BOARD00040 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: WSP Section - Platte River Cooperative Agreement
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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ST ATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

Bill Owens
Governor

To:

CWCB Members

Russell George
Executive Director

From: Randy Seaholm
Ted Kowalski

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Date: September 9, 2006

Rick Brown
Acting Deputy
Director

Re: Agenda Item 22, September 19-20, 2006 Board Meeting, Water Supply Protection-
Platte River Cooperative A2reement

Backeround
In 1997, the Governors of the States of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming signed an agreement with
the Department of Interior to improve and/or study the habitat of four endangered species in the
Central Platte River in Nebraska. The Cooperative Agreement ("CA") was extended through June
30, 2005 to allow additional time to formulate a proposed Program and complete National
Environmental Policy Act ("NEP A") compliance. The CA was further extended to allow the
Governance Committee ("GC") to finalize and get the Program into place. The current CA expires
on September 30,2006. As the Staff reported in July, the State of Wyoming and the federal
government have expressed support for signing the Program agreement as soon as possible. The
State of Nebraska will be holding hearings on the proposed Program in September and October,
2006. Consequently, a new cooperative agreement is necessary to further establish the foundation
for the Program, and to provide regulatory coverage for water projects that rely on the Program for
compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The Staff will be asking Governor Owens to sign the
Cooperative Agreement extension until December 31,2006; however, the Governors of Nebraska,
Wyoming, and Colorado, and the Secretary of the Interior are being asked to agree to make a
decision on whether to sign a Program agreement on, or before, December 1, 2006.

Colorado's Oblieations
If the Program agreement becomes effective, Colorado would have obligations to provide money and
water for implementation of the Program. Colorado would be responsible for $24 million (2005
dollars, final cash contributions would have to be adjusted for inflation). This money would be used
to acquire and restore habitat for the target species and to implement the IMRP and the AMP.
Additional money would be necessary to satisfy Colorado's water obligations, as described below.
With regard to Colorado's cash obligation, the General Assembly passed House Bill 1311, which
recapitalized the Species Conservation Trust Fund with an additional $12.8 million, and which
authorized the expenditure of up to $5 million for the Platte River Program in fiscal year 2006-07.

Colorado's water obligations would include: 1) 10,000 acre-feet annually to be retimed during times

of target flow shortages by the end of year 4 of the Program (5,000 acre-feet by the end of year 2 of

Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning