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South Platte Task Force Meeting The first meeting of the special South Platte River Basin Task Force, appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter to seek possible solutions for water users in the South Platte th River basin in northeastern Co lorado, will be held on June 29 at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley. The public and the media are encouraged to attend. The Task Force will hear public testimony and comment between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Gov. Ritter created the Task Force, wit h 23 voting members, after visiting Wiggins earlier this year to hear first- hand about the water crisis along the South Platte. This crisis was precipitated by, among other factors, the 2002 drought, which was one of the worst droughts in Colorado’s history and had dramatic effects on water users in the South Platte River Basin. These effects included increased scrutiny of water court cases by other water users, increased water rights administration in the non-irrigati on season because of reservoir calls, and increased cost and decreased availability of augmentation water. Those effects are among the many factors t hat have made it more di fficult for some junior ground water users to be able to pump water. The State of Colorado looks forward to revisiting these issues in order to determine whether there are any further so lutions that the State can implement or help implement in order to bring relief to junior water users, without adversely impacting senior water right holders. The mission of the South Platte River Basin Task Force is to bring together a broad range of stakeholders to review the existing situation, identify the iss ues, and explore potential solutions. The June 29th meeting in Greeley will st art at 9:30 a.m. wit h a briefing by attorneys Jim Lochhead and Anne Castle, and Assistant State Engineer Dick Wolfe. All three are non-voting me mbers of the Task Force. The public is invited to provide comm ent and information to the Task Force between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Be cause of time constraint s, interested individuals and groups with shared concerns are enc ouraged to designate a representative to comment on their behalf. This will hopefully allow each person who wishes to present to the Task Force more time to speak. A second Task Force meeting, which will be devoted entirely to public comment, th will be held on July 16 , from 9 am to 5 pm, location TBA. To sign up to speak either as a representat ive or an individual prior to June 29th, please contact Russ Zigler at 303-866-3556 or email Russ at th Russ.Zigler@state.co.us. Please contact Russ before Noon on June 28 . Sign up sheets will also be available at the meeting. Written co mments can be mailed th to Russ at Executive Director’s Office, 1313 Sherman, 7 Floor, Denver CO 80203 or emailed to Russ.Zigler@state.co.us.