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• Board Meeting Date: 7/22/2008
• Description: Attorney General's Report, Legal Briefing and Executive Session
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

.JOHN W.SUTHERS
Attorney General
CYNTHIA H. COFFMAN
Chief Deputy Attorney General
DANIEL D. DOMENICO
Solicitor General
STATE OF COLORADO
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
July 14, 2008
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board
FROM: John W. Suthers
Attorney General
Peter Ampe
Susan Schneider
First Assistant Attorneys General
RE: Report of the Attorney General
FEDERAL & INTERSTATE MATTERS
STATE SERVICES BUILDING
1525 Sherman Street - 7th Floor
Denver Colorado 80203
Phone [phone]
1. Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes' Settlement Case Nos. 7-W-1603-76F & 76J,
• 02-CW-85 & 86; O1CW54.
Citizens Progressive Alliance's appeal of the Division 7 water court decree changing the tribal
reserved water rights is still pending.
2. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Reserved Rights Case, No. O1 CWOS Water
Division 4
Chad Wallace will update the board in executive session.
3. Kansas v. Colorado
Kansas's Exception to the Special Master's Fifth and Final Report, in which Kansas claims that
Colorado owes it approximately $9 million more in expert witness fees, has been briefed. The
Supreme Court has ordered oral argument, but the date is not set. Colorado Attorney General
John Suthers will be arguing for Colorado, against Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six. The
argument will concern the applicability of 28 U.S.C. § 1821 and 1920, federal statutes which
limit expert witness fees to $40/day in all courts of the United States.
The CWCB has been cooperating with the State Engineer's office to resolve a difficult issue
related to enforcement of the Arkansas River Compact. The State must ensure that any increased
consumption through efficiency improvements to surface water irrigation systems does not cause
• material depletions of Stateline flow in violation of Article IV-D of the Compact. The State