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Show Ute Tribe to vote April 8 on state water compact Ute voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to cast their ballots in the election to ratify the Ute Water Compact. Com-pact. The polls will be open on April 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations: Ourav Allen Tahguv residence. Randlett Episcopal Church trailer (across the street from the gym). Fort Duchesne multi-purpose building. Whiterocks Community Building. Myton Head Start Center. The April 8 election will follow the same procedure as the General Election for Business Committee members. The election will be by secret ballot and will be conducted under the rules and regulations established by the Election Board. According to the Tribal Constitution, at least 30 percent of the eligible voters of the tribe must vote in the referendum election. The majority vote will then be the conclusive and binding decision of the people to approve or reject the Compact. An eligible voter is one who is 21 years of age or over and who has maintained a legal residence on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation for one year preceding the election, according to the Constitution and By-Laws. The proposed compact gives the tribe annual first priority rights to store up to 481,035 acre feet of water from the Uintah Basin, and the Utes can use up to 248,943 acre feet annually of that stored water or other water from runoff or underground sources. The compact will have no effect on state water rights owned by the tribe, and it provides that the tribe or its members can apply to the State Water Engineer's Office for additional water rights. The compact also requires the parties the state and the federal government "to use their best efforts in the expeditious planning and development of water storage projects. ..including the Uintah and Upalco units, the Leland Bench Project, or other similar projects of the Central Utah Project. |
