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1 <br />, 1.0 <br />' <br />� <br />' <br />i <br />1 <br />1 <br />' <br />� <br />� <br />' <br />' <br />1.1. <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Purpose of the Republican River Compact Compliance Pipeline <br />In December 2002, the State of Colorado entered into a Final Settlement Stipulation <br />with the States of Kansas and Nebraska to bring an end to the U.S. Supreme Court <br />case of Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado. In the Fin�l Settlement Stipulation, the <br />States agreed to the development of a ground water model (the RRCA Groundwater <br />Mod�l) to deterrr�ine stream flow depletions caused by well pumping in the Republican <br />Riv�r Basin and to a five-year running average to determine compliance with the <br />Republican River Compact ("Compact°). 'fh� U.S. Supr�me Gourt approv�d the <br />Stipulation on M�y 19, 2043, and accepted tMe recommendations in the Final Report of <br />the Special Master, including di�missal of the case with prejudice, which became <br />eff�cti�e when the Special Master certified tMe development of the RRCA Groundwater <br />Model by the three States. <br />The R�publiean River Water Conservation District ("RRWCD") was established by <br />Col,� do statute in 2004 to assist the �tate of Colorado to comply with the Compact. <br />The''"�RWCD Board of Qirectors established a water activity enterprise and imposed <br />us� fees on the diversion of water to provide revenues for programs to retire irrigated <br />acreage in the basin to assist the State with �ompact compliance. <br />Since Qecember 2002, the State of Calorado has exceeded its annual allocations of <br />beneficial consur�ptive us� under the Comp�ct by an averag� of 11,350 acre-feet per <br />ye�r. This was not the situation expeeted when the State of Colorado entered into the <br />Final �ettlement Stipulation. In fact, it was expected tMat hydrologic conditions would <br />return to average or abc�ve-average conditions after several years of drought in the <br />basin and that Iimited retirement of irrigated �creage would bring Colorado into compact <br />compli�nce. For tMat rea�on, the RRVIICD Board of Directors focused its efforts ur�til <br />recently on providing local co�t-�haring for feder�l programs to voluntarily re�ire irrigated <br />acreage in the basin. When the State of Col�radQ eontinued to exeeed its Compact <br />allQCatians in 2005 and 2006, the fo�u� shifted to c�nstruction of a Comp�ct <br />Compliance Pipeline. <br />While the stream depletions calCulated by th� RRCA Groundwater Model r��ulting from <br />' well pumping in Cplorado are extremely small in compari�on to the total well pumping in <br />the basin, they are primarily the result of well pumping that occurred decades ago. As a <br />result, shutting off wEll pumping in the basin in Colorado would no# bring Colorado into <br />' cQmpact complianGe fcar dec�des under curr�nt conditions; indeed, curtailing �II <br />benefi�ial consumptive use of water in the b�sin in Coloeado, ineluding precompact <br />surfac� watEr rights and draining Bonny Reservoir, would r�ot bring �olorado into <br />� compact compliance for years under current conditions. Thus, th� only feasible means <br />to achieve c�ompact compliance is to cc�nstrutt a pi�eline to transport grownd wat�r f�om <br />wells in the basi.n to on� of tMe tributaries of the Repub�liean River for credit to off$�t <br />� stream depletiQns. The Final Settlement Stipulation specifieally allowed for wells that <br />would b� acquired or constructed #or this purpose. <br />!J <br />1 <br />