Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement & Water Action Plan

• File Number: 8561.550
• Description: Water Advisory Committee & Water Advisory Planning
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Author: Kent Holsinger, Rick Brown, Randy Seaholm
• Title: Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement & Water Action Plan
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Correspondence

MEMORANDUM
To: Colorado Water Conservation Board
From: Rick Browni, Platte River Coordinator, Interstate Streams Investigation
Randy Seaholm, Chief, Interstate Streams Investigation
Date: March 13, 2,000
Subject: Agenda Ite,m 22.d. (2), March 20-21, 2000 Board Meeting. Platte River
Endangereid Species Cooperative Agreement. Status of Cooperative
Agreement and Negotiation of a Long-Term Agreement
1. Introduction
In 1997 the Governors of the states of Colarado, Nebraska and Wyoming signed an agreement
with the Department of Interior to improve andlor study the habitat of four endangered species in
the Central Platte River in Nebraska. The proposed program has three components: water, land,
and monitoring and research. This memorandum will highlight the status of the negotiations and
summarize some of the key activities of several of the Cooperative Agreement (CA) Committees.
II. Status of Negotiations
The CA for the Platte River :Endangered Species effort provided three years, beginning in July
1997 and ending in July 20010, to develop a proposed program. If a proposed program is agreed
to it will be evaluated as the Proposed Alternative under the National Environmental Policy Act
and the Endangered Species Act. The evaluation is to determine if the proposed program can
serve as a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative to offset the effects of existing and new water
related activities in the Platte: River Basin. The CA allows for a six month extension and based
on the status of negotiations, especially in regard to the Water Action Plan, it was agreed that the
term of the CA will be extended to December 2000.
There are several critical issiies that need to be resolved before negotiations for a long-term
Agreement can begin. First and foremost the proposed program will need to be selected as the
Preferred Alternative. If it is not selected as the Preferred Alternative the three states and the
Department of Interior can enter into negotiations to see if we are willing to modify our proposed
program. In short, assuming negotiations continue to go well for Colorado, and the outcome of
the National Environmental ]?olicy Act evaluation process is acceptable, negotiations of a long-
term agreement could begin as early as January 2001.