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Congressman John T. Salazar -- Defending Rural Values -- Third District of Colorado
  For immediate release  
  January 13. 2005  
 

Congressman Salazar Tours Animas-La Plata Site on Fact Finding Mission

 
 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman John Salazar (CO-3) was joined today by several community leaders on a tour of the Animas-La Plata project (ALP), his first visit of the site since being sworn in as the Representative for the third Congressional district. Led by officials from the Bureau of Reclamation, Salazar and leaders embarked on a fact finding mission to better understand the cost overruns associated with the project.Rep. Salazar tours the A-LP site in January

"I came to Congress to make sure our taxpayer dollars come back to the district and that the money is spent wisely," said Salazar. "We must fund the project adequately and make sure the costs are brought under control.”

With a price tag of $52 million annually, the ALP is the largest appropriation of federal dollars in the third Congressional district.

"I’m a farmer and a rancher so I sympathize with the people who need this water," said Salazar. “A third party audit or oversight of the project may make sense, but not at the expense of its completion. We have already invested too much time and money into this project and we must see it through to completion - efficiently and at the original pace of the plan."

Salazar also expressed concern about the allocation of water currently outlined in the ALP agreement.

"Water is the lifeblood of our rural communities and agriculture," said Salazar. "We need to make sure the water is authorized to go not just to the municipalities, but also directly to the irrigators."

 
 

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