8C

• Board Meeting Date: 1/22/2008
• Description: CWCB Legislative Priorities and Recommendations - Tamarisk Control Grant Program
• 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: [phone]
wuu . o~n cU. state. co.us
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board
Bill Ritter, Jr.

FROM:
Steve Miller, Water Supply Protection Section Governor
H:uris D. Sherman
DATE• January 14, 2008 DNR Executive Director
Jennifer L. GimUel
RE: Agenda Item 8.c. January 22-23, 2008 Board Meeting cwcB Director
CWCB Legislative Priorities and Recommendations - Dan McAuliffe
Tamarisk Control Grant Program cwcB Deputy Director
Introduction:
This item is to advise the Board about a change in the funding plan for a proposed tamarisk control cost-
sharing grant program previously discussed at the November 2007 Board meeting and to get the Board's
authorization to include a provision to implement that change in the 2008 Projects Bill.
Discussion:
At the November 2007 meeting the Board considered two options for funding a Board operated cost-share
grant program to assist local entities in implementing "on-the-ground" tamarisk control projects in
cooperation with the Tamarisk Coalition. November 2007 Agenda Item 18.d proposed funding the grant
program with $1 million from the construction fixnd. Instead, pursuant to Agenda Item 24. a, the Board
adopted staff's revised recommendation that the Department of Natural Resources ("DNR") submit a
budget amendment to the FY 2008-2009 Budget Request that would increase the Board's allocation of
revenue from the Severance Tax Trust Fund Operational Account by $1 million for the purpose of
financing a Tamarisk and Russian Olive Control Cost-sharing Grant Program in cooperation with the
Tamarisk Coalition, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and DNR. In December staff prepared the
proposed budget amendment and submitted it to DNR for review and further action, but subsequent
discussions led to a decision by DNR to not advance the amendment. DNR's new preferred route for
funding a tamarisk control cost-sharing grant program is to include a provision in the 2008 Projects Bill
as set forth in the recommendation below. In all cases, the Board has understood that any program
addressing tamarisk control would also include control of Russian olive, a phreatophyte with similar
detrimental impacts.
Recommendation:
After consultation with the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources, staff recommends
that the following provision be included in the 2008 Projects Bill:
SECTION 28. Tamarisk control cost-sharing grant program -appropriation. (1) In
addition to any other appropriation, there is hereby appropriated, out of any un-allocated moneys
in the severance tax trust fund operational account not otherwise appropriated, to the Department
of Natural Resources, for allocation into the Colorado Water Conservation Board construction
fund, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008, the sum of up to one million dollars ($1,000,000),
or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the Board to fund a tamarisk control cost-sharing
grant program.
(2) The money's appropriated in subsection (1) of this section shall remain available for the
designated purposes until the project is completed.
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Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate ~F'ater Management & Development