ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS WESTON HIRSCHI Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë STATUS OF INTERVIEWS: OPEN FOR RESEARCH Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews Conducted and Edited by: Brit Allan Storey Senior Historian Bureau of Reclamation Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews conducted–1995, 1996 Interview edited and published–2016 Oral History Program Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado SUGGESTED CITATION: HIRSCHI, WESTON. ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS. Transcript of tape-recorded Bureau of Reclamation Oral History Interviews conducted by Brit Allan Storey, Senior Historian, Bureau of Reclamation, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Edited by Brit Allan Storey, further edited and desktop published by Andrew H. Gahan. Repository for the record copy of the interview transcript is the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. Record copies of this transcript are printed on 20 lb., 100% cotton, archival quality paper. All other copies are printed on normal duplicating paper. i Table of Contents Table of Contents.. i Statement of Donation. v Editorial Convention. vii Introduction. viii Oral History Interviews. 1 Early Life. 1 Raised on a Ranch. 2 Began Working for Reclamation as a Student Aide. 2 Becoming a Civil Engineer. 3 No Future Staying on the Ranch. 3 Going to Work for Reclamation. 5 Focus on Civil Engineering. 7 Contract Administration.. 8 Terminated from Air Force ROTC. 9 Returned to Reclamation in Lands Division. 10 Analyzing Survey Data for the Weber Basin Project.. 11 Planned for a Two-Year Hitch in the Army.. 12 Moved into the Design Division. 13 Weber Basin Project. 14 Major Features of the Weber Basin Project.. 15 Developed a Holding Reservoir in the Old Salt Lake Bed. 16 "It was a Beautiful Exchange". 18 The Water Districts. 19 Construction Engineer for Willard Canal and Dam.. 20 Removing Salt from the Reservoir. 22 Hierarchy on the Weber Basin Project.. 22 Surveying Work. 23 "Just Flat Built". 24 Inspector Functions. 25 Placing the Riprap. 26 Lab Responsibilities.. 26 Project Manager's Functions. 27 Work in the Design Division. 28 Enjoyed Construction.. 29 Acreage Limitation Issues. 29 Time to Move.. 29 Oral History of Weston Hirschi ii Transferred to Lower Colorado Region. 30 Colorado River Front Work and Levee System.. 30 Advent of the Environmental Movement. 31 Environmental Pressure Altered the River Front Program. 32 River Front Team and Issues. 33 Major Dredging Effort. 34 Moving Up in Grades.. 35 Environmental Issues with the Navajo Generating Station. 36 Issues with Particulate Matter. 38 Environmental Commitments. 39 Environmental Statement Approved by the Secretary. 41 Programmatic Environmental Statement. 42 Environmentalists Did Not Contest CAP EIS. 43 Needed to Get Construction Started. 45 Navajo Generating Station.. 46 Relationships within Reclamation. 48 Proactive on Environmental Issues. 49 Environmental Office.. 51 Easy Transition into the Environmental Program. 52 Working in the Construction Branch. 53 Region's Role in CAP Construction.. 55 Unable to Create a Unified Coalition for CUP. 57 CAP Design Issues with the Denver Office.. 59 Manny Lopez. 60 Robert B. Griffith Water Project. 63 Yuma Desalting Plant. 64 Alternatives to the Desalting Unit. 66 Plan 6 of the Central Arizona Project. 68 Coachella and All-American Canal Lining. 69 Living in Boulder City. 71 Moving the Regional Office to Phoenix. 72 Colorado River Levee Program. 72 Regional Environmental Office. 75 Salt River Flood. ..