Minutes Sep 2008x

• Basin Roundtable: Colorado
• Title: Colorado Minutes 9/08
• Date: 9/22/2008
• Basin Roundtables - Doc Type: Minutes

strategies do not seem to be designed to develop consensus; rather they are a
rehash of old issues.
L What will become of the Vision Statement, Jim Pokrandt asked. Will the
legislature act on this? Eric Hecox stated that if there was broad consensus by
the IBCC in adopting the vision statement, it would carry clout with the
legislature.
g. Strategies should be prioritized on page 6 according to Rachel Richards.
Transbasin diversions should be sensitive to Western Slope environmental
and recreational needs, and diversions should be used a last resort.
Controlling demand is directly linked to transbasin diversions and should
be considered before transbasin diversions.
2. She recommended changing the following sentence in the Strategies: New
In-basin Storage that can Meet Multiple Uses while being sensitive to
fitlfdlh,tg our Environmental and Recreational Needs."
3. She recommended amending the phrase "Colorado River Compact
Development and C,omy)liance " on page 6 under Supply Side Strategies.
h. Water providers are considering new storage, conservation, and
agricultural transfers as part of every new project according to Eric Hecox.
a. The State should define what Adequate source of water means, according
to Lurline Curran. As a planner for 17 years in Grand County, she noted that
without a definition, municipal land planners were at a disadvantage since
developers would always try to stretch what is considered adequate. Eric
Hecox noted that since so many municipalities are represented on the
roundtables, the definition of adequate ii,ater source should be available by
polling them.
15. The CBRT unanimously voted to oppose Amendment 52, which is designed to
cap severance tax revenues to 1.7% of oil produced (this is the tax currently being
levied) and to divert severance tax revenues from the Department of Natural
Resources to fund improvements on Interstate 70. Amendment 52 would do the
following:
a. Amend the Colorado Constitution to make the severance tax rate a part of
the constitution. Among other effects, this would make it harder to amend the
tax rate in the future by preventing the General Assembly (i.e., the legislature)
from addressing the tax since the Constitution would have to be amended.
b. The CWCB opposes Amendment 52. It would divert severance tax
revenues away from the CWCB.
I:Alnterbasin Compact Committee\Basin Roundtables\ColoradoAMinutes\Minutes Sep 2008x.doc 7