BOARD00179 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2007
• Description: Director's Report - CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Conservation District in the development of this MOA, which is currently being
circulated for final approvals. The MOA is important to the District's completion of the
reservoir's 404 permitting process.

Yampa and White River Basin

Elkhead Reservoir Water Right Perfection Update: Staff continues to work with
the State Engineer, Division Engineer and the Colorado River Water Conservation
District (CRWCD) on the development of the Elkhead Reservoir operational accounting.
An accurate accounting of inflows, storage and releases from the various user pools in
the reservoir is key to perfecting the conditional water rights for the enlargement. With
respect to the CWCB interests in the project, staff is discussing a Steamboat Lake type
lease agreement for operation of the fish pool water rights that will result in a showing
of beneficial use acceptable to the Water Court and that will allow the CRWCD to make
the conditional rights absolute and able to convey them to the Board for endangered fish
flow purposes pursuant to the agreements involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
U.S Bureau of Reclamation, the Board and the CRWCD. We hope to complete this effort
within the next few months.

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Aeency Updates

Instream Flow and Natural Lake Level Program, Summary of Resolved Cases

The Board's ISF Rule 8i. states that:

"In the event the pretrial resolution includes terms and conditions preventing injury or
interference and does not involve a modification, or acceptance of injury or interference
with mitigation, the Board is not required to review and ratify the pretrial resolution.
Staff may authorize its counsel to sign any court documents necessary to finalize this
type of pretrial resolution without Board ratification."

Staff has resolved issues of potential injury in the following water court cases and
authorized the Attorney General's Office to enter into stipulations that protect the
CWCB's water rights:

(1) Case No. 5-05CW251: Application of Michael and Ann Katz

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