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Show WEST'S WATER POWER OPENEO BY AGREEMENT New Bill Declared to Be Legislation Legis-lation Affecting Every Citize'n of Nation POWER COMMISSION OF THREE PLANNED i Fifty Year Licenses for Rights to Projects Will Be Issued WASHINGTON. April 30. Described De-scribed by Chairman Jones, of the senate commerce committee, as legislation legis-lation affecting every citizen of the I United States, the water power bill as agreed upon in conterence would ; create a federal power commission, I composed of the secretaries of war, agrlulturo and interior. This commission com-mission would have authority over all matters portaining to the development develop-ment of water power in which the federal government has jurisdiction or in which it is Interested as an owner oC lands or other property 'necessary toysuch projects. --t- ' , T!T " The commission ' may issue , prer limlnary permits aiufwlng applicants throe years In which to make examinations exam-inations ot waterpower projects, prepare pre-pare plans and make financial arrangements. ar-rangements. The commission also may issue licenses for a period of fifty years or it may reserve such projects as should be "undertaken by the federal fed-eral government Preference must be given by the commission to states and municipalities If they are equally equal-ly adaptod to utilize water resources. Reservoir Building. The bill also would encourage the building of headwater storage reservoirs reser-voirs to equalize power production, prevent floods, and obtain water for irrigation purposos after being used generation of power. Provision Is made for construction of locks in power dams in navigable streams so as to extend navigation Into the upper reaches of rivers. At the expiration of the 50-year license, li-cense, the government under the bill Is given the option of purchasing the hydro-electric plants by paying the licensee his net Investment or it may issue a now license to the original licensee li-censee or to a new licensee who sha'll pay the original owner his net ln-vestnient. ln-vestnient. Licensees arc placed under un-der the supervision of state public service commissions as to rates and regulation of service." ' ' ' Under Iilccnso The fedoral government, th'e'tftll provides, may take over arid.Voperate any water power under license in time of war for manufacture of' ox-plosives ox-plosives or any uso conducive to national na-tional safety. Senator Jones in a statement said he was informed that water povyer development to be undertaken on drv? actment of the bill would have a capacity ca-pacity of morevthan, 4,000,000 horsepower horse-power and would open up ,to navigation naviga-tion more than 4,000 miles of Lh upper reaches of streams. ( Enactment or the water power bill, as forecast by the agreement! of the conferees, will nave immeasurable' effect ef-fect on the development of the west'3 natural resources. A statement to this. effect was made today by J. -P. Martin, district engineer at forest service ser-vice headquarters. Under tho present arrangement, water power projocts located on forest for-est lands or the public domain operate under J0-year permits issued by the secretary of agriculture or the secretary sec-retary of tho interior respectively. These permits are ..revocable at the pleasure of the department head without giving reasons' and without legal redress. For this reason, Mrs. Martin said, Investors have hesitated in erecting power' plants upon such an insecuro foundation. Passage of tho bill will' undoubtedly load "to great develop-' mcnt of water power int ho inter-mountain inter-mountain states just ns soon as building build-ing conditions become imore nearly normal, he predicted. !; Chief power" possibilities In Utah and. IJaho are on the Salmon afnd, Snake rivers and their larger tributaries tribu-taries In Idaho and "the Green, Colorado, Colo-rado, and Logan rivers in Utah. Estimates Esti-mates of the power available' In the two states vary between ohe and four million horsepower. |