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The Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program
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Map of Pick-Sloan Facilities. Click
on map for a larger view. |
With the enactment of the Flood Control Act of 1944, the
United States Congress created the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin
Program to assure "the intelligent, coordinated development
and use of the water resources of the Missouri River Basin."
That plan involved the construction of dams along the Missouri
River and its tributaries to provide not only power generation,
but also flood control, navigation, recreation, and water
for irrigation and municipal and industrial use.
The federal investment in these dams and generating facilities
and in the associated transmission system is being repaid
by Pick-Sloan power customers. In addition, revenues from
power sales also aid in the repayment of other project purposes.
Preference Principle
A cornerstone of the federal power program is the preference
principle, which gives rural electric cooperative, municipal
electric utilities, public power districts and other public
bodies first right to purchase the power generated at federal
multipurpose projects. Embodied in more that 30 federal statutes
going back to the beginning of this century, preference ensures
that public resources will to the consumers without passing
through the "tollgates" of for-profit corporations.
This principle and the cost-based rates of federal power provide
a valuable yardstick in the electric utility industry that
helps to assure low-cost power for all consumers.
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