-15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

takings shall be nonrnimbursable and nonreturnable under the reclamation laws, and funds appropriated for carrying out

the authorization contained in section 1 of this Act shall,

without prejudice to the availability of other appropriated moneys for the same purpose, also be available for caITying out the investigations and programs authorized in this section. SEC. 6. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated,

out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise

appro-priated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act and, in addition thereto, such further 25 sums as may be necessary for the continued investigation,

1 as set forth in Recommendation l\I, page 26, Senate

Docu-2 mcut :X umbered 106, Eighty-second Congress, second ses-3 sion, of a co.mprehensiYe plan of development of the Upper