Laserfiche WebLink
i. Delegate more discretionary authority to the State Engineer <br />to administer river (allows more timely actions) and augmentation plans (e.g., allow <br />wells to call for water when depletions are in priority) - some suggest there should be <br />reform of State Engineer administration (e.g., don't require paper filling reservoirs). <br />ii. Allow 30-day correction period for well augmentation <br />iii. Allow projections that determine allowable well pumping to <br />be based on average pumping instead of 3 worst years <br />iv. More flexibility for using excess credits (could also be in 3.a) <br />v. Would any such authority require rule making by the State <br />Engineer? <br />c. Designate which engineering standards should be adopted by the <br />water courts (e.g., ground water modeling techniques like Glover and MODFLOW) to <br />minimize time spent arguing about which ones are better <br />d. Clarify the standard of review for 308(4) appeals <br />4. Other <br />water rights <br />a. Investigate potential expansions of historical use by senior surface <br />• This is a very sensitive issue that has gained recent attention with the <br />Jones Ditch case and the Harmony case. It would appear that any <br />substantive resolution to the well issue may also require addressing the <br />potential expansion of irrigated lands by senior water rights. <br />• Would normally require either: 1) a change of use proceeding filed in <br />water court by the owner of the senior right; or 2) a complaint for <br />declaratory judgment filed by the State or an objector. <br />• Investigate whether any curtailment of this expansion would result in any <br />benefit to well owners since much of the water may go to junior surface <br />water users. <br />b. Investigate growing alternative crops including dry-land farming <br />• Due to the increased interest in biofuels, specifically cellulosic ethanol <br />crops, there may be an opportunity to look at allowing these irrigated <br />farms to covert to crops like switchgrass. Switchgrass is an alternative to <br />corn for ethanol production, which uses less water and substantially less <br />fossil fuel to create an equivalent amount of ethanol. <br />8