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                Senate Engrossed
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  State of Arizona
  Senate
  Forty-fifth Legislature
  First Regular Session
  2001
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 SENATE CONCURRENT MEMORIAL 1002
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A CONCURRENT MEMORIAL

URGING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO OPPOSE ANY EFFORT TO BREACH GLEN CANYON DAM OR TO DRAIN LAKE POWELL.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

To the Congress of the United States:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in order to realize the promises of the 1922 Colorado River Compact; and

Whereas, the existence of Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell allows the seven Colorado River Basin states to share and cooperatively plan for the beneficial use of the waters of the Colorado River for the citizens of those respective states; and

Whereas, the waters of Lake Powell provide protection against drought in the Colorado River system and increase the availability of "surplus water", that serves a variety of beneficial downstream uses; and

Whereas, draining Lake Powell would cause more frequent and increased flows into Mexico and potentially the Gulf of California that would be lost to beneficial consumptive use in the United States; and

Whereas, Lake Powell provides forty per cent of the water storage capability in the Colorado River system for the citizens of the seven Colorado River Basin states; and

Whereas, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell provide electricity for more than one million households in the Colorado River Basin states; and

Whereas, the Navajo Nation is concerned that the breaching of Glen Canyon Dam and the draining of Lake Powell would wreak disaster on the economic and social welfare of the Navajo Nation and would detrimentally and fundamentally alter the water preservation, delivery and supply system crafted by many decades of planning; and

Whereas, the Hopi Tribe does not believe that removing Glen Canyon Dam and attempting to restore the rivercourse is a viable or realistic option. Rather, the Hopi people encourage wise management and operation of the dam to protect their cultural and natural resources; and

Whereas, more than three million people visit Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell annually and enjoy the lake's recreational amenities and the world renowned trout fishery below the dam; and

Whereas, the construction of Glen Canyon Dam has resulted in a rich riparian habitat below the dam through the Grand Canyon that did not previously exist.

Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring, prays:

1. That the Members of Congress recognize and appreciate the water, power, recreational and environmental benefits resulting from the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and the filling of Lake Powell and the ongoing benefits to the citizens of the State of Arizona and the other Colorado River Basin states that result from the existence of Lake Powell.

2. That the Members of Congress oppose any effort to breach or remove Glen Canyon Dam or to drain Lake Powell.

3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona and the congressional delegations of the States of California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

PASSED BY THE HOUSE APRIL 4, 2001.

PASSED BY THE SENATE FEBRUARY 28, 2001

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 5, 2001.