Power rates of 5.6 mills per kilowatt-hour for firm energy and 3 mills for nonfirm energy would return $308,960 annually, which would pay the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs, and return the capital costs allocated to power in 60 years, with 3 percent interest, and provide a balance at the end of this period of $139,000. The interest payments, amounting to $7,285,600, would be used in part to repay that portion of the irrigation allocation which is beyond the ability of the water users to repay. It will probably be desirable at a future date to consolidate the Collbran project in a basin plan for development of the upper Colorado River Basin. I concur in and adopt the recommendations of the regional director as set forth in paragraph 26 of his report. I recommend that you approve and adopt this report as your proposed report on the Collbran project and that you authorize me, in your behalf, to transmit copies to the States of the Colorado River Basin and to the Secretary of the Army in accordance with the requirements of the Flood Control Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 887), to the State of Colorado for the views and recommendations of the head of the agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the State of Colorado in accordance with provisions of the act of August 14, 1946 (60 Stat. 1080), and to other interested Federal agencies for their comments. Respectfully, Approved and adopted: December 30, 1949. (Signed) OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, Washington 25, D. C., May 8, 1950. The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. SIR: Transmitted herewith is my report on the Collbran project, in west central Colorado. In your behalf, copies of the report which you adopted on December 30, 1949, as your proposed report were sent to the Secretary of the Army and to designated officials of the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming for their views and recommendations in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 887), and to the Governor of Colorado for the report and recommendations of the head of the agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the State of Colorado in accordance with the requirements of the act of August 14, 1946 (60 Stat. 1080). Copies of the proposed report were sent also to the Federal Power Commission and the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce for their comments. Copies of the written views of the States, with the exception of the State of Nevada, from which comments have not been received, and of the Federal agencies are attached with a copy of your proposed report. The views of the reviewing officials of the States of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are favorable to the development of the project in accordance with the plan set forth in your proposed report. The State of California had no official comments to offer. Colorado, the State in which the project works are proposed, concurs in the findings of the report and suggests minor refinements in the project plan which can easily be carried out if found to be feasible at the time the project is under construction. The Chief of Engineers, writing on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, has advised that the recommended project will not conflict with any of the interests of the Department of the Army. Comments of the other Federal agencies are favorable. Informal comments on the report which have been received from Rural Electrification Administration cooperatives and municipalities in the area make it desirable for me to point out at this time that in order to serve energy to preference customers in west central Colorado in accordance with Reclamation law and Departmental policy it will be necessary to construct considerable transmission lines in addition to those specifically discussed in the Collbran report. The nature of the power to be produced by the Collbran project does not fit in well with the type of load to be expected from these preference customers, inasmuch as the energy production at the project plants is based upon very high plant factors, while to satisfy the preference load there would be need for peaking power at low load factors. This type of load can best be met through facilities which will be provided following construction of powerplants and transmission lines in connection with the proposed Colorado River storage project. The power market in this area and the facilities to serve that load are considered to be a part of the storage project. It is contemplated also that there will be interconnection between the Collbran project powerplants and the plants of the Colorado River storage project. This interconnection is expected to take place almost as soon as power can be produced on the Collbran project. Authorization for transmission facilities to serve preferential customers in this area will therefore be requested as a part of the Colorado River storage project. Should there be substantial lag between the time power is produced on the Collbran project and the time Colorado River storage power will be available, efforts will be made to satisfy preferential customers through wheeling arrangements. After consideration of all comments received, I suggest no change in your proposed report other than your approval of the above clarification with respect to the serving of preferential power customers. Accordingly, I recommend that you adopt the report which you approved on December 30, 1949, as clarified by this letter, as your final report on the Collbran project, and that you transmit it, together with copies of the attached comments, to the President and, subsequently, to the Congress in accordance with the provisions of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain the Collbran reclamation project, Colorado. (Act of July 3, 1952, 66 Stat. 325, Public Law 445, 82d Cong., 2d sess.) *That, for the purpose of supplying water for the irrigation of approximately twenty-one thousand acres of land and for municipal, domestic, industrial, and stock water uses and of producing and disposing of hydroelectric power and, as incidental to said purposes, for the further purpose of providing for the preservation and propagation of fish and wildlife, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct the Collbran reclamation project, Colorado, substantially in accord with the plans set forth in the report of the Bureau of Reclamation approved by him, May 9, 1950, the estimated construction cost of which project is approximately $16,086,000, and to operate and maintain the same. SEC. 2. In constructing, operating, and maintaining the Collbran project, 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 so far as these laws are inconsistent with this act: Provided, That any contract entered into pursuant to subsection (d) of section 9 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1187) may provide that the general repayment obligation shall be spread in annual installments, in number and amounts satisfactory to the Secretary, over a period of not exceeding 50 years, exclusive of any development period as therein provided, for any project contract unit or for any irrigation block, if the project contract unit be divided into two or more irrigation blocks: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, net revenues derived from the sale of commercial power and from the furnishing of water for municipal, domestic, and industrial use shall be applied, first, to the amortization, with interest, of those portions of the actual cost of the construction of the project which are allocated, respectively, to commercial power and to municipal, domestic, and industrial water supply; and, thereafter, shall be applied to amortization of that portion of the cost allocated to irrigation which is beyond the ability of the irrigation water users to repay within the period specified above. Amortization of that portion of the construction cost allocated to commercial power shall include interest on the unamortized balance thereof at 3 per centum per annum. Repayment of that portion of the actual cost of constructing the project which is allocated to municipal, domestic, and industrial water supply and of interest on the unamortized balance thereof at a rate (which rate shall be certified by the Secretary of the Treasury) equal to the average rate paid by the United States on its long-term loans outstanding at the time the repayment contract is negotiated minus the amount of such net revenues as may be derived from temporary water supply contracts or from other sources prior to the close of the repayment period, shall be assured by a contract or contracts satisfactory to the Secretary, the term of which shall not exceed 50 years from the date of completion of the municipal and industrial water supply features of the project as determined by the Secretary. SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, approximately $16,086,000 to carry out the purposes of this act. SEC. 4. This act and all works constructed hereunder shall be subject to and controlled by the Colorado River Compact dated November 24, 1922, and proclaimed effective by the President June 25, 1929, the Boulder Canyon Project Act approved December 2, 1928, the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact dated October 11, 1948, and the Mexican Water Treaty, and no right or claim of right to the use of the waters of the Colorado River shall be aided or prejudiced hereby. COLORADO-BIG THOMPSON PROJECT COLORADO The Colorado-Big Thompson project was found feasible by the Secretary on December 20, 1937, under the provisions of section 4 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836), and subsection B of section 4 of the act of December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702), and was approved by the President on December 21, 1937. The Interior Department Appropriation Act, 1938 (50 Stat. 564, 595), appropriated the sum of $900,000 for the Colorado-Big Thompson project for construction in accordance with the plan described in Senate Document Numbered 80, Seventy-fifth Congress. PROVISIONS OF INTERIOR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION ACT, 1938 [Extract from] An act making appropriations for the Department of the Interior for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, and for other purposes. (Act of August 9, 1937, 50 Stat. 566, 595, Public Law 249, 75th Cong., 1st sess.) Colorado-Big Thompson project, Colorado: For construction in accordance with the plan described in Senate Document Numbered 80, Seventy-fifth Congress, $900,000: Provided, That no construction thereof shall be commenced until the repayment of all costs of the project shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, be assured by appropriated [sic] contracts with water conservancy districts, or irrigation districts or water users' associations organized under the laws of Colorado, or other form of organization satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior; |