22d ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 11/18/2007
• Description: CF Section – Proposed Statute Revisions/Legislation within the 2008 Projects Bill - Funding for Instream Flow Water Right Acquisitions
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

• rights. With the combination of these two benefits, the acquisitions program is in perfect
lockstep with Colorado's.prior appropriation system. There is no better mechanism to achieve
the goals of the instre 'am flow program.
i
Of the CWCB's two instream flow arrouJs, however, the acquisitions program is the less
utilized. There seem ko be several reasons for this. An acquisition is a more time-consuming
process than the iruti~4tion of an appropriation. Among other issues, it requires identifying
willing sellers in areas~identified as critical stream reaches and time to negotiate and execute the
acquisition. But the biggest hurdle is funding. The acquisitions program requires money for
acquisitions in addition to the funding needed for the subsequent change of water rights case
that an acquisition wil~ require. '
Although the CWCB has help with the acquisitions program, including that of the
Colorado Water Trust; there are ways in which the acquisitions program can be significantly
bolstered and enhanced. The two pieces of legislatian you, the Board, are considering at your
November meeting represent two of them. As you know, the first will provide additional
"protections for those who wish to enter alto long-term leases of water for instream flow
purposes, removing the consumptive use lut that one might take in the absence of continued
. consumptive use of leased water and removuzg abandonment concerns. These protections will
help preserve the value of the water right for the!lessor, yet still allow'the CWCB to pursue uses
of water for instream flow purposes that are terminable. The end result is greater flexibility for
all, and improvement of the insheam flow program. Everybody wins.
The second is to provide funding for acquisitions-an appropriation from the Severance
Tax Trust Fund Perpetual Base Account-in t11e amount of $1 million. This funding will serve
as the heart of the acquisitions program and can ensure its success. With it, the CWCB can
become the willing buyer the acquisitions program requires. We understand that the origin of
the funds will depend, upon whether the Construction Fund and Severance Tax Trust Fund
Perpetual Base Account are merged. Either way, the decision to allocate the requested money
to instream flow acquisitions when that money could be used in other programs, e.g., for
construction projects, 'will show a commitment to the vitality of the instream flow program
never before accomplished in the history of the program.
The benefits of the proposed pieces of legislation are many, from the improvement of
operations within the CWCB to the benefits to water rights holders of all sorts to the continued
enhancement of streamflows in critical areas of the state. The Colorado Water Trust urges the
Colorado Water Conservation Board to support the proposed legislation.
Regards, '/
~V
Amy W. Beane
Executive Director, Colorado Water Trust
ce: - Colorado Water Trust Board of Directors