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Show Western Kesources' J5?RAP-yp ''' Interior in transition gyileleneCMonberg kinirton-"Watch me," Interior k Tary Cecil D. Andrus told a mini conference on Dec. 9. , t),e Reagan transition team is ilv silent as to its plans in the ' ' resources area, Andrus made it J I1 on Dec- 9 to a group of i indents who asked to see him r ' intends to be making decision ; ' inn 20, when Mr. Carter's i ; jency ends- $8 plans to start signing con's con-'s with Arizona's Indian tribes to the final allocation of Central j Project water that he made to ' jiansonDec. 1. "There is a rider Continuing resolution to keep me ' signing those contracts, but you & i me," Andrus stated. The -jonwas added by Sen. Dennis de j D-Ariz., to the continuint jii to provide funding for federal Clients and agencies which do not ! tl981 funding thru their regular 'nations bills. J, "j Dec. 15 Andrus plans to make a j,;:an on a petition on site un-jt un-jt jty filed by a group of en-mentalists en-mentalists opposed to the :;5 vsd Allen-Warner Valley strip-j strip-j i :coal-fied-powef-plant project : j fenab in Southern Utah. si jus said he would not create any In ;uinute" monuments using the a Jent's authority to do so under the ii antiquities Act, as was done at the Ci :: the Johnson Administration in to But he is debating acting on a ?i 5t by Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) - Jr., D-Calif ., to designate the l rnia Wild and Scenic Rivers AT a, as tne Interior Secretary can ,1,1 :erthe 1968 Wild and Scenic River ,m Andrus said he had several sts to create instant monuments, it ins plans to issue a draft en-is en-is nental impact statement (EIS) tt, jonth on enforcing the acreage Si :ion and residence requirements ,-nr) r 1902 Reclamation Law. He said tt :been debating putting final rules it relations into effect on enforcing E ::l before leaving office. "The u ary is under court order to act," J. :-js added his weight to an effort mil 'Senate Energy Committee to get ell x Senate a bill (HR 7941) which toi jrovide for off -tract leasing of oil t' iife in Colorado to holders Of ijM j leases. The bill passed the sis lanimously on Sept. 15, but it ia ;n held up in the Senate by Sen. ral id. R-Colo.. who wants to limit :lease tract, C-a in Colorado. "I if-site disposal of spent shale. ..It sary for the development of oil Andrus stated. "Gary is con-: con-: as are (Gov.) Dick Lamm (D-(Gov.) (D-(Gov.) Ed Herschler (D-Who.) about concentrating too much anient in one area. A community in the Piceance Basin" in nor-rn nor-rn Colorado "cannot handle new residents," Andres ii. I'AVOKS UPDATING 1902 &i RECLAMATION LAW sii -es said he favored "updating the I Reclamation Law. We have Js. f ' on finalizing the new rules and ir( 'lions implementing the act -I that the Congress could act. I I 'pect it to do so before the end of sr, and I don't see (the new) ss acting fast enough" to satisfy ' J iiary. "The Secretary is under I j "tier to promulgate final rules ' j illations to carry out the law," observed. Liing 'terior Department announced 22, 1977, proposed regulations WJS :,ce the acreage and residency , nents of the 1902 act, as L, :'i under an order of the U.S. 3 1 Court for the District of p 5 on Aug. 13, 1976. The pros' ?1."re8s" caused such an outcry ' $ -a'ifornia landowners went to $ won a decision requiring sl ( Jtowrite an EIS on the proposed 'Jrj Awhile, efforts were made in J, i to update the 1902 act. j-Han Thomas S. Foley, D-uuli D-uuli ; ot the House Agriculture increj -;lt8e told Western Resources e ghat J (WRW) Nov. 1 hopes of 81' U b'U t0 the House n00r f0r a(S Wore the end of this session nefl le. "as it would take a Jul request consent to do so, ne i waits of the bill won't con-hat con-hat ' eeds i as to portions of the country ;would exempt from the acreage mist ;i law, if able to do so, Andrus caPiC .-ould not favor the inclusion of ins'5''''.! m California's Imperial ate'T law. with the U.S. jiel)1 th ourt having exempted the (inaeva'ley from the limitation I be year. And he said he would Opting the lake bed area of nphss" IJf.Rlver project in California lleoJ of geology" and the ,ncrea make-up of the area. "To iave hi fe How of the river" would Hm'aIh a fide farmers up-. up-. said of the Kings River ; studei the insisted that he opposed c sexton of U.S. Army Corps of oriti iMta' like Kings River ramsj nation of the law. ?r0C .f'cted land owners in "estlands Water District and I other big landowners would delav both legation to update the 1902 3w and new rules and regulations to require Interior to enforce the 1902 law Three percent of the landowners control 31 percent of the land" whtch v, .water under the reclamation law, Andrus stated. They are reaping economic benefits from a heavy federal subsidy of their water, and they aren' interested in changing that, he main-tained. main-tained. Andrus said he expected major confrontations between interest groups m the West "in the next 10 years" over allocations of water, as most of the river basins in the West are over-allocated. over-allocated. "It will be a very sensitive issue," Andrus stated, "as the limitation on the water supply will become the limiting factor in growth" in many parts of the West. Construction of water projects is becoming increasingly costly, Andrus pointed out, "so the states will have to pick and choose" more selectively the projects that they want built in their area with federal funding. Andrus observed that the Carter Administration Ad-ministration had started several new projects, including the Dolores project in Colorado during the past four years, and that funding for the Water and Power Resources Service in Interior was at its highest levels in history, with $571 million provided for 1981; $415 million in 1980 and $399 million in 1979 all fiscal year figures. This proves the Carter Administration was not anti-Western, anti-Western, the retiring Interior Secretary insisted. Andrus took with a grain of salt the Reagan rhetoric about making major changed in natural resources programs. "It's easier to throw the spear than hold the shield. I don't see any wholesale restructuring, any major changes taking place," he said, as the Clean Air, Clean Water, National Environmental Protection and the 1976 Bureau of Land Mangement Acts now on the statute books will not be readily changed. |