Interview with Grady Gammage - Central Arizona Project

Q. It’s ironic that Bruce Babbitt had been the Governor when the groundwater laws
were being rewritten and he was Secretary of the Interior during this time. Where
did he fall Was he helpful
A. Yes, yes he was. I mean he had his own sort of problems in getting the deal to
come together. The Indians, whom they viewed as, the Department of the
Interior viewed themselves as negotiating on behalf of the Indians. The Indians
weren’t wild about that and didn’t trust them and weren’t sure they were doing a
good enough job. So the first time it fell apart, my sense was the Department of
the Interior was not able to sell it to the Indian tribes as a good enough deal for
them. I think Babbitt didn’t know that initially. He thought it was a good enough
deal but then it sort of unraveled on him. Ultimately, David Hayes was fabulous.
He was a phenomenal person to negotiate with. Babbitt had kept him right on
top of it all the time.
Q. What was your role in all of this
A. I sort of led the negotiating team, which was unusual. You normally wouldn’t
have the President of the Board doing that. Doug Miller, who is our in-house
counsel, is our point guy on understanding this stuff. Sid Wilson was very
involved as the General Manager. Larry Dozier who has more data and
information about the CAP and the Colorado River in his head than every book
ever written, I’m convinced. He could sit in these meetings and tell you, no we
can’t do that because of this issue or that issue. It was just like having a
computer there to calculate it. He can tell you every valve and how well it
Interview with Grady Gammage
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