22a

• Board Meeting Date: 11/14/2007
• Description: CF Section - Proposed Statute Revisions/Legislation within the 2008 Projects Bill - CWCB Loan Authorizations to $50 million per Project
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Sheet. Room 721
Dem~er, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
v`uu . ccvcU. state. co.us
Bill Rittr-,. 3r.
Governor
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
Harris D. Sherman
DNR Executive Director
FROM: Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief
Water Su 1 Plannin and Finance Section Dan McAnhtfe
PP y g Acting CWCB Director
DATE: November 6, 2007
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 22a -November 14-15, 2007, Board Meeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance Section - Proposed Statute
Revisions/Legislation within the 2008 Projects Bill - CWCB Loan
Authorizations to $50 million peI• Project
Introduction
Staff is proposing that loans up to $50,000,000 be approved and authorized by the Board,
at any time during the year, without legislative authorization. SB 99-173 initially gave the Board
authorization to make loans up to $100,000 without Legislative authorization. That amount was
increased to $1,000,000 by HB 02-1152, increased to $5,000,000 by SB 03-110 and
subsequently to $10,000,000 by SB 07-122.
Discussion
This proposal allows those projects with relatively short planning periods to receive a
loan authorization to construct their project at the time when they most need the funds. If an
applicant misses the loan application deadline under the current process, the project must be
delayed by almost eighteen months before funds become available during the next application
and legislative cycle. A current proposed project, the Republican River Compact Compliance
Pipeline, is just such a project that must be financed and constructed in a very short time in order
to meet compact compliance obligations. Currently the Republican River project loan request
may exceed $40 million. Those large projects costing more than $50 million with long planning
horizons, being proposed in the future, would continue to follow the legislative authorization
process.
Staff presented this proposal to the Legislative Water Resources Review Committee on
October 31, 2007 and received a response that the proposal would be taken under advisement
and be further discussed in the House and Senate Ag committees relative to the Republican River
project.
Water Supply Protection • Flood Protection • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance
Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development