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Show Consider CUP offer, carefully None of those attempts to work with the CUP seemed to work. They have initiated law suits, one of which is still in the courts. But construction of the pipeline will probably begin before that law suit is settled, and it probably won't affect the J-4, A-3 decision anyway. At last week's meeting of the CUP board, district manager Lynn Ludlow said he thought our mayors are pretty much resigned to seeing the aqueducts go through our communities. "I think the mayors of North Utah County have for the most part accepted the decision have been made," Ludlow said. And he may be right. But at least one mayor, Malcolm Beck, is still standing firm against the pipeline construction, and threatening a new law suit. Still, it demonstrates a willingness on the part of the CUWCD to work with the cities. To many, that might appear promising. Not that the cities haven't had an impact. Largely as a result of local efforts, the way CUP board members are chosen was changed to appointment by the governor, a step to designed to increase responsibility of board members for the areas they served. And observers of the board and the way it operates will . agree that it has had an impact. The criticism of the CUP has also prompted a call for an overall review of the project on a statewide basis by the Bureau of Reclamation -- a move Gov. Matheson said he will intiate through the Utah Department of Natural Resources and hopes to complete in eight months "while I am still in office." Other changes have been made, and are continuing to be made. Whether the CUWCD's offer to pay for fencing along the canal is the reflection of that change, or simply , an effort to ease the way to gating those easements still remains to be seen. ;"' "' ;' But local communities should deal in good faith with the district as the options are worked out. Ludlow was firm in saying that the resolution was an offer to "fulfill some of our obligations." And residents of North Utah County should get ready for the sound of heavy construction as work on the aqueducts begin. . j " ' The time is nearing when North Utah County will lose its ongoing battle with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and the Jordan-4 and Alpine-3 aqueducts will carve their way through our communities. The Bureau of Reclamation, which awarded the contract for the pipeline construction late last year, wants to start construction on the pipeline as soon as possible. But the BOR still faces one remaining obstacle - they don't have all the easements they need to build the pipelines - especially where they will be crossing the water lines that serve the North Utah County Communities. Com-munities. The cities have reserved those rights, guarding them as an ace-in-the-hole in case their other efforts to convince the CUWCD and BOR to change their plans aren't effective. ef-fective. As the date nears for construction to begin on the pipelines, the imprortance of those easements is evident. The Bureau of Reclamation is ready to start condemnation con-demnation proceedings on those rights of way so construction con-struction on the aqueducts can begin this spring. That's not the kind of action that wins friends, but the BOR apparently ap-parently feels like it has run out of options . The CUWCD's response shows that the local communities com-munities have had an impact on the way the water district approaches this type of business. The board even passed a motion in last Thursday's meeting that approved in principle the expenditure of district funds to offset the costs of local adverse effects the aqueduct construction might have! About $500,000 has been set aside for this purpose, and if it is used, it will probably be used to build a fence along the Murdock Canal. But so many questions remain about the fence construction. con-struction. , It will have to be built on BOR easements and private propert, since negotiations with the Provo River Water Users Association to use the Murdock Canal rights of way have failed time and again to resolve the issue. And it will have to be built by the BOR along with the rest of the project. The details of that still have to be worked out. Not that our local city officials haven't tried other ways to change the decision about the pipelines. They have met with the CUP several times. They banned together to form the Timpanogos Planning and Water Management Agency and carried out a vigorous campaign against the aqueduct proposal. |