Letter Concerning North Platte Depletions Meeting

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STATE OF COLORADO Colorado Water Conservation Board Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone: (303) 866-3441 FAX: (303) 866-4474 www.cwcb.state.co.us January 27, 2005 Bill Owens Governor Bob Burr Russell e g 18814 Hwy 125 ctor Executi eDi Walden, CO 80480 Rod Kuharich Dear Bob: CWCB Director Dan McAuliffe As you know, the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement Deputy Director provides a basin-wide cooperative program to implement recovery plans for the four target species (interior least tern, whooping crane, piping plover and pallid sturgeon) listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Recovery Program requires the States to provide money, land, and water, and to use these resources to improve and maintain the habitats of the affected species. In addition, the Program focuses on identifying past and future depletions and providing mechanisms for the replacement of future depletions associated with new water activities for each State. Future depletions are primarily broken down into new agricultural water use and new municipal and industrial uses. Colorado's water plan originally identified 134,468 acres of land that had been irrigated in Jackson County. The water users of Jackson County made a significant and important concession by agreeing that depletions associated with the irrigation of 134,468 acres would constitute existing uses and that any increase beyond 134,468 up to the 145,000 acres, permitted by the Nebraska v. Wyoming decree, would be considered a new agricultural depletion. In addition, Colorado's water plan identified that new municipal and industrial uses associated with population growth in Jackson County over the population baseline would constitute new water activities. Colorado originally proposed to address new water activities in the North Platte basin by re- regulating flows at the Tamarack facility in the South Platte basin. Nebraska, Wyoming, and the Federal government have raised some questions related to our current depletion plan for the North Platte. First, they have suggested that the amount of acreage that we used in calculating past depletions associated with irrigation in the North Platte Basin should be based on an average of a number of years instead of the year of maximum use. Second, they have suggested that we may have some problems in re-regulating flows from the South Platte River to cover depletions associated with new water activities on the North Platte River. The State negotiating team would like to explore some of the options that may be available for use in a North Platte future depletion plan, but ultimately the water users will decide what goes into the plan to cover new water related activities. I understand that you will be meeting with your water users on February 3, 2005. Rick Brown and I are willing to come to the meeting to discuss some of the options further, and determine a course of action. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Ted Kowalski Colorado Water Conservation Board Flood Protection • Water Supply Planning and Finance • Stream and Lake Protection Water Supply Protection • Conservation and Drought Planning