During FY96, certain facilities of the Rio Grande Project and the Vermejo Project were transferred under special authorities. County Water Improvement District No. 1 in Texas. Title was officially transferred in January 1996, after completion of environmental compliance. Title to storage and diversion dams and associated lands remains with the United States. In addition to transfers that have been completed, Reclamation initiated title transfer discussions and negotiations with numerous other non-Federal entities.
Legislation authorizing transfers is sought on a transfer-specific basis.
Back to top Disaster and Drought Response Innovations Conferences S elected from a field of 1,450 applicants, Reclamation was one of 15 recipients of the 1995 Innovations in American Government Awards Program sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In FY96, Reclamation used grant funding from the award to share reinvention experiences with other agencies facing reform. FY96, Reclamation provided assistance to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in three disaster response operations. The 1996 drought in the Southwest was the worst in 25 years. In response to this and recurring droughts throughout western history, Reclamation joined the Western Governor's Association and other governmental agencies to form a Drought Policy Commission Group.