South Platte - Arickaree Wel lRetirement - Water Activity Sum

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(2) TNC is an international non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the conservation of biological diversity. TNC has been in operation since 1951, has more than 1,000,000 members and protects more than 15 million acres of land in the United States. (3) The proposed action is consistent with Section 37-75-102 C.R.S. It will provide additional incentives for the voluntary retirement of wells in the Arickaree River basin upstream of the "live" reach. (4) The South Platte Basin Roundtable is recommending that CWCB frilly fiend the Arickaree River Well Retirement Program and on March 11, 2008 the Roundtable voted to fund $19,984 for the project. The letter of support does not however indicate whether or not the vote was unanimous. (5) The activity meets the provisions in Section 37-75-104 C.R.S. by seeking to implement actions necessary to achieve Republican River Compact compliance. (6) The proposed project promotes collaboration and cooperation by partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the RRWCD and local water users. It helps sustain the agricultural economy in the Republican basin and protect existing and future water rights and supplies. It will help compact compliance activities in a cost effective manner, which is a statewide benefit. Finally, it will provide environmental enhancements and protect habitat for the threatened brassy minnow and orange throated darter, a species of special concern. Discussion: The proposed TNC well retirement incentive package will be matched with $471,920 of USDA and local funding to bring about the retirement of 3 irrigation wells and an evaluation of whether or not to retire 2 permitted but inactive irrigation wells. The proposal is supported by the Colorado Division of Water Resources, the RRWCD and researchers from Colorado State University investigating the interaction between river flows and groundwater hydrology in the Arickaree River Basin. In addition, the CWCB has made a $60.6 million dollar loan to the RRWCD to help build a 12-mile, $71 million dollar pipeline that will deliver nearly 15,000 AF annually to the Colorado-Nebraska Stateline for compact compliance purposes. This proposal by TNC helps further the compact compliance efforts in the Republican River Basin and should be frilly funded. Issues/Additional Needs: None Staff Recommendation: The application is complete and well prepared. The proposed well retirement incentive package helps further the compact compliance efforts in the Republican River Basin while providing important environmental benefits. Staff recommends approval of $19,984 from the South Platte Basin Account and $79,936 from the Statewide Account to support the proposal. A full accounting of all expenditures shall be provided to the CWCB along with all data and information developed as a result of this grant, both in hard copy and electronic format as part of the project documentation. This information will in turn be made available to the State legislature, Basin Roundtables and the general public to help both inform the public and promote the Water Supply Reserve Account Program. 2