14d

• Board Meeting Date: 9/17/2008
• Description: Director's Report - CWCB Director
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

amendments that would allow for water from the San Juan River to be used to address water needs in the
Lower Basin portion of Arizona and accounted for as Lower Basin apportionment.
Colorado and the Upper Basin states objected to this proposed amendment. Subsequent negotiations have
lead to compromise language that allows Upper Basin water to be diverted to the Lower Basin and
accounted for as Lower Basin water, but only with appropriate protections for the Upper Basin and its
compact apportionment. The key provision in the 5-1171 is language that establishes the precedent that
before any diversion from the upper basin to the lower basin is allowed the consent of all seven basin
states and the approval of Congress is required. The omnibus Bill is expected to be brought to the Senate
floor shortly after Congress returns in early September. I have attached a copy of the letter sent to
Senator's Bingaman and Domenici. (Attachment 14d-10) (Randy Seaholm)
DITCH BILL UPDATE: As part of staff's continuing effort to keep the Board informed of the U.S.
Forest Service's ("USFS") progress on the issuance of Ditch Bill Easements and related issues, the
information attached to this report as Attachment 14d-02, was provided by Michele O'Connell, USFS. If
you have questions regarding this information, please contact Michele O'Connell at:
Michele O'Connell
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region
Group Leader Lands Special Uses
[phone], FAX [phone]
[e-mail]
(Linda Bassi)
UPDATE ON FEMA'S UNIFIED HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE GRANT
PROGRAM: FEMA has undertaken steps to unify its fragmented natural hazard mitigation grant
programs, and this unified process has been rolled out this year. The Hazard Mitigation Assistance
(HMA) suite of mitigation grants includes four "pre-disaster" grand programs and one "post-disaster"
grant program.
The pre-disaster grant programs include the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program, the Pre-
Disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant program, the Repetitive Flood Claims (RFC) program, and the Severe
Repetitive Loss (SRL) program. The post-disaster grant program is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
(HMGP).
HMGP, PDM, and FMA programs have been offered for several years to this point, while the RFC
program is approximately three years old, and the SRL program was introduced last year. The HMA
process serves to unify the application and administration processes for this suite of grants, which were
currently handled by separate processes both at the federal and state level.
While all five programs are able to provide funding to local communities for flood mitigation planning
and project grants, each program has different levels of funding and different eligibility requirements.
The SRL program will not apply to Colorado at this time as there are no properties anywhere in the state
that meet the eligibility requirements for funding. All other programs are eligible in Colorado as long as
the funding requests meet the specific requirements for a particular program.
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