estimated benefits and 1.34 on the basis of direct benefits only. The limit of repayment ability by the irrigators over a 50-year period is stated to be $1,722,450. You propose that the remainder of the capital cost, $3,075,650, would be repaid with excess power revenues from Chief Joseph Dam.

The States of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming favorably endorse the recommended improvement. However, the State of Montana reserves the right to claim benefits that may accrue downstream from the use of water originating in Montana, and the State of Wyoming points out that the estimated irrigation costs per acre appear to be relatively high.

The Corps of Engineers states that the Wells Reservoir, if constructed on the Columbia River at mile 516, would affect certain lands to be served by this project. The Corps also states that this project would have no material effect on the operation of Chief Joseph Dam or on its capability of fulfilling its primary purpose.

The Department of Agriculture questions the magnitude of the anticipated direct benefits and points out that, in addition to the Federal cost per acre, private developers would be required to make relatively high expenditures, particularly where apple orchards are involved, thereby possibly requiring special credit arrangements. The Department states, however, that the_recommended improvement appears to be an acceptable proposal.

In order to assure that sufficient power revenues over and above amounts needed to reimburse the Federal Government for the cost of the power investment in Chief Joseph Dam would be available within its 50-year repayment period to repay the irrigation costs of the Foster Creek Division that are beyond the financial ability of the water users to repay, it would appear essential that requests for appropriations for construction of the irrigation works be conditioned on a current financial analysis and schedule of power generation and rates demonstrating such repayment ability. The Bureau of the Budget also believes that, in view of the sizable secondary benefits involved in this project, consideration should be given to a requirement for the establishment of a conservancy district to insure maximum justifiable contribution or repayment by those to whom secondary benefits of the project will accrue.

Accordingly, you are advised that there would be no objection to the submission of your report to the Congress or, if amended to cover the suggestions outlined above, to the authorization of the initial phases of the improvement as recommended herein. No commitment, however, can be made at this time as to when any estimate of appropriation would be submitted for construction of the project, if authorized by the Congress, since this would be governed by the President's budgetary objectives as determined by the then prevailing fiscal situation.

It is requested that a copy of this letter be included with your report when it is submitted to the Congress.

Sincerely yours,

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., April 16, 1954.

Hon. JOSEPH W. MARTIN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: My report concerning potential irrigation in the vicinity of the Chief Joseph Dam project, Washington, is transmitted herewith pursuant to the provisions of section 9 (a) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1187, 1193) and the act of July 17, 1952 (66 Stat. 753).

The report presents general information on irrigation prospects for the area of about 75,000 acres in extent and recommends authorization of an initial phase of development that would comprise 5,680 acres.

The report has been transmitted to the States of the Columbia River Basin and to the Secretary of the Army for their views and recommendations as required by the provisions of the Flood Control Act of 1944; to the State of Washington for the comments of the head of the agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the State, as required by the provision of the act of August 14, 1946 (60 Stat. 1080); and to the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare; and the Federal Power Commission, in accordance with interagency agreements. Copies of all comments received, which generally are favorable, are enclosed with the report.

My report and copies of all comments were transmitted to the President through the Bureau of the Budget. I have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of the report to the Congress or to authorization of the recommended features if the legislation conforms to the conditions set forth in the Deputy Director's letter of April 13, 1954, a copy of which is attached.

Sincerely yours,

FRED G. AANDAHL, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain the irrigation works comprising the Foster Creek division of the Chief Joseph Dam project, Washington. (Act of July 27, 1954, 68 Stat. 568, Public Law 540, 83d Cong., 2d sess.)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, as an initial step in supplementing the Act of July 17, 1952 (Public Law 577, Eighty-second Congress), and in order to provide water for

the irrigation of approximately six thousand acres of land along the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers in the vicinity of Chief Joseph Dam, Washington, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain the Foster Creek division of the Chief Joseph Dam project substantially in accordance with the report of the Secretary of the Interior dated January 7, 1954, and printed as House Document Number 374, Eighty-third Congress. SEC. 2. In the construction, operation and maintenance of the Foster Creek division, the Secretary shall be governed by the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto) except that (a) the period provided in subsection (d), section 9, of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), for repayment of construction costs properly chargeable to any block of lands and assigned to be repaid by the irrigators may be extended to fifty years, exclusive of a development period, from the time water is first delivered to that block or to as near that number of years as is consistent with the adoption and operation of a variable payment formula as hereinafter provided; (b) any repayment contract entered into may provide that the amounts to be paid annually thereunder shall be determined in accordance with a formula, mutually agreeable to the parties, which reflects economic conditions pertinent to the irrigators' payment capacity; and (c) all construction costs which are beyond the ability of the irrigators to repay as hereinbefore provided shall be charged to, and returnable to the reclamation fund from, net revenues derived from the sale of power from the Chief Joseph Dam project which are over and beyond those required to amortize the power investment in said project and to return interest on the unamortized balance thereof. Power and energy required for irrigation pumping for the Foster Creek division authorized shall be made available by the Secretary from the Chief Joseph Dam powerplant and other Federal plants interconnected therewith at rates not to exceed the cost of such power and energy from the Chief Joseph Dam taking into account all costs of the dam, reservoir, and powerplant which are determined by the Secretary under the provisions of the Federal reclamation laws to be properly allocable to such irrigation pumping power and energy.

SEC. 3. Reports on additional reclamation units in the vicinity of the Chief Joseph Dam project proposed to be constructed as units of the project shall be submitted by the Secretary from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Act of July 17, 1952, supra.

SEC. 4. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $4,798,000 plus or minus such amounts, if any, as may be justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in the cost of said type of construction without endangering the economic feasibility of the Foster Creek division of the Chief Joseph Dam project, Washington.

COLLBRAN PROJECT

COLORADO

The Collbran project was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on May 9, 1950 and authorized by the Act of July 3, 1952. (66 Stat. 325, Public Law 445, 82d Cong., 2d sess.)

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, Washington, D. C., December 9, 1949.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

SIR: This is my proposed report on the potential Collbran project, in the upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado. My report is based on and includes the accompanying report of the regional director, Salt Lake City, Utah, dated November 18, 1949.

The Collbran project is located in the Plateau and Grand Valleys at the base of Grand Mesa on the western slope of the Continental Divide in west central Colorado. It would supply needed irrigation, municipal, and domestic water, and electric energy.

Population pressure in the Plateau Valley has created an urgent need for additional water for irrigation, but because of the costs involved local interests cannot build the works needed to supply this water. In Grand Valley existing municipal and industrial demands are taxing the existing facilities to capacity. Domestic water for farm homes throughout the area must be hauled long distances or be taken from irrigation ditches. The latter source produces water of doubtful potability. The normal growth of Grand Valley will soon increase the demand for water beyond the physical capacity of existing works. Power supplies in the area are already inadequate and it is anticipated that industrial development of oil-bearing shales, uranium ores, and coal will aggravate the shortage.

The plan of development for the Collbran project provides for diversion of a minimum of 20 second-feet continuous flow from two Grand Mesa streams, Big and Cottonwood Creeks, by a pipeline, which would transport the water for industrial and municipal use, to an equalizing reservoir near Grand Junction. The diverted

water would be used en route at two power plants to generate annually 51,600,000 kilowatt-hours of firm power and 6,670,000 kilowatt-hours of secondary power. Stream-flow regulation needed to accomplish this diversion would be provided by enlarging Benham Reservoir on Big Creek and utilizing eight small natural lakes in the upper reaches of Big and Cottonwood Creeks. As the water that would be diverted to Grand Valley is now used for irrigation in Plateau Valley, it would be replaced by surplus spring runoff from upper Plateau, Leon, and Park Creeks that would be stored until needed in the potential Vega Reservoir. With regulation at Vega Reservoir these streams would provide, in addition to the required replacement, an average of about 15,900 acre-feet of water annually as a new irrigation supply for 20,650 acres of land in Plateau Valley including 2,310 acres now idle for lack of water and 18,340 acres inadequately irrigated.

The project plan includes provisions recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Service to increase fish and wildlife values. Recreational facilities recommended by the National Park Service would be provided, to the maximum practicable extent after project construction. Costs of recreational development are not included as a part of the indicated construction cost. Silt and floodcontrol benefits from this project are minor. The project does not involve stream-pollution abatement, Indian lands, or navigation. Rights to the use of the water required for the project could be obtained in accordance with the Colorado State water law. The projects would consume less than 1 percent of the Colorado River water which it is estimated, will be available for future development in the State of Colorado under the terms of the Upper Colorado River Basin compact.

The estimated construction cost of the Collbran project is $13,299,000. Operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of the project works are expected to average $108,800 annually. Based on the annual benefits of the project accruing through the preservation and propagation of fish and wildlife over the repayment period, a nonreimbursable allocation of $257,000 is proposed in the report. The remaining $13,042,000 would be reimbursable and would be allocated as follows: Irrigation, $3,987,000; power production, $6,313,000; and municipal use $2,742,000.

The reimbursable construction costs would be returned in full to the United States. Irrigation water users would be required to repay $20,000 annually toward construction costs, in addition to paying their share of operation, maintenance, and replacement costs. Over the recommended 50-year repayment period, following a 3-year development period, this would return $1,000,000. The balance of the irrigation allocation would be assigned for repayment from the interest component of the power revenues. Municipal and industrial water users would be required to repay their share of the construction costs of the project in 60 years, with interest at 2 percent, a total of $78,880 annually, in addition to paying their share of the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs. This would return the municipal water allocation of $2,742,000 plus interest amounting to $1,991,000.