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JUL-cl-~b MUN UH:~J AM rHJ<. NU, r. UJ oa0763 Introduction Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Roy Romer and I am Governor of the State of Colorado. I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments on H.R. 3478 which would authorize the construction of a smaller Animas-La Plata water project in Southwestern Colorado. For the record, I have submitted a copy of the full text of my remarks to the Committee. Let me take a moment today to highlight my views on the bill before you. Mr. Chairman, this is my third term as Governor. I was first elected in 1986-the same year the State of Colorado signed an agreement with the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes settling a long-standing and difficult controversy regarding the Tribes water rights. I have been working to get the Tribes the water they deserve since my first day in office, and I regret to say that after nearly 12 years we are still trying to get the job done. . I am here to express my support for H.R. 3478. In my opinion, this bill represents our best vehicle for satisfying our obligations to the Ute Tribes for water. As some of you may know, this bill is the result of years of effort, negotiation and compromise. This project was first authorized by Congress in 1968. Following the authorization, the Ute Tribes began to assert their widely recognized right to water in the streams and rivers that flow through their reservations based on the "reserved" water rights doctrine. Given the scarcity of water in this region and the possible disruption that the establishment of Indian water claims would have posed for existing non-Indian water rights holders, Colorado sat down with the Tribes in the mid-1980s to settle the Tribes claims. The result was the 1986 Settlement Agreement. This agreement establishes the Tribes water rights and sorts out other non-Indian water claims. The agreement was signed by all parties-the state, the Tribes. non- Indian water users, municipalities, and the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice. This is a tremendously important agreement. It allows us to resolve possible water conflicts, preserve the social and economic well-being ofthis area and avoid decades of expensive litigation. And, most importantly, it acknowledges our obligations to provide water to the Tribes. In order to fulfill the obligations for water outlined in this agreement. the agreement also calls for the construction of the Animas-La Plata project-a project that would store water and make it available to the Tribes and other users that was authorized by Congress in 1968. Congress formalized this agreement in the 1988 Settlement Act. This Congress is still considering legislation on this project. We have still not satisfied our obligations to the Tribes by building this project. Under the Settlement Agreement, the Tribes have the right to go to court and assert their claims if they do not believe that progress is being made. That risk is real and troubling.