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Show safeguard Utah's Interests Utah's future, as does that of any state or area, depends largely upon the available water supply. If there is no provisions made for augmenting- our basic supply source the Colorado River the future will indeed 1 a bleak one. Evem before we will require supplemental water from the outside, however, we will need to utilize all of our share of the Colorado. We do not do this now, but the Central Utah Project a vast series of reclamation programs now under way will, hopefully, hope-fully, enable us to funnel our share into needed areas. A big step in this direction was taken in the mid-1950s mid-1950s when the Colorado River Storage Project was authorized by Congress. Since then, Utah and other Colorado River Basin states have been moving painstakingly pains-takingly forward on individual units of their respective respec-tive state projects. Utah's Vernal Unit has been completed, the Bonneville Bon-neville Unit is under way, and, now, a congressional committee is considering authorization of still another an-other phase, the $620-million Ute Indian Unit. Rep. Laurence J. Burton, R-TJtah, was successful in getting an amendment authorizing the unit tacked onto current Colorado River legislation being considered consid-ered in the House. The amendment was added by the Irrigation and Reclamation subcommittee of the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. If the Interior Inter-ior Committee approves the bill with the Burton amendment, am-endment, it will go to the floor of the House for ultimate ulti-mate approval. The Burton amendment has opponents, and it will ! be a chore to keep it in the legislation this session of Congress. But our congressional delegation, Governor Rampton and his forces, the Central Utah Water Conservancy Con-servancy District, and others concerned are now doing ! all within their power to help the amendment stay. They deserve the support of all Utahns in their ef- j forts. j Some opponents of the amendment say the cost I of the Ute Indian Unit will "weigh down" the overall , bill, thus making it likely that the entire legislation will face defeat. It should be made clear, however, that the am-j am-j endment in no way calls for an expenditure to be made at the present time. It merely calls for a provisional provi-sional authorization for the construction of the Ute I Indian Unit, and this would even be subject to findings find-ings of a feasibility report by the Secretary of Interior. In-terior. With the waters of the Colorado River being either eith-er used or committed to use by authorized projects, it is only fair that at this time Utah's future plans at least be endorsed by the Congress. The Ute Inlian Unit will be needed by Utahns by the turn of the century. It will be needed by the Ute Indian Tribe in eastern Utah. In fact, the Indians rightfully have the water coming, since they have waived a share of their water rights in favor of the federal government. The sustained growth of the state and the development devel-opment of its abundant resources dictate the necessity of long-range plans and a consistant rate of progress. The support of Utah's citizens of the effort begun by Congressman Burton is vital. It is only equitable that Utah's interests, as well as those of Arizona and Colorado, Colo-rado, be dealt with in legislation now before Congress. |