Andrea Joy Campbell: “an amendment to strike funding for the Animas-LaPlata project is an attempt to further delay a project that was first…”

“an amendment to strike funding for the Animas-LaPlata project is an attempt to further delay a project that was first authorized by Congress in 1968 and is the cornerstone to fulfilling the provisions of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, enacted and signed into law by President Bush in 1988. It seems to be that assumption of many people that ``a feasibility of the project study'' has not been completed, or that ``feasible alternatives that may be available to fulfill the water rights of the Ute tribes'', have not been explored. Frankly, Mr. President, the Senator from Wisconsin is mistaken. In an effort to further clarify the record, I would like to share with my colleagues a brief chronology of events that show that all possible alternatives have been explored, debated, and even voted on in various public referendums. In 1968: Congress authorized the Colorado River Basin Project Act. Congress appropriated funds for advance studies. In 1974-1977: the Southwestern Water Conservation District and the Bureau of Reclamation sponsored a thorough process of public involvement that compared four major alternatives and dozens of sub-alternatives for each of the four major plans. In total, approximately 100 alternatives were considered. In 1979: The Definite Plan Report, detailing the new configuration of Ridges Basin and Southern Ute Reservoirs is completed.”