WSP11938

• File Number: 8111.750
• Description: ARCA
• Basin: Arkansas
• Date: 12/8/2003
• Author: ARCA Operations Sec.
• Title: Special Report of the Operations Secretary Concerning Processes to Resolve Administrative Issues, the Status of Issues, and a Proposal to Alternate the Offices of Operations Sec. and Assistant Ops Sec
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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consistently and perhaps understandably advocated positions favorable to downstream
water users, Given the institutional Tesponsibilities of the Division Engineer and the
Water Commissioner, I believe the Division Engineer is more likely to consider the
interests of all water users in Colorado and Kansas under the Compact, and not just those
of water users downstream of John Martin Reservoir, If the time ever becomes ripe to
implement rotation of these offices between the states, I believe that it should only be
done after all of the present operational and accounting issues have been resolved.

Article VIII H of the Compact states that it is the "intent of this Compact that
enforcement of its terms shall be accomplished in general through State agencies and
officials charged with the administration of water rights," Article VI provides that with
exceptions the Compact reserves to each state authority over administration of the rights
of water users awarded by the respective states, Furthermore, Article VITI G. encourages
cooperation with State water administration officials"", in the procurement, interchange,
compilation and publication of all factual data bearing upon the Administration of this
Compact without, in general duplicating measurements, observations or publications
made by State or Federal agencies,"

For the Division 2 Engineer to fulfill the responsibilities of that position with respect to
the administration of water rights within the Arkansas River basin of Colorado, ahnost all
of the information necessary to conduct the operation and accounting associated with the
1980 operating plan for John Martin Reservoir must be ascertained and collected even if
the responsibilities to maintain accounting and to report such information to the
Operations Committee were to be transferred to another individual. In fact, because of
intrastate agreements between Colorado water users, the Division 2 Engineer will have to
continue accounting even more detailed, yet consistent with that required by the 1980
Operating Plan, even if the Administration were to elect someone else to the office of
Operations Secretary, The reality is that any other person who assumes the responsibility
for operating John Martin Reservoir and maintaining the accounting documenting such
operations in accordance with the 1980 Operating Plan must obtain almost all of the
necessary information from the office of the Colorado Division 2 Engineer, but because
of the burden to verify the correctness of source data associated with the accounting
responsibility, I expect that the Division 2 Engineer will be additionallv burdened with
the need to explain and justify each data element to the satisfaction of the person
mair.taining the accounting record, Thus, in my opinion, there will not only be a
duplication of effort, but additional effort required on the part of the Division 2 Engineer
and his staff if the positions of Operations Secretary and Assistant Operations Secretary
are rotated between the states,

For the foregoing reasons, it is my recommendation that the offices of Operations
Secretary and Assistant Operations Secretary should not be rotated between the states,

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