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RELEASE OF COLORADO RIVER WATER 35 This brings us to the question which Senator Hayden so capably covered in his own memorandum, which we cannot avoid. That is the question of whether or not we get ourselves in any situation of creating a precedent on this thing. I believe the treaty is clear, and the arguments on the floor and the statements made by Cordell Hull, the Secretary of State at that time, are all clear. But just what can we do? and what have you done? and what has the Secretary done? and the Department of State, to clarify this thing as far as possible so that in no sense are we setting up a condition which they might expect us to repeat? I am sure that we are all agreed upon the objective of this. Secretary UDALL. Senator, I do not think anything could be more useful on that score than this hearing this morning. I think we have made a record here today. Certainly in our announcements and all of the statements that we have made, we have tried to stress that point each time. I think the chairman of this committee and the members who participated here today helped make a record on this, and that this is about the best way we can put everyone on notice as to where we are going and why we are going. Senator ALLOTT. I know this will be part of it, but I would like to go further and ask you if this specific question has been brought up, within your knowledge, with the representatives of the Mexican Government so that they are put on clear notice as to what your intentions are, your purposes are, your reasons are, for releasing this water so that the act of releasing it does not carry implications which are certainly not ours or yours. Secretary UDALL. We have stressed this at every point to the International Boundary Commission. Bear in mind, the official contact with the Mexican Government is through the Commission. We do not have such contact. We have stressed this point to them, and I believe they have done a good job of making clear what the position of this Government is on this particular issue. Senator ALLOTT. Carrying this one step further with respect to Senator Hayden's memorandum, he points out in this memorandum two things: First of all. that the amount of land irrigated there is probably 20 percent, roughly, over what should be irrigated there, 500,000 acres as against what he believes should only be 400,000 acres or perhaps less. Then he points out that they have done nothing, as we have done and have to do all over the Western States, to provide adequate draining operations and leeching operations themselves. He even goes so far as to state in his memorandum on page 6: I am willing to sponsor in the Congress any reasonable plan for aid to Mexico to enable it to construct without delay the drains it needs, line its canals and laterals and carry on a program of general rehabilitation. While I do not think this is the basic question right here at this moment with respect to the 280,000 acre-foot release, it is a problem that we should have to face and that we should take into consideration in any further action on this because if they have just been pouring this water on their land without adequately protecting it they are not doing the same thing that everyone of us, you in your State of Arizona, in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, that all of us have to do all the time.Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 24 bit, 1,612,554 byte