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Show Westferra Resources Cost-sharing on water projects By Helene C. Monberg a-thington-wanted: a water r with an authorized unfunded w nroject which is willing to work h the "Feds" on innovative new Ha of financing new water projects. 'Lt Army Secretary William R. r?Tlm told Western Resources Wrap-zi-KV) on Aug. 24, "I am looking for Vier district which is willing to sell I uroducte from a multiple purpose nttr project before it is built. ,-rhat is sell the hydro-electric er at the market price to area Ues and sell M&I (municipal and in-Ittrial) in-Ittrial) water under long term con-cts con-cts to local water users to guarantee Percent for the water. fty could take these contracts the private money markets, use iec contracts to float a revenue bond 1 &e and get front load money in that , ay lo pay for construction of their project," pro-ject," Gianelli said. Hie bottom line, Gianelli stressed, is ikt this is a method of getting water projects awaiting construction moving j-xh sooner in a period of reduced 'Aral budgets. "It takes the pressure off the federal budget," Gianelli pointed out. Does he have any water project or later district or port authority in mnd? Gianelli was asked. "I'm looking !or one to try this approach. I'm work-;: work-;: jig on it," he stated. If a water district went this route, ' M kind of federal help could it count ! jWRW asked Gianelli on Aug. 26. "If ' toe were a flood control feature in the ; project, there would be an overriding ;; federal interest to fund that portion of " !be project," Gianelli replied. If a deep tater port facility were involved, say, m the Pacific Northwest, he indicated toe would be two federal interests in-, in-, volved: national security and national ,, economic development. "There is also , i need (or federal coordination on pro- jects, particularly on projects which , are interstate," he pointed out. l'1 Gianelli said some water projects with lew features may not be able to i-' show enough of a federal interest to ' qualify for federal money. "In that case," he admitted, "a water district tf' wild not have any incentive to deal l the feds."' u-.- ' He also observed there will be times hen the federal interest in a water ? project may be marginal, but a question ques-tion of equity is involved, as in the Up-P Up-P Missouri Basin states notably the Dakotas which gave up thousands of r; acres-of farm land for construction of a I- swies of U.S. Army Corps of Engineer isms on a promise of future federal ( development that, generally speaking, : w materialized. "In a few tali ta-li stances, we might have to justify a y: teal interest to take care of ine- 0 Sen. (James) Abdnor (R.S. l has asked me that question," c taelii told WRW. Abdnor is chairman lhe Senate Water Resources Subcom- mittee. 1 STATES CAN DO j, THEIR SHARE I'.:. Gianelli said states which really specific water developments can y, will find a way to help water , ncU fund them. Gianelli's native y 15 built Oroville dam in Nor-. Nor-. , California two decades ago by ln .its hydro-electric power to the W private utilities in e state, , Mre,ral government put up $70 to pay for the flood control ' vT',! tlde'and oil money which 6 , S,ale paid for tne rest f the r tlC' n C0St' Vera11' 8b0Ut 500 -2 ; , anelli esmated. California mv r A0 dlp int0 general revenues Oroville, he said. t 'JS tseewhysomeof theMoun-:Tft theMoun-:Tft tflnthe West could not use the lU receive from energy , JttopayfoTTOwwate r pro- ., Gianelli observed. !J Car.Cral1government under both ha hT Reagan administra-t administra-t i i'K,, "no new starts" policy 2 , federa"y authorized water iJjince WTT. But Gianelli claims t Wiri- ference between the .' V tv;6"611 11,0 e results have ' ft'Jiw 1?e:. no new starts budgeted '( .in,stra,mmistration- "The Carter 2 a4 (thC Reaga" Ad" of, movm8 toward a ' itfcW g some new water pro- on Atn,cti0" Gianelli told Jj frf f Western states, under :i-cenew7(Waterdistriets to help ' Wpe oT P1"0- have set up p?ater development fund, Sh0r0', North Dakota- vTit. k, J' aska has said it will xV 4 bordo, developments within ; !:vtrnrnent finn hen 1116 federal ; cost 'kUv conies up with some v- 'oternX1" formula. several of C RSraA0f National Ai ,? .Association told " he said y W'U 1)6 way Bchp- 'VS!andR-GayE.Car- 'n,Vnte"or Secretary na Water Resources, have talked up cost sharing in their many speeches throughout the West and elsewhere in the country in recent months. mon-ths. They have not endorsed, however, the block grant approach embodied in the bill by Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y. (S621). They questioned it on a number of grounds, including whether it "is the best way to solve water problems" pro-blems" at hearings by Abdnor Subcommittee Subcom-mittee in June. "The fact of the matter is there are not going to be the federal dollars available. That's going to be the fact of the matter. And I think the Administration Administra-tion will be looking at spreading whatever federal dollars are available as far as possible, and one of the best ways that can be done is to get more non federal cost sharing into these projects" pro-jects" Gianelli told two California press representatives on July 27. Others have proposed what Car-ruthers Car-ruthers calls "innovative methods" of getting moving again on water development. develop-ment. Rep. Charles Pashayan, R-Calif., intoduced on Aug. 4 a bill (HR4380) which would set up a water project insurance in-surance fund to facilitate the marketing of tax exempt debt obligations issued by water authorities. The fund would be administered by the Secretary of Interior In-terior with money from the reclamation fund and other sources outlined in the bill. Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., told the Colorado Col-orado Water Congress on Aug. 22 its members should consider working out cooperative agreements with energy companies to include an energy component compo-nent in multiple purpose water projects, pro-jects, use the state's new bonding authority to pay some of the up front costs of water projects, and take another look at the Domenici-Moynihan block grant approach. |