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Section 11 <br />Implementation <br />Activities that can be undertaken by the Board and each <br />section toward implementing SWSI are presented below. <br />11.6.1 CWCB Board Tasks <br />When discussing Board tasks, one is speaking not just of <br />basin representatives, but also the CWCB Director, the <br />DNR Executive Director and other ex-officio members <br />representing the DOA, the CDOW, the SEO, and the <br />Attorney General's office. When the General Assembly <br />created the Board and gave it such broad representation <br />it meant for these Board members to work together to <br />accomplish the mission it set forth. Members should <br />focus on how they are collectively accomplishing the <br />mission and not just the individual activities they are <br />undertaking that contribute to accomplishment of the <br />mission. This is absolutely essential - not only for the <br />80 percent M&I supply to be realized, but also if the <br />20 percent water supply gap is to be filled and <br />agricultural, environmental, and recreational needs <br />satisfied. <br />With the above in mind, the following are some potential <br />work-plan tasks: <br />^ Using the list of specific projects and options laid out <br />by SWSI, report to other members and staff about the <br />status of local implementation efforts. <br />^ Convey "collective" information about Board activities <br />issues and needs and challenges to their local elected <br />officials to maintain a sense of order and facilitate <br />communication when the need for legislative action <br />arises. <br />^ Help identify and support requests for statutory, <br />regulatory, and financial requests made to Congress <br />and federal agencies. <br />^ Support the designation of staff within the Board to be <br />dedicated to SWSI implementation. <br />^ Identify specific ways to foster cooperation. <br />^ Support the implementation of identified projects and <br />processes. <br />^ Working with water suppliers, make a <br />recommendation about how the staff should <br />collaboratively track local project implementation. <br />^ Examine the need for project permitting and mitigation <br />assistance, recognizing that permit requirements and <br />mitigation have resulted in uncertainty and increased <br />project costs for many users. This has resulted in <br />~~ <br />many M&I providers moving towards agricultural <br />transfers due to greater certainty and flexibility. This <br />might include examining the need for a state/ <br />federal/local project permitting assistance "team." <br />^ Promoting and facilitating coordinated operations of <br />existing facilities and infrastructure. <br />^ Promote and support the development of projects that <br />serve multiple purposes. <br />^ Evaluate alternative methods for determining <br />environmental and recreational needs, and ways to <br />implement potential solutions. <br />11.6.2 Water Supply Planning and <br />Financing Tasks <br />The CWCB is now totally self-financed. In fact, it is now <br />paying a significant share of the costs for running the <br />DNR and the SEO. Beyond that, it is also the chief <br />source of financing for water planning done by its <br />customers. It does this with a very small staff, limited <br />appropriated resources, and significant oversight. <br />The CWCB Construction Fund was created by the <br />Colorado General Assembly in 1971 to provide low <br />interest loans to water users in the development of water <br />resource projects. The CWCB Construction Fund is a <br />partially self-supporting revolving loan fund. Sources of <br />revenue are from the return of principal and interest on <br />outstanding loans, interest earned on the cash balance <br />of the fund through investments by the State Treasurer, <br />mineral lease fund distributions, and occasional cash <br />transfers from the General Assembly. The types of <br />projects that are eligible for funding are specified by state <br />statute. <br />If the Board is to be successful in meeting the needs <br />identified by SWSI it must have the ability to remain <br />flexible and its funding sources must be protected, <br />for without stable and reliable financing, none of the <br />projects or programs identified can be implemented. <br />Take for instance, the strong interest on the part of SWSI <br />Basin Roundtable participants to further develop <br />environmental and recreational enhancements. Yet, <br />while there may be an overall willingness of some <br />environmental and recreational beneficiaries to pay for <br />such enhancements, there is no funding mechanism. <br />Obviously, sponsors of water development projects have <br />a fiduciary responsibility to their ratepayers to develop <br />~~ <br />Statew~itle Water Supply Inii'iative <br />11-10 S:\REPORT\WORD PROCESSING\REPORT\S11 11-10-04.DOC <br />