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<br />North Platte Basin Roundtable Meeting 6-27-06 2 <br /> <br />Needs Assessment <br />HB 06-1177 states that each basin roundtable shall develop basin-wide consumptive and <br />nonconsumptive water supply needs assessment, conduct an analysis of available <br />unappropriated waters within the basin, and propose projects or methods, both structural <br />and nonstructural, for meeting those needs and utilizing those unappropriated waters <br />where appropriate. The question was raised regarding the availability of unappropriated <br />water. Bob Plaska indicated that portions of the NOlih Platte Basin are considered over <br />appropriated. During the spring runoff there may be unappropriated water available, but <br />that availability may be unpredictable and sporadic. During n\1loff, water may be <br />available for storage if that storage were not limited by the Supreme Court Decree. If a <br />project was proposed to build a large reservoir, like the one that has been discussed for <br />the north end, that would dump water into the Laramie River drainage and then into the <br />Poudre River and on down to the front range, and everyone, including Wyoming and <br />Nebraska agreed with the project, the U.S. Supreme Court Decree that equitably <br />apportions the North Platte waters between the states of Colorado, Wyoming and <br />Nebraska would come into play. The decree may prevent this type of project because <br />language in the Nebraska v. Wyoming decree states "The State of Colorado, its officers, <br />attorneys, agents, and employees, be and they are hereby severally enjoined from <br />exporting out of the basin of the North Platte River and its tributaries in Jackson County, <br />Colorado, to any other stream basin or basins more than 60,000 acre feet of water in any <br />period of ten consecutive years reckoned in continuing progressive series beginning with <br />October 1, 1945". The City of Fort Collins has already appropriated and adjudicated the <br />60,000 acre feet of water, so any additional exportation of water out of the basin of the <br />NOlih Platte River and its tributaries in Jackson County, Colorado could be in violation of <br />the terms of the decree. However, a project to build a large reservoir in the north end <br />that was not built for irrigation purposes but rather for recreation and/or to provide water <br />releases to Wyoming and Nebraska to mitigate water depletions or meet target flows for <br />endangered species in the central Nebraska region might not come under the provisions <br />of the decree which enjoins Colorado "from storing or permitting the storage of more <br />than a total amount of 17,000 acre feet of water for irrigation purposes from the North <br />Platte River and its tributaries in Jackson County, Colorado, between October 1 of any <br />year and September 30 of the following year". Rick Wyatt asked if water produced from <br />coal bed methane wells could be used as unappropriated water. Carl commented that you <br />would probably have to determine whether this water is tributary or non tributary before <br />you could try to appropriate it for some activity or project. <br /> <br />Criteria and Guidelines Discussion <br />Regarding SB 06-179, the IBCC has not yet determined how many members will work <br />with the three members from the CWCB to develop draft criteria and guidelines for <br />allocating funds from the Water Supply Reserve Account. The draft criteria and <br />guidelines developed by the joint committee or working group of CWCB and IBCC <br />members will be brought back to the basin roundtables for comment before they are <br />finalized. <br /> <br />2 <br />