Benefits of the Platte Program to CO

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What the Program Does After struggling with conflicts between water use and endangered species for more than a decade, the States of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and the U. S. Department of the Interior signed a 1997 Cooperative Agreement to pursue a comprehensive basin-wide Program to address habitat needs of the endangered species in the Central and Lower Platte River basin. A cooperative basin-wide approach for addressing Endangered Species Act (ESA) issues is the most equitable and effective means to resolve conflicts and provide greater certainty that the Platte River will continue as a reliable water source for both wildlife and the many people who reside and use water in the basin. The proposed Program will allow water use and development activities in each of the three states to continue, in compliance with the ESA and in accardance with state water law and state entitlements under interstate compacts and decrees. For Colorado, the Program will provide regulatory compliance under the ESA for both existing and prospective new water uses within the South Platte River basin. This compliance is needed in order for water providers to meet the water supply needs of the urban, agricultural, and industrial sectors of this rapidly changing and growing part of the state. The Program will: Provide an alternative to the requirement that historic and future water related activities in Colorado replace individual depletions on a one-for-one basis in amount and in timing at the Colorado-Nebraska state line. Provide streamlined ESA compliance procedures and regulatory predictability for existing and future water related activities in Colorado. Proj ect owners and operators who choose to rely on the Program would know their requirements prior to ESA consultation. Appendix 1 illustrates the types of proj ects and the communities that have relied on the benefits of the Program in order to achieve ESA compliance in Colorado over the past 12 years. Their interim permits are all dependent on successful completion of a basin-wide cooperative program. In addition, there are new proj ects presently undergoing permitting review-such as Parker's Reuter Hess Reservoir, Denver's Moffatt Collection System Project, NCWCD's Northern Integrated Supply Project, MS/NCWCD's Windy Gap Firming Project, and Greeley/Ft. Collins' enlargements of Halligan and Milton-Seaman reservoirs-that will rely on the proposed Program to provide ESA compliance. Numerous prospective projects, as well as future permit renewals for existing projects, will also rely on the Program for ESA compliance. -2-