North Platte July28minutes

• Basin Roundtable: North Platte
• Title: Minutes
• Date: 7/28/2006
• Basin Roundtables - Doc Type: Minutes

North Platte Basin Roundtable Meeting 7-28-06

North Platte Basin Roundtable
Comments and Recommendations
Re: Preliminary Draft of Water Supply Reserve Account Criteria and Guidelines
(Draft Rev.l July 17,2006)

The North Platte Basin Roundtable held a meeting July 28,2006 attended by 15 people.
The members of the Roundtable recommend these comments be considered during the
July 31, 2006 meeting of the joint IBCC/CWCB subcommittee to develop the criteria and
guidelines for allocating grants or loans from the Water Supply Reserve Account.

Language in SB 06-179 states "Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any
fiscal year shall remain in the account; except that the unencumbered and unexpended
balance of the account shall revert on June 30, 2010, to the Operational Account of the
Severance Tax Trust Fund." Do payments on loans from the Account that would be paid
after June 30,2010, go to the CWCB or back to Operational Account of the Severance
Tax Trust Fund? If they would continue to be paid to the CWCB, it is understandable
why there may be a preference for loans over grants because loans would enable the
CWCB to keep more of the $40 million intact for ulture allocations after 06/30/2006.

Regarding allocating moneys before the needs assessments are completed - the North
Platte Basin Roundtable feels that it would seem reasonable that a fraction of the money
be allocated to timely projects of genuine urgency where opportunities would be
genuinely foreclosed if they waited till needs assessment were completely done.

The North Platte Basin Roundtable:

. Emphasizes that the North Platte Basin be treated equal to all other basins in
Colorado.

. Believes that there should be criteria that would insure that a portion of the u\1lds
should be dispersed as grants to those who have a reduced ability to pay for the
projects/activities themselves. Funds should go to needs not funded by current
CWCB programs. Prefers the Water Supply Reserve Account offer grants over
loans because of limited financial capability in our basin.

. Recognize that any project that benefits one basin will benefit the State of
Colorado.

. Strongly advocates that at least 30% of money available should be allocated and
reserved for each of the 9 basin roundtables for projects/activities - a "bank
account" to insure that there would be at least a portion of the u\1lding available
to each basin for use as worthy projects are identified and formulated.

. Recommends that the first project within a basin be u\1lded out of the initial 30%
allocation to that basin.

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