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Umax Powerlook 2100XL, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 10,864,596 bytesrecognized a dividing point between the upper and lower basins at Lee's Ferry, Ariz. The compact provides that the upper basin may consume 7.5 million acre-feet of water each year. The final agreement to the terms of the compact was a major step forward in opening the way for legislation to authorize the project. Actually, we could say that this was really the beginning, because 34 years passed before the upper basin got its projects signed into law, although the lower basin had begun its construction 20 years earlier. The Navajo and San Juan-Chama projects, as part of the upper Colorado River storage project will be constructed and operated under the terms of the Colorado River compact of 1922, and the upper basin compact approved by Congress April 6, 1949. Without these agreements, the upper Colorado River project would never have been recommended by the Federal Government, nor would the Congress have approved it. Much has been said in the Congress, in the press, and at gatherings around the Nation relative to the value of the upper Colorado River project and the various participating projects. Many persons have questioned the wisdom of this and other such projects. But they are in the minority. The Upper Colorado River Basin is one of the Nation's most important storehouses of natural resources. This vast treasure chest may forever lie unopened unless the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries are put to use. The purpose of the Navajo irrigation project and the San Juan-Chama project is to provide water for municipal use, water for agriculture and water for the development of oil and gas, coal, uranium, and the many other minerals and resources that are found in the northwest part of New Mexico and that are of strategic importance to the safety and welfare of the entire country. Only time will tell how great a contribution these projects will make to the economy of the Southwest and the Nation as a whole, but it certainly will be large. We are all gratified to know that a contract has been awarded for the construction of the Navajo Dam which will begin storing water for the irrigation of more than 100,000 acres of Navajo Indian land under the irrigation project. The bill under discussion today makes provision for the authorization of the irrigation part of the Navajo project. This will include transporting water from the Navajo Dam to Indian lands to bring not only new hope but new opportunities to the more than 80,000 Navajo Indians in New Mexico and Arizona. Once the Navajo irrigation project is in operation, we will have fulfilled some of the promises made to the Navajos in the treaty of 1868. We will have provided water for domestic use for the growing of much desired specialty crops, such as fruit and vegetables, and for feed for livestock, all of which are badly needed to improve the health and welfare of the Navajo Indians. Some of the world's most valuable and vitally needed minerals are in the northwest part of New Mexico. Among them are oil, natural gas, and uranium. Development of these raw materials requires water and power as well as people, who in turn must have water for cities and towns. The Navajo irrigation project, along with the storage facilities of the Navajo Dam, will fill this need.