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This Loan Feasibility Study addresses the need for and the feasibility of acquiring rights <br />to ground water and the construction of a Compact Compliance Pipeline. The Colorado <br />Water Conservation Board provided a$50,000 grant for a feasibility study, which has <br />been used to evaluate alternatives for a Compact Compliance Pipeline. <br />1.2. Project Sponsor — The Republican River Water Conservation District <br />(RRWCD) and its Water Activity Enterprise (WAE) <br />The Republican River Water Conservation District (RRWCD) was established by <br />Senate Bill 04-235 in 2004 to assist the State of Colorado to comply with the Republican <br />River Compact. A copy of §§ 37-50-101 through 142 is attached. The RRWCD is <br />managed and controlled by a 15-member board of directors comprised of one member <br />appointed by the county commissioners of each of the seven counties wholly or partially <br />within the RRWCD, one member appointed by the boards of the seven ground water <br />management districts within the RRWCD, and one member appointed by the Colorado <br />Ground Water Commission. See § 37-50-104. <br />The RRWCD Board of Directors is authorized to establish a water activity enterprise <br />pursuant to article 45.1 of title 37 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and established the <br />RRWCD Water Activity Enterprise (WAE) in October 2004. The general powers of the <br />board of directors are set forth in section 37-50-107. A copy of the resolution <br />establishing the RRWCD WAE is attached. <br />The RRWCD Board of Directors is authorized to impose a use fee on the diversion of <br />water within the district and has established a use fee of $5.50 per assessed irrigated <br />acre on diversions of ground water for irrigation use by post-compact wells within the <br />district. There are approximately 500,500 assessed irrigated acres in the basin irrigated <br />by post-compact wells. Use fees on the diversion of ground water for irrigation currently <br />generate nearly $2.75 million in revenues annually for the RRWCD WAE. The RRWCD <br />Board of Directors also imposed a use fee of $4.40 per acre-foot on post-compact <br />diversions of ground water for municipal and commercial use. Municipal and <br />commercial diversions within the district are small, but generated an additional $43,388 <br />in 2007. <br />The RRWCD WAE has used revenues from use fees primarily to provide local cost- <br />sharing for federal programs designed to retire irrigated acreage in the basin, including <br />the Republican River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and the <br />Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP). To date, approximately 30,000 <br />irrigated acres have been voluntarily retired in the basin under CREP and EQIP, or <br />approximately five percent (5%) of the irrigated acreage in the basin. An amendment to <br />the Republican River CREP designed to retire an additional 30,000 irrigated acres has <br />been submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval. The RRWCD WAE <br />has committed to provide local cost-sharing for the Republican River CREP <br />amendment. <br />2 <br />