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Lea Angeles - April 26, 195^ 60-11 Mr. W. R. Rouset (ce - Mr. R. P. Shields Mr. B* P. Leverich) In connection with the proposed operations of the Las Vegas Valley Water District which, as you know, Is purchasing the water department facilities of the Las Vegas Land and Water Company and proposes to bring in water from Lake Mead: Mr. Hamilton of the O'Melveny firm prepared and transmitted to Senator McCarran two bills to be introduced in Congress for the purpose of having the Federal Government grant certain rights of way for the existing pipe line fro® Lake Mead to Henderson, and for a proposed new pipe line from a connection with the Hen­derson pipe line to Las Vegas, Nevada. I enclose a copy of a letter from the O'Melveny firm to Mr. Campbell, Preal-. dent of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, dated February 2Ath, which explains, I think, the necessity for this legislation. In connection with this letter, I note that he states in the last sentence of the last paragraph on page 3s ’Although we have no definite information on the matter, it la our understanding that neither the Colorado River Commission nor the BMI application has been granted by the Secretary of the Interior." On that point, I have a copy of a letter dated March 18, 1954, from Mr. Moore, Manager of Basic Manage­ment, Inc. (BMI) to Senator McCarran, In which he recites the attempts of Basic Management, Inc. to secure an easement for the existing pipe line, and In which he states that the Department of Interior granted a right of way subject to certain stipulations and conditions* ’‘Since one of the stipulations provided that Basic Management Incorporated relinquish three million gallons of water per day, or approximately one-tenth of the capacity of the system to the Bureau of Reclamation, we could not accept the right of way subject to these stipulations. Since that- time Basic Management Incorporated has made no attempt to remove these stipulations."