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<br />- <br />The Mountain Mail Newspaper, Salida Colorado I County RICD gets staff approval <br /> <br />Page 1 of2 <br /> <br />PIlIllT <br />a <br /> <br /><8> <br />l10SE <br /> <br />THE MOONTAIN MAIL <br /> <br />;/,,c , <br />."",.,. ")J#' I -- " , <br />"',')# <br /> <br />"'~:;Il~, (nlo..do l'5/1 Ollr 12,Ih ~r~' 1'11' \01((' of 5.lld~ onll thrl PI'''' /lr!"lnq, '011("; <br /> <br />Friday, March 17,2006 <br /> <br />County RICO gets staff approval <br /> <br />Friday, March 17, 2006 <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board staff members finalized a recommendation of approval Monday regarding the <br />Chaffee County application for a recreational water right protecting local whitewater parks. <br /> <br />Conservation board scientist Ted Kowalski said staff members recommended approval of the RICO "with conditions." The <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board meets Wednesday in Rifle to consider the staff recommendation and make a <br />recommendation to water court regarding the application. <br /> <br />Chaffee County is seeking a recreational in channel diversion water right ensuring as much as 1,800 cubic feet per <br />second flow through the Salida and Buena Vista whitewater parks during peak season in June. <br /> <br />Kowalski said the staff recommendation took into consideration a memorandum of understanding involving Chaffee <br />County and many of the objectors in the case. <br /> <br />The understanding, which has been the subject of negotiations among Chaffee County and the objectors for months, <br />comes close to ironing out issues with the application. <br /> <br />However, Kowalski said the thinking of the conservation board could be swayed by the outcome of last week's meeting of <br />the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District - one of the objectors and parties to the memorandum of understanding. <br /> <br />Despite assurances from water attorney Julianne Waldridge and manager Teny Scanga that the understanding satisfied <br />major objections of the district, directors said they were unprepared to act on the document. <br /> <br />Wold ridge asked for conditional approval based on ironing out any loose ends, but the board decided to consider the <br />memorandum of understanding at its April meeting. <br /> <br />"It's too overwhelming," board member Mel Keserich, said. <br /> <br />Wold ridge said the recreational in channel diversion decree, which would be a junior water right calling for as much as <br />1,800 cfs in June and as little as 250 cfs in winter, was no longer a subject of negotiation. <br /> <br />Outstanding issues, she said, relate to coordination of a committee to manage the VOluntary flow progr.:lm and future <br />"carve outs" that could diminish the call of the recreational diversion, among other things. <br /> <br />"It's not perfect, but it is much better than it was, and it does not bind us to anything we should not be bound to, n <br />Wold ridge told district board members Thursday. <br /> <br />"It has gotten extremely complex. There's a lot in here that doesn't have to do with the RICO." <br /> <br />Scanga said, "We are to the point where we're talking about specific issues. We are very close." <br /> <br />Kowalski said the CWCS recommendation could be made conditional upon objectors eventually supporting a final draft of <br />the understanding. <br /> <br />http://www.themountainmail.com/print.asp? ArticleID=7525&SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4 <br /> <br />3/19/2006 <br /> <br />,~ <br />