TRANSCRIPT OF RADIO INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE BABBITT
Conducted by Deborah Phillips of KXAZ 93.3 FM
In Page, Arizona
July 14, 2000
Copyright: Lake Powell Communications(c)2000

Phillips: Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt is here in our studios and we're so honored to have you with us.

Babbitt: Deborah it's nice to be back.

Phillips: Thank you for coming in. We have several issues we want to discuss and of course in the front of our minds here in Page is the lake and the draining of the lake and that whole issue and if you could comment on that we'd certainly appreciate that.

Babbitt: Deborah I'm actually a little kind of surprised and bemused by how this thing has sort of shown up on the front page of so many newspapers and... yeah look, the bottom line is it's not going to happen. I don't support, you know, taking down Glen Canyon Dam. It's in place, it's there to stay, it's an important asset, it's an important part of the economic and the recreational life of Arizona, the Southwest and... look it's not real, it's not going to happen. I guess my advice to the citizens of Page is, there's no way this is going to happen. You're probably wise though to raise your voices and to, you know answer the... you know you shouldn't just let it sit, you know you ought to talk back and I think you're doing a pretty good job of that.

Phillips: We need to address that. My concern has always been, where is this water going to come from and the power that's generated if that is all taken away.

Babbitt: Well the bedrock issue is the water. And that's because the Colorado River Compact, which was entered into back in 1923, makes a certain set of commitments that relate to the seven states, all the way from Wyoming to California, and it's binding as a matter of compact and federal law and the upper basin states have a certain delivery obligation that cannot be met without storage capacity and the lower basin states, Arizona and California in particular, and Nevada, have a certain drought protection that really can't realistically be met in any other way. So I guess the bottom line is that as long as the Colorado River Compact is in force there has to be the storage capacity that was guaranteed and promised by Glen Canyon Dam. People say well you can amend the compact, yeah, right, pigs can jump over the moon too. The Compact, I think, is there to stay. It couldn't be changed effectively without seven states and Congress and there just isn't any... there's no prospect of that happening.

Phillips: Well that's very comforting to hear you say that, I appreciate that.

Babbitt: Now I realize that up in Moab people say, well we were up in Moab and we saw a picture of Bruce Babbitt in the ice cream store holding a sledgehammer saying I'm out to knock down some dams. I admit that's true. There are 75 thousand dams in the United States...75 thousand. And there are a fair number of them that no longer serve any purpose and ought to be taken down. I'll tell you it's one thing to take down a ten foot dam that is blocking salmon run off of Puget Sound and to talk about Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon when there's just a difference in perspective and realism, and yes, I'm in favor of taking down dams but there are real world limits and this one is safely outside that area of discussion in my judgement.

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QUOTES FROM CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands
and the Subcommittee on Water and Power
September 23, 1997

Oversight Hearing on
the Sierra Club's Proposal to Drain Lake Powell or
Reduce its Water Storage Capability

"Clearly, there are endangered species that would become more endangered if the lake were drained"
Denis Galvin
Deputy Director of the National Park Service

"I strongly emphasize that releases of water stored in Lake Powell allow Utah to use Colorado River water in dry years when the natural flow is insufficient to meet all the demands on the river."
Ted Stewart, Executive Director
Utah Department of Natural Resources

"Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it shouldn't hurt to at least look at the information."
Adam Werbach, President
Sierra Club

"..draining the Lake Powell Reservoir will result in many needless and harmful impacts on the water supplies of 20 million people. There will be adverse impacts to the environment including endangered species.."
Director Rita P. Pearson
Arizona Department of Water Resources

"It is true that even with the draining of Lake Powell, we cannot return to the way the river and canyons were in 1869 when Major John Wesley Powell traversed the Green and Colorado Rivers."
David L. Wegner
Glen Canyon Institute

"Lake Powell and Lake Mead provide the mid-point long-term carry-over storage facilities to help ensure that water deliveries pursuant to the 1922 Compact to the Lower Basin States will be made in times of prolonged drought, such as those experienced in the late 1980's, while preserving the Upper Basin States' ability to continue to develop their shares of the river, especially during droughts as we experienced in the late 1980's."
Eluid L. Martinez, Commissoner
Bureau of Reclamation

"Surely, we as a nation have more pressing items on our environmental "to do" list than draining Lake Powell for the benefit of a select few."
Joe Hunter
Executive Director,
Colorado River Energy Distributors Association

"The waters of Lake Powell and the surrounding area have become home to some 275 species of birds, including the endangered Peregrine Falcon..."
Larry E. Tarp, Chairman
Friends of Lake Powell

"My more studied reaction to the proposal to drain Lake Powell is that the riparian habitat in Grand Canyon downstream from the dam is today amazingly vibrant, rich in biodiversity, none the less legitimate because it is a highly managed ecosystem..."
Robert Elliott
America Outdoors and Arizona Raft Adventures

For more information contact. friends@lakepowell.org