23 ‎(3)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 11/14/2007
• Description: WSP Section - Request for Expenditure for Republican River Compact Litigation
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF COLORADO
John W. Bothers
October 26, 2007
Request for Expenditure from Litigation Fund
for Republican River Compact Litigation
Dear N(embers of the Colorado ~~'ater Conservation Board:
By this letter, I request the expenditure of $2~I0,000 over the current and next fiscal
years (FY08 and FY'09) from the Water Conservation Board Litigation Fund (Boardl
pursuant to section 3?-GO-121(2.5)(a)(lIi), C`. R.S. That section authorizes the Board to
expend money ft-om the Litigation Fund at the request of the Attorney General for the; costs
to defend and protect C'oluradc>'s allocations ofwater in interstate streams and rivers.
believe this expenditure is necessary to adequately defend, in negotiations and litigation,
C'olorado's interests in the Republican River.
The recent multi-year drought and increasing interstate and intrastate demands on the
Republican River have had a dramatic effect on irrigation within the basin. In 2003, a
settlement decree was entered into to resolve the interstate litigation on the Republican River,
It"cr,rsns v. NE~hraskcr acrd C'olor•rrdo, !'4'v. 1?~ (h•igirrc7l. As a result, Colorado has retired
thousands of acres of irrigated land and taken additional actions such as the partial draining
ofi Bonny Reservoir. Also, Colorado is developing enforcement rules and exploring
additional actions that we will need to undertake to comply with the settlement decree.
Recently, the Kansas Attorney General indicated that the States of Nebraska and Colorado
arc not doing enough to compc3rt with the settlcmtr~t decree, and that Kansas intends to
initiate litigation against those States to enforce the decree. The State of Colorado must be
prepareci to curtail its uses, and also defend the State's intrrest in the litigation that is
looming.
We anticipate that shortly after the begim~ing of the; year, Kansas may file complaint
with the United States Supreme Court against Colorado claiming we have consumed rnorc
water in the Republican River basin than allo~~ed by the C'on~pact. Similar claims will he
made ~rgainst Nebraska. ~~'e also anticipate crass-claims from Nebraska alleging that
('crlorado's over consumption of«atcr injured Nebraska or contributed to Nebraska's over
use. These requested funds will be used to pay for litigation expenses, including experts to
bolster Colorado's position in the case.
State Services Building • 1525 Sherman Street 7~h Floor • Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone [phone] • FAX [phone]