20b

• Board Meeting Date: 9/18/2007
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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farmer participation in the salinity program due to changes in the percentage of construction
costs assigned to producers.

USBR has provided its draft Basinwide Salinity Program Review to the Independent Review
Team. Steve Miller represents us on that team. The review was intended to allow the USBR, in
conjunction with the Advisory Council and Fonlln, to make recommendations for changes to
improve USBR project development, comparison, and implementation. The team has held two
conferences on the draft review, and has reported back to USBR that the document does not meet
the team's expectations for a thorough and candid review. How USBR will proceed prior to
Upper Colorado Regional Director Rick Gold's September 30 departure is uncertain.

Another issue addressed in the USBR Review is the authority to continue operating the Basin
Sates parallel Program, which is delivered in Colorado by the Colorado State Conservation
Board within the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture. This extremely popular program has been in
existence for approximately 10 years and provides a vehicle for the States to meet their required
cost-share obligation on the USDA program by using the Upper and Lower Colorado River
Basin Development Funds to implement complimentary irrigation improvement projects in
Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The Colorado program relies heavily on local conservation
districts and has resulted in re-vitalization of the local role in salinity control planning, design,
and implementation. Early indications from the draft Program Review document are that USBR
now believes that there is no authorization for the Parallel Program and will no longer allow
Basin Funds to be used for this purpose. Anticipating USBR's reluctance to re-consider this
recently developed position the Fonlln has begun the process of seeking federal legislation
clarifying the authority for the continued use of the Basin Funds for this purpose. John Stulp,
Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture and a CWCB member, has contacted Colorado's
congressional delegation explaining the situation and requesting their assistance in advancing
clarifying legislation. Both Rep. John Salazar and Sen. Ken Salazar, as members of the
respective Agricultural Committees are well situated to help in this effOli. Staff and I will be
working with DNR-EDO to coordinate our assistance to the delegation in my role as an acting
F onlln member.

"-' PLATTE RIVER BASIN "-'

BOXELDER CREEK ALLIANCE TO BE FORMED TO ADDRESS FLOODING ISSUES
IN LARIMER COUNTY: A Boxelder Creek Regional Alliance (Alliance) is being formed in
order to address the known flooding problems of the Boxelder Creek watershed within Larimer
County and several of its incorporated municipalities. Boxelder Creek has been known for some
time to be one of the largest unaddressed flood threats throughout the State. The Alliance will
consist of Fort Collins, Wellington, Larimer County, and a collective private propeliy owner's
group. The CWCB is not a member of the Alliance, but has been asked to be an active part of
the group in a technical advisory capacity. The Alliance is also tlying to get Timnath to join, but
there has been some resistance to this point due to the timing of the activities. The Alliance is
being formed so that the entities can coordinate management and funding of the studies, design,
and construction of projects. Currently, there are two projects on the books - Clark Reservoir
and Edson Reservoir. Together, these should solve most of the problems, but there may be
future projects once these are complete. Members of the proposed Alliance are now starting on a

Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Finance. Sn-eam and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation Planning