Show I Offers suggestions Senator Bennett urges funds be used I to speed up Central Utah projects f r WASHINGTON F. Bennett this urged the President to a program which would j peed up work on Uie and Bonneville units of e Central Utah BENNETT said the i Most of this plus other changes in the for Central total He said money could be obtained transfer of funds now In he budget for construction of The govern- lent recently decided not to the transmission PI a speech on the Senate Bennett pointed out khat definite plan reports on jie Jensen and Upalco units 31 be completed In 1 the first and second stage Reports on the Bonneville unit June of 1963 and June of plan rt jaust be completed construction can be pace is just not to meet Uie needs of the people in the areas n. Bennett saying I do not intend to be of the Bureau of because I am confident after carefully studying jio situation that the Bureau making good progress in of the present limited and personnel h my the Bureau can jove ahead much faster if it is given the additional funds I have BENNETT appeared last year before the Senate Appropriations which approved his request for to speed up planning on the Jensen As a result the definite plan report is now scheduled to be finished in June of instead of thereby gaining a year in construction He said that a further gain could be made by adopting his present making it possible for definite reports on the Jensen and Upalco units to be completed in BENNETT said that the transfer of funds would also permit studies to be initiated this leading to early development of a project near Ouray in the southern part of Uintah and plans to include Uintah Basin Indian lands in the first stage of the Central Utah Project The Senator said also that a study could be started immediately to complete plans to assure earlier delivery of water than now planned from the Green River into the Uintah thus assuring a sufficient water supply to meet all needs in the BENNETT noted water right negotiations are presently being conducted which Involve the Indians in the Uintah from information given to it is apparent that the Indians are 1 taking a long-range view of the Of it is certainly understandable that they should wish to fully protect their It is my hops that these negotiations will be satisfactorily completed in the immediate The Indians would no doubt be even more willing to enter into acceptable agreements if project studies were initiated immediately to assure the inclusion of additional Basin Indian lands in the first stage of the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah ASSURED water supply with features would be a great boon to the Uintah Basin Indians and would give them an opportunity to substantially their standard of living and enhance their economic Bennett said that once the water right studies are it would be possible to start work to develop the lands on the Duchesne both above and below the mouth of the A total of about acres can be This feature includes such works as the Starvation Reservoir on the lower Strawberry BENNETT noted that the white water users in the Uintah Basin are concerned about the present water right studies and are apprehensive about the claims made by the Indians and the proposed diversion by tunnel from the Uintah Basin to the Bonneville is particularly that project features in the Uintah Basin be initiated at the earliest possible time to make certain that full water supply is available to the white water he an accelerated program would allay their Bennett said he believed the fears of white water users would be completely allayed if they could be certain that water would be diverted from the Green River into the Uintah Basin at a much earlier date than now He would probably involve bringing water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir south into the Originally it was thought that water would be pumped from the Echo Park but Flaming Gorge was substituted because certain interest groups construction of the Echo Park MY water diversion from the Green River must have high higher than that which the Bureau of Reclamation has hitherto been able to gie The funds which I have recommended should enable to give The funds which necessary study and attention which it Bennett said In making his recommendations he was not being critical of the Bureau of Reclamation which he said is doing fine He said he merely wanted to give the Bureau additional resources to expand its efforts to increase Utah's water |