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Show Interior Department May Okeh Emery Project for Start in '62 The Department of the Interior has informed Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah that it may be possible pos-sible to recommend the Emery County Project of the Colorado River Storage Project as a new construction start for fiscal year 1962. A letter from Assistant Secretary Secre-tary Fred G. Aandahl stated that the fact that the definite plan report on Emery County is not expected before June, 1961, will not necesarily preclude its being included in the 1962 budget requests. re-quests. The government's fiscal year 1962 runs from July 1, 1961 to June 30, 1962. The budget for that year will be passed by the Congress that opens in January, 1961. In all, five letters on this question ques-tion have been exchanged between be-tween Senator Moss and the Department De-partment of the Interior. 1. In December, the Senator asked the Emery County Project be included in the Bureau of Reclamation's budget request for fiscal 1961. This would have placed it before the present session ses-sion of Congress. 2. In February ) after the budget bud-get requests had gone to Congress) Con-gress) the Department replied, stating that the drainage problems prob-lems had been found to be more complex and extensive than anticipated; an-ticipated; that $86,000 was now scheduled for this and other studies; that requests to Congress Con-gress included $107,600 for continuation con-tinuation of the studies; and that, if those funds are voted, it is hoped that the definite plan report re-port will be ready by June 30, 1961. 3. Taking this date to mean that the administration did not intend to make Emery County a new start even for fiscal 1962, Senator Moss pointed out that planning had been oging on since 1956 and asked that the schedule be stepped up. 4. Assistant Secretary Aandahl replied that the 1961 date for the (Continued on page 8) Interior Department May Okeh j Emery Project for Start in '62 j (Continued from Page 1) definite plan report did not make it impossible to request it in the fiscal '62 budget. His letter concluded: In the case of the Emery County project, the drainage problems precluded including the project in the fiscal year 1961 budget as a new construction construc-tion start. It is hoped these problems prob-lems can be satisfactorily resolved re-solved by the time the budget for fiscal year 1962 is being formulated for-mulated and, if so, consideration certainly will be given to including in-cluding in that budget a request for funds to initiate construction. 5. Finally Senator Moss then wrote urging all possible speed on the report, saying: "I appreciate the complexity of the problems the' Bureau of Reclamation must solve, and the care with which plans must be made. My work on the Select Committee for National Water Water Resources, as well as than on the Committee on Interior and ; ' Insular Affairs has strengthened ; my conviction that conservation and other development of our J water resources must go forward : ' as rapidly as we can afford to push them. "May I express the hope that you will give as much attention I as possible to completion of the definite plan report on the Em- h ! ery County Project during this calendar year so we can be as- , sured that Emery County is included in-cluded in the "new starts" in the : i budget sent to the Congress at ; i the beginning of the 87th Con- :-'! gress. Could you give me a very brief report on your progress on the Emery County Project plan in about 60 days? " I wish to do everything I can to assist you in this matter, and hope you will call on me at any : time." |