Series 165
Attorney General's Office Colorado River Commission case files, 1925-1963.
6.45 cubic feet and 12 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Historical Note
See history of the records' creator.
Summary of Records
Scope and Content
This series contains assorted legal records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to Utah's role in the Colorado River Commission. There are two distinct set of records present in this series, split between paper holdings and microfilm. Much of the physical paper content include the legal records created in the federal Arizona V. California case. It is this case (heard by the U.S. Supreme Court) that is primarily responsible for establishing water rights between states engaged in the Colorado River Compact. In addition to records that help to clarify interactions between states and their rights to water from the Colorado River, there are also records that help clarify transnational agreements concerning water use between the United States and Mexico.
The microfilm holdings in this series are comprised of a variety of legal records and published court reports from early in the 20th century. These records help to spell out the legal precedents and decisions that have impacted the useof the Colorado River in Utah. The records present on these reels include court records, published transcripts, and published decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. It appears that a majority of the records present on these microfilm reels were document stamped (a practice engaged in by the Utah State Archives early in the agency's history). The whereabouts of the physical holdings found on these microfilm reels (created in 1974) is currently unknown. The records that appear on the microfilm do not appear to replicate the physical holdings attached to this series.
But while the majority of the records in this series detail the Arizona V. California case there are other records present that help to provide valuable historical insight on a host of other significant issues related to the human regulation and use of the Colorado River. This includes engineering and historical information about dam development on the Colorado River, and the actions of the Upper and Lower Colorado RiverCommissions in citing and coordinating the management of massive construction efforts (such as the construction of Hoover Dam which was completed in 1936). Among the most controversial of these reclamation activities was the 1956 decision to move a proposed dam site from the Echo Park region of the Unita Basin (near Dinosaur National Monument) to Glen Canyon (creating Lake Powell). This action (still highly controversial among environmental groups) set a precedent that prevents any federal reclamation activity from taking place within the boundaries of any National Park or National Monument.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by subject.
Additional Forms
This series is available on microfilm.
This series is available online as part of the Utah State Archives Digital Archives.
Copies of these records are located at University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library View Online.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Use Restrictions
These records are available for reproduction and use.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Acquisition Information
These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.
Processing Information
This series was processed by Jim Kichas between October and December 2011.
Related Material
Upper Colorado River project case files from the Governor Clyde, Series 200, contains assorted legal records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to Utah's role in the Colorado River Commission.
Colorado River Compact subject file from the Governor Dern, Series 206, contains assorted legal records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to Utah's role in the Colorado River Commission.
Administrative records from the Water and Power Board, Series 2559, contains an assortment of records from the state-level agency directly involved with many of the Colorado River issues discussed in this series.
Correspondence from the Water and Power Board, Series 2561, contains a variety of opinions and primary source records that provide deeper insight into many of the larger issues that appear throughout this series.
Water Committee's records from Salt Lake City (Utah). Water Commission, Series 4927, also contains records that detail use of the Colorado River in Utah.
Colorado river basin transcripts from the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, Series 11926, contains legal records related to the formation and administration of the Upper Colorado River Commission.
Minutes from the Water and Power Board, Series 12314, contains minutes of the state-level water agency that had direct interaction with many of the issues that appear throughout this series.
Colorado River project records from the Department of Natural Resources. Division of Water Rights, Series 13912, contains assorted legal records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to Utah's role in the Colorado River Commission.
Interstate compacts from the Lieutenant Governor, Series 20221, contains assorted legal records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to Utah's role in the Colorado River Commission.
Publications from the Water and Power Board, Series 22695, offers published information from the state government level that may mirror some of the information and issues found in this series.
Container List
Box | Folder | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1961 | U.S. Supreme Court - Arizona Versus California - Answering Brief for Arizona |
1 | 2 | 1961 | Hall Versus St. Helna Parish School Board |
1 | 3 | 1961-1962 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 4 | 1960 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 5 | 1960 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 6 | 1960 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 7 | 1959 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 8 | 1959 | Arizona Versus California |
1 | 9 | 1958-1960 | In the Matter of Arizona Power Authority |
1 | 10 | 1954-1959 | Colorado River and Upper Colorado River Commission |
1 | 11 | 1954-1959 | Colorado River and Upper Colorado River Commission |
1 | 12 | 1954-1959 | Colorado River and Upper Colorado River Commission |
1 | 13 | 1955-1957 | Arizona Versus California |
2 | 1 | 1955-1957 | Arizona Versus California |
2 | 2 | 1955-1957 | Arizona Versus California |
3 | 1 | 1948 Nov 29 | Engineering Advisory Committee to Upper Colorado River Basin Compact Commission - Final Report |
3 | 2 | 1950-1951 | Reports to Upper Colorado River Commission by R.D. Goodrich, Chief Engineer |
3 | 3 | 1938-1950 | Upper Colorado River Commission Monthly Financial Statements |
3 | 4 | 1952-1956 | Upper Colorado River Commission Annual Reports |
3 | 5 | 1951-1952 | Upper Colorado River Commission Annual Reports |
3 | 6 | 1938 | Colorado River - NRA Bulletins |
3 | 7 | 1946-1951 | U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Reclamation |
3 | 8 | 1949 | National Reclamation Association |
3 | 9 | 1950 | National Reclamation Association |
3 | 10 | 1950 | National Reclamation Association |
3 | 11 | 1950 | National Reclamation Association |
3 | 12 | 1951-1952 | National Reclamation Association |
3 | 13 | 1937-1951 | Miscellaneous Pamphlets, Comments, Etc. by States |
3 | 14 | 1952-1959 | Upper Colorado River Commission |
3 | 15 | 1952-1959 | Upper Colorado River Commission |
3 | 16 | 1952-1959 | Upper Colorado River Commission |
3 | 17 | 1937-1957 | Arizona |
3 | 18 | 1946-1951 | California |
3 | 19 | 1945-1951 | Colorado |
3 | 20 | 1945-1951 | Colorado |
4 | 1 | 1958 | Upper Colorado River Commission Official Record - Volume 10 |
4 | 2 | 1938-1951 | Utah |
4 | 3 | 1950 | Idaho |
4 | 4 | 1950 | New Mexico |
4 | 5 | 1944 | Six State Committee Reports |
4 | 6 | 1944 | Six State Committee Reports |
4 | 7 | 1938-1952 | Wyoming |
4 | 8 | 1944 | Colorado Water Conservation Board - Treaty with Mexico Relating to the Utilization of the Waters of Certain Rivers |
4 | 9 | 1945 | Water Treaty with Mexico - Federal Hearing Report |
4 | 10 | 1945-1949 | Water Treaty with Mexico - Federal Hearing Report |
4 | 11 | 1938-1946 | Mexican Treaty - Miscellaneous Papers |
4 | 12 | 1938-1946 | Mexican Treaty - Miscellaneous Papers |
4 | 13 | 1936-1945 | Mexican Treaty - Correspondence |
4 | 14 | 1961-1962 | Southern Rocky Mountain Area Local Service Case |
4 | 15 | 1961-1962 | Southern Rocky Mountain Area Local Service Case |
4 | 16 | 1961-1962 | Southern Rocky Mountain Area Local Service Case |
4 | 17 | 1960 | Amicus Cuiae Briefs |
4 | 18 | 1961 | Southern Rocky Mountain Area Local Service Case - Direct Exhibits |
4 | 19 | 1961 | Southern Rocky Mountain Area Local Service Case - Direct Exhibits |
5 | 1 | 1961 | Civil Aeronautics Board - Trans Pacific Route Case |
5 | 2 | 1960 | State of California - Department of Water Resources |
5 | 3 | 1955 | File 576-A: U.S. Versus State of Utah (Colorado River) |
5 | 4 | 1933 | File 576-B: U.S. Versus State of Utah (Colorado River) |
5 | 5 | 1933 | File 576-B: U.S. Versus State of Utah (Colorado River) |
5 | 6 | 1928-1933 | File 576: U.S. Versus State of Utah (Colorado River) |
5 | 7 | 1938-1952 | Colorado River Basin States Committee - General Records |
5 | 8 | 1938-1946 | Colorado River Basin States Committee - Correspondence |
6 | 1 | 1956 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Official Record |
6 | 2 | 1946-1951 | Colorado River Basin States Committee |
6 | 3 | 1938-1941 | Colorado River State Engineer Fact Finding Committee |
6 | 4 | 1938 Dec 14 | Colorado River Basin Report by E.B. Debler - Submitted to the Conference of Colorado River Basin States at Phenix, Arizona |
6 | 5 | 1949-1952 | Colorado River Water Users Association |
6 | 6 | 1947-1951 | Colorado River - Development Fund |
6 | 7 | 1951-1952 | Colorado River Storage Project |
6 | 8 | 1949 | Vermejo Reclamation Project, New Mexico |
6 | 9 | 1951-1952 | All American Canal Pilot Knob |
6 | 10 | 1937-1940 | Boulder Dam Correspondence |
6 | 11 | 1939-1942 | Boulder Dam - Miscellaneous |
6 | 12 | 1937-1939 | Boulder Dam - Miscellaneous |
6 | 13 | 1929-1939 | Boulder Dam - Miscellaneous |
6 | 14 | 1932-1947 | Boulder Dam - Miscellaneous |
6 | 15 | 1947 | Bridge Canyon Project |
6 | 16 | 1931-1939 | Bridge Canyon Project |
6 | 17 | 1939-1951 | Bridge Canyon Project |
6 | 18 | 1949 | Central Arizona Project |
6 | 19 | 1949 | Central Arizona Project |
6 | 20 | 1951 | Central Arizona Project |
6 | 21 | 1950-1951 | Dinosaur National Monument - Echo Park and Split Mountain Resevoir |
7 | 1 | 1949 Nov | Dixie Project - Project Planning Report |
7 | 2 | 1950 | Dixie Project |
7 | 3 | 1946 | Gila Project - Reports |
7 | 4 | 1946 | Gila Project - Reports |
7 | 5 | 1937-1938 | Gila Project |
7 | 6 | 1970 | Gooseberry Project |
7 | 7 | 1949-1950 | Gunnison-Arkansas Project: Roaring Fork Division |
7 | 8 | 1939-1948 | Utah Projects |
7 | 9 | 1941 | Columbia River |
8 | 1 | 1954-1957 | Goverment Documents: Supreme Court - Arizona Versus California |
8 | 2 | 1954 | Goverment Documents: Colorado River Storage Project - Hearings |
8 | 3 | 1955 | Goverment Documents: Colorado River Storage Project - Hearings - Part I |
8 | 4 | 1955 | Goverment Documents: Colorado River Storage Project - Hearings - Part IGoverment Documents: Colorado River Storage Project - Hearings - Part II |
8 | 5 | 1953 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Fourth Annual Report |
8 | 6 | 1955 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Official Record |
8 | 7 | 1957 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Official Record |
8 | 8 | 1957 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Miscellaneous Records |
8 | 9 | 1955-1958 | United States Exhibits - lower Colorado River Litigation |
8 | 10 | 1944-1952 | New Mexico Exhibits - Volume I |
8 | 11 | 1955 | New Mexico Exhibits - Volume II |
8 | 12 | 1958 | New Mexico Exhibits - Nox. 701-852 |
8 | 13 | 1955 | Government Documents: Colorado River Storage Projects - Hearings |
9 | 1 | 1957 | Government Documents: Supreme Court of U.S. - Arizona Versus California |
9 | 2 | 1955 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Sixth Annual Report |
9 | 3 | 1956 | Upper Colorado River Commission - Seventh Annual Report |
9 | 4 | 1953 | Maps of the Colorado River Basin |
9 | 5 | 1953 | Maps of the Colorado River Basin |
9 | 6 | 1938-1940 | U.S. Supreme Court - North Platte River Case: Nebraska Versus Wyoming |
9 | 7 | 1953 | U.S. Supreme Court - Arizona Versus California |
10 | 1 | 1958 | Colorado River Case - Nevada Exhibits 1-50 |
10 | 2 | 1958 | Colorado River Case - Nevada Exhibits 51-801 |
Reel | Date | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | 1929-1931 | Vol 1 (pg 1) to Vol 12-13 (pg 937) |
2 | 1929-1931 | Vol 12-13 (pg 938) to Vol 6 (pg 1869) |
3 | 1929-1931 | Vol 6 (pg 1870) to Vol 4 (pg 2693) |
4 | 1929-1931 | Vol 4 (pg 2694) to Vol 9 (pg 3665) |
5 | 1929-1931 | Vol 9 (pg 3666) to Vol 13 (pg 4437) |
6 | 1929-1931 | Vol 13 (pg 4438) to Vol 18 (pg 5346) |
7 | 1929-1931 | Vol 18 (pg 5347) to Vol 25 (pg 6321) |
8 | 1929-1931 | Vol 25 (pg 6322) to Vol 30 (pg 7241) |
9 | 1929-1931 | Vol 30 (pg 7219) to Vol 32 (pg 7558) |
10 | 1925-1931 | Letter of Sec. of War to Times Independent (09-17-1925) |
11 | 1925-1931 | Times Independent (10-1-1925) to No. 14 - Vol 2 (pg 1005) |
12 | 1928-1931 | No. 14 - Vol 2 (pg 1006) to No. 14, pg 6 |