BOARD00150 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~... ,. . . . Page 3 WATER RIGHTS MATTER 6. Black Canyon ofthe Gunnison. case number 03-WY-1712 CD (OES). 02CW05 The federal litigation is effectively concluded. In state water court, the United States made an oral motion to withdraw its 2003 motion to amend the quantification application. Parties are now starting to organize a settlement group to discuss terms and conditions for a final decree and to reduce the issues for trial. 7. Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority Cases: Pursuant to Board approval, petitions were filed under the retained jurisdiction provisions of three decrees held by the Authority in Case Nos. 98CW205, 98CW270 and 03CW78. All three cases involve a disputed table of monthly depletion rates, which the Authority wrongly claims the right to use to account for its out-of- priority depletions. The table underestimates the Authority's true depletions according to a study of the Authority's water use from 2001 to 2005 completed by the Division Engineer's office. Motions to consolidate these three cases with the Authority's pending application in Case No. 02CW403, which also seeks approval of the table, have been filed in all four matters. Those motions and other motions are still pending in all four cases. The April, 2007 trial dates for Case No. 02CW403 were recently vacated at the request of both the State and the Authority due to the backlog of pre-trial motions still pending before the Division 5 water court. The vacating of trial dates provides more time for global settlement talks between the State and the Authority. A settlement meeting was held on February 23,2007, but no real progress was made. The Authority is expected to return to negotiations with a more viable settlement proposal. In the meantime, the State has filed its opening brief in its appeal of the water court's approval of the table in Case No. 03CW78. The Authority's answer brief is due on April 4, 2007. A ruling is expected by the end ofthe year. If the State and the Authority are able to reach a global settlement, then the Supreme Court appeal will be withdrawn. 8. In the Matter of the City of Duram!O. Application for Recreational In-Channel Diversion. Case No. 06cw9. Water Division 7 - This case is scheduled for trial beginning on May 7, 2007 and continuing through May 18, 2007. Depositions are scheduled to begin next Tuesday, March 6, 2007, and will be taken daily until the close of the discovery period, whi ch is March 18, 2007. In the meantime, the parties are actively pursuing settlement of this matter. The City of Durango, staff for the CWCB and several other objectors have tentatively agreed to mediation in April. In light of the foregoing, a Motion for Extension of the Discovery Deadline and an Expedited Motion to Continue the Trial have been filed on behalf of several opposers, including the CWCB. A ruling from the court on Motion to Continue is expected this Friday, March 2, 2007.