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Adjudication of Water Rights Under the 1969 Act In Colorado, the control on the use and distribution of water is carried out through two offices--a water court and the State Engineer. The water court adjudicates the water right and may call upon the judgement of an expert referee to aid in the decision. No State permit is required to appropriate water in Colorado; adjudication by the water court and subsequent decree takes the place of a permit. The first step in the process is to file an application with the clerk of the proper water court, that is, the court governing the geographic district in which the right is sought. Opposing statements are also filed with the water clerk. The State and Division Engineers are sent copies of applications and oppositions. No later than the end of the month in which the application is submitted, the water clerk must publish a resume of applications in a general circulation newspaper. The water court may also require radio and television broadcasts. Additionally, a copy of the resume must be sent to any person who would be affected by the ruling. The referee must make a ruling within 60 days of the filing of the last notices of opposition. The application may be approved, disapproved in whole or in part, or referred to the water court. The water court selects a hearing date for cases referred by the referee. The court also hears cases where the referee's ruling has been protested. The water court will confirm, modify, reverse, or reverse and remand the ruling of the referee in cases where the ruling has been protested. In cases where there has been no protest, the court may confirm and approve the applica- tion. In cases where there is no protest, no appellate review will be allowed, but applications that have been protested may be subject to appellate review. An overview of the water rights adjudication framework in Colorado is provided in Figure 1. STATE APPROPRIATION OF INSTREAM FLOWS Opportun ity In 1973, the Colorado Legislature passed, for the first time, a statute that directly provides for authority of the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to appropriate streamflows for preservation of the "natural environment to a reasonable degree" (CRS ~ 37-92-102). Colorado's minimum stream flow legislation is frequently called "Senate Bill 97" (1973 Colo. Sess. Laws Ch. 442). Background Under S.B. 97, the CWCB has made significant progress in appropriating water to remain instream. The following detailed discussion is, in essence, a 12