Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to be here today in this oversight hearing. I have submitted my written statement for the record. And if appropriate, I would like to
summarize that statement.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Interior is committed to a management process at Glen Canyon Dam that implements the 1996 record of decision, which resulted from the environmental
impact statement on the operation of Glen Canyon Dam developed pursuant to the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. I might state that the level of public participation and development of that document was unprecedented.
Two weeks ago today, the adapted management group, which is a Federal advisory committee to the Department concerning management and scientific applications in the Grand Canyon, began its work. The
management group includes a full spectrum of public interest, including the seven basin States, tribal governments, and the Federal agencies.
The Glen Canyon National Recreation area was established by
Congress in 1972 to encompass Lake Powell and surrounding lands, encompassing some 1.2 million acres that was established to provide for public outdoor recreation use and to preserve State, scientific, and historic
features of the area.
Information provided by the National Park Service estimates that, this past year, the recreation area drew 2.5 million visitors and that the annual recreational economic value of Lake
Powell exceeds $400 million.
The city of Page and much of northern Arizona and southern Utah are dependent in some way on the recreation area for economic well-being. Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam are key
units in the water infrastructure that has evolved in the seven basin States.
Mr. Chairman, recognizing the numerous interrelated factors, laws, and histories concerning Glen Canyon Dam, the law of the
Colorado River, and the 1922 Colorado River Compact, draining or reducing the storage capacity of Lake Powell is unrealistic.
Acting Deputy Director, Mr. Denis Galvin from the National Park Service and
Reclamation Lower Colorado Regional Director, Mr. Charles Calhoon, are here with me to assist me in answering any questions you might have. And I took 2 minutes, Mr. Chairman.
