Statement of Stewart L. Udall, Secretary of the Interior

Document: Statement of Stewart Udall before the subcommittee on Irrigation & Reclamation, March 14, 1967, page 5for such a close relationship. The Commission must, of course, report directly to the President, but we expect to participate very closely with the Commission as it prepares its reports as well as providing our views to the President on the Commission's studies presented to him. The Commission will provide a means for obtaining the opinions and assistance of an independent and informed body of nationally recognized water experts. We all recognize that there exists a tremendous job to be done by such a Commission and we are anxious to take every step necessary to get this job started. I have mentioned the Colorado and associated problems as only one example of the type of program which must be undertaken by this Commission. There are, of course, many others. I hesitate to enumerate these since to do so might incorrectly be construed as disapproval of those not mentioned. This I most certainly do not wish to do. We are threatened yearly with water crises in different parts of the country, involving pollution, drought, and floods. Other examples abound of man's urgent need effectively to control the most important of our natural resources: a supply of usable water. The National Water Commission proposal takes another important step 5Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 808,693 byte