BOARD00146 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 3/12/2007
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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"They bought a 1950 reservoir for $400,000. That's a really important issue."

In addition to his other water-related efforts, Entz was a member of the Colorado Water Conservation
. Board and is a member of the Colorado Water Congress.

Sen. Salazar Resumes Push for National Heritage Areas: On January 31, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar
re-introduced two bills to designate two new National Heritage Areas (NHAs) in Colorado: the South
Park NHA and the Sangre de Cristo NHA. Senator Salazar introduced similar proposals during the 109th
Congress.

The South Park NHA would preserve South Park by protecting 19 working ranches along 30 miles of
stream corridor and 17,000 acres of wetlands and agricultural lands in the headwaters of the South Platte
River.

The Sangre de Cristo NHA will include Conejos, Costilla and Alamosa counties in the San Luis Valley.

Under Senator Salazar's bills, the federal government will provide matching funds to rehabilitate old
structures, develop tours, establish exhibits or programs, and increase public awareness of the area.

NHA's are not federally owned, though they can include some public land, and they consist primarily of
private and state holdings. Both bills ensure that private property rights and water rights are in no way
affected by the creation of the National Heritage Area.

Over the past 20 years, Congress has designated 27 National Heritage Areas (NHA) to recognize and
protect segments of the country that have extraordinary cultural, historical, environmental and
recreational resources. National Heritage Areas are conceived and managed by local citizens and
organizations, but the National Park Service provides administrative and technical support in their
establishment.

Status of State Legislation: We have summarized a few bills in this report. I have attached a
spreadsheet with the current status of water related legislation we are monitoring. The status sheet also
indicates the Colorado Water Congress position on the legislation.

HBl1156: The bill requires sellers of residential property to disclose the source of water for that
property. That would allow rural buyers to know ifit comes from a well that could be running dry,
and it would allow urban dwellers to investigate the quality of the water. The bill adds a section to
sales contracts that states whether the water is from a well, a water provider or another source, such
as a cistern.

HB 1197: The bill allows Colorado counties to enforce federal water pollution regulations.
The federal EP A stormwater quality regulations include violations such as illicit discharges of dirt
and sediment from construction sites or chemical discharges from companies and homes, among
others.

Cities with populations over 100,000 already are responsible for policing water quality issues in
their storm drainage run-off systems. Counties have long relied on state agencies for enforcement in
their unincorporated areas.

HB 1013: The bill to strip governments' ability to take water rights through eminent domain.

lIB 1132 - The measure to allow water court judges to consider environmental impacts of large
water transfers could have on river basins is on its way to the governor's office. The bill allows for
water judges to reject applications to remove 1,000 acre-feet or more from a river if such a transfer
is environmentally harmful to a basin.

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