22e ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 11/18/2007
• Description: CF Section – Proposed Statute Revisions/Legislation within the 2008 Projects Bill - CWCB Water Ownership ‎(relative to Proposed Water Partnership Program Policy #18)‎
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203 ~
Phone: [phone]
FAX: (303) 866-~7~
w ~v~v. cw cb. state. co. u5 .
TO: CWCB Board Members sill Ritter, sr.
Governor
FROM: Dan McAuliffe xarris D. Sherman
Executive Director
DATE: October 6, 2007 Dan IV1cAuliffe
Acting Director
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 22e, November 14-15, 2007 Board 11leeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance Section -Proposed Statute
Revisions/Legislation within the 2008 Projects Bill -CWCB Water
Ownership (relative to Proposed Water Partnership Program Policy #18)
Background
The amount of income into the Severance Tax Trust Fund Perpetual Base Account is expected to
remain relatively steady for the next se~~eral years. While this income will be impacted by
refunds to energy producers based on the amount of local ad valorem taxes they pay, I believe a
conservative approach to accounting for this steady growth presents the Board with an
opportunity it has never had before - an opportunity to encourage the construction of "Water
Partnership Projects" and to rehabilitate degraded infrastructure.
We are recommending that about 20 percent of our Perpetual Base Account Re~~enues be
dedicated to this type of financing. This would be approximately $8 million annually.
Using this income will require a statute change to allow non-reimbursable investments to be
made from the Account unless the Perpetual Base Account and the Construction Fund are
merged (see Agenda Item 22c).
If the use of the Account can be broadened to allow grants to be made, or the fund sources are
merged, the Board should pro~~ide a combination of non-reimbursable and loan financing to the
sponsors of Water Partnership Projects because there is a need to accelerate the construction of
projects to develop, conserve and manage the state's water resources -the same major
components of the agency's mission.
Flood Protection • Water Supply Planning and Finance • Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection • Consen~ation and Draught Planning