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courts and the leg;islature. Once a court, or the legislature, finds that a use is a lbeneficial use, it <br />necessarily furthe,rs the State's objective of maximizing the use of Colorado's l.imited supply of <br />water. <br />Maximizing the use of the State's water supply is not an end in and of itself. Primarily, it <br />is an economic &-velopment policy. Water has been used to drive the economic engines of <br />mining, agriculture, power generation and municipal development. Now, howevex, in many <br />areas of the state„ these industries have been eclipsed by the rise of recreation=based tourism as <br />the dominant economic sector. RICDs stimulate the recreation economy and leave water in the <br />streams for use by other Colorado appropriatozs all the way to the State's bordlers. Just as courts <br />do not dictate the; size of a hydroelectric power plant or the capacity of a drinking water supply <br />reservoir, neither should the courts nor the CWCB dictate the type or intensity of recrea.tional <br />activities supported by an RICD. Rather, the proper limita.tions on the amount of water that may <br />be appropriated :For RICDs are found in the long-standing prohibitions againsi, waste and <br />speculation.4 Trte water court was correct in refusing to interpret S.B. 216 as an invita.tion to <br />interfere with fundamental economic development decisions. <br />C. S.B. 216 Did Not Change the Rmle of the Water Court and Did Not Give the CWCB <br />Veto Power. <br />1. S.B. 216 is not ambi ug ous. <br />Under well-established rules of statutory construction, this Court's tas,k is to ascertain and <br />to give effect to the intent of the General Assembly. See Signan v. Seafood :Ltd. P'ship I, 817 <br />P.2d 527, 530 ((:olo. 1991). "Where the statutory language is clear and certain, the sta.tute <br />4 It is possible tYat additionallimitations may be imposed on some RICDs by application of the <br />S.B. 216 factors, but the water court found that these factors did not unpose zLny limitations on <br />the Gunnison R[CD. <br />12