19a ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 1/23/2008
• Description: WSP Section - CWCB Litigation Account - Status Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

JON\ ~~. SL'THERS
Attorney General STATE OF COLORADO STATE SF.RVICF.S BtiILDItiG
Ct~~TtnA H. COFFII;~N DEPaRT~1E~1T OF LAW 152 Sherman Street - 7th Floor
Chief Deputy :~ttomey General Denver, Colorado 80203
OFFICE OF THE ATTORtiEY GE:~iER.1L Phone (303) 866--t~00
D~~\IEL D. DO~tEYICO
Solicitor General
March 2, 2007
Request for Expenditure from Litigation Fund
for Protection of Colorado's Allocations in the Arkansas River
Dear Board !'(embers:
By this letter, I am requesting the expenditure of $90,000 over the next fiscal year (FY08) from the
Board's Litigation Fund under section 37-60-121(2.5)(a)(III), C.R.S. That section authorizes the
Board to expend money from the Litigation Fund at the request of the Attorney General for the costs
to defend and protect Colorado's allocations of water in interstate streams and rivers.
I believe this expenditure is necessary to adequately defend, in negotiations or litigation, Colorado's
allocations of the Arkansas River and provide litigation support in Kansas v. Colorado.
The Board gave approval in 2004 to expend $750,000 over three fiscal years ending June 20, 2007,
to "implement findings in the Fourth Report of Special ?~•laster Arthur Littleworth ...including
future compliance issues pursuant to the Court's retained jurisdiction" and "to defend and protect
Colorado's allocations of water in interstate streams and rivers." The construction and maintenance
of two lysimeters was one of the activities identified by the State Engineer as crucial to
accomplishing this task.
I am writing to indicate my agreement with the request of the State Engineer for $90,000 in funds
from the Litigation Fund to support the completion of second lysimeter at the Rocky Ford
Experiment Station. The funds ($250,000) for the first lysimeter and for most of the second
lysimeter were provided through the Litigation Fund to support efforts to obtain appropriate crop
coefficients to support the use of the Penman ~'~Iontieth method of estimating crop consumptive use
now required by the Special Master in the Arkansas River compact litigation. It is the belief of the
Colorado experts that the Penman-Mantieth method without locally determined crop coefficients
would over estimate the crop consumptive use and therefore, over estimate the consumption of
pumped ground water. This would result in an over statement of stateline depletions and require
Colorado well users to over compensate Kansas. These funds would allow the completion of the
second lysimeter and are an appropriate use of the Fund.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
•~
J W. SLITHERS
~,d orado Attorney General