The California Farm Bureau Federation is headquartered at 2855 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, California, and represents 54 County Farm Bureaus having a total of 60,000 member families.
The following statement is prepared to express Farm Bureau's strong opposition to the proposed Pacific Southwest Water Plan.
The delegates of our County Farm Bureau Water Problems Departments, from throughout the State, adopted the following resolution at their annual meeting held September 10, 1963. It was approved by the California Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors on September 18, 1963.
"Secretary of Interior Stewart L. Udall is proposing a Federal Regional Water Plan involving the five Pacific Southwest States of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The proposal has been submitted to the Governors of the five states, who were given 90 days in which to submit their views to the Secretary.
"The Plan, which would be developed in two stages at estimated cost of $2 billion per stage, is clearly a scheme to develop and distribute Northern California and Upper Colorado River Basin waters to desert areas of Arizona and Southern Nevada. According to the Secretary's public announcement, the Plan would erase and ignore state boundaries. This means, also, that it would ignore state water law. It would enlarge and use our State Aqueduct System for transmitting our Northern California waters south for use under the Federal Regional Plan. Thus, not only is our water in danger of being taken, but our State Water Facilities, authorized by our Legislature and financed by California taxpayers and water users, are in danger of being taken over by the Federal Government, as happened with the Central Valley Project.
"California has all to lose and nothing to gain by being included and participating in such a Federal Regional Water Plan, especially in light of the fact that we have barely enough water, if fully developed and distributed, to meet our own requirements under projected future growth of the State.
"We strongly oppose this Plan to include California in a Federal Regional Water Program."
Description Document (3 p). Includes hand annotations.
Text STATEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION OPPOSING THE PROPOSED PACIFIC SOUTHWEST WATER PLAN PRESENTED BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA WATER COMMISSION SACRAMENTO - NOVEMBER 1, 1963 The California Farm Bureau Federation is headquartered at 2855 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, California, and represents 54 County Farm Bureaus having a total of 60,000 member families. The following statement is prepared to express Farm Bureau's strong opposition to the proposed Pacific Southwest Water Plan. The delegates of our County Farm Bureau Water Problems Departments, from throughout the State, adopted the following resolution at their annual meeting held September 10, 1963. It was approved by the California Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors on September 18, 1963. "FEDERAL REGIONAL WATER PLAN "Secretary of Interior Stewart L. Udall is proposing a Federal Regional Water Plan involving the five Pacific Southwest States of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The proposal has been submitted to the Governors of the five states, who were given 90 days in which to submit their views to the Secretary. "The Plan, which would be developed in two stages at estimated cost of $2 billion per stage, is clearly a scheme to develop and distribute Northern California and Upper Colorado River Basin waters to desert areas of Arizona and Southern Nevada. According to the Secretary's public announcement, the Plan would erase and ignore state boundaries. This means, also, that it would ignore state water law. It would enlarge and use our State Aqueduct System for transmitting our Northern California waters south for use under the Federal Regional Plan. Thus, not only is our water in danger of being taken, but our State Water Facilities, authorized by our Legislature and financed by California taxpayers and water users, are in danger of being taken over by the Federal Government, as happened with the Central Valley Project. "California has all to lose and nothing to gain by being included and participating in such a Federal Regional Water Plan, especially in light of the fact that we have barely enough water, if fully developed and distributed, to meet our own requirements under projected future growth of the State. "We strongly oppose this Plan to include California in a Federal Regional Water Program."