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proceeding so th,at local govemment decision-making is respected and the couit's role as final <br />arbiter of water iights is protected. <br />The power of Colorado water law lies in its ability to recognize new and economically <br />beneficial uses of water and to accommodate changing conditions. Colorado Nvater law has <br />evolved to accor,nmodate in-channel recreation as a beneficial use, and S.B. 216 reflects the <br />evolution of the prior appropriation system. S.B. 216 does not create a new w,ater right or an <br />exception to the diversion requirement. The Legislature, by adoption of S.B. 216, was merely <br />trying to integral:e recreational in-channel rights into the e}usting prior appropiiation system, and <br />has defined the general purpose for which water must be appropriated in order• to qualify as a <br />recreational in-c hannel diversion ("RICD"). The water court is bound by this definition. Neither <br />the CWCB nor the water court should second-guess the intent of the appropriator. The amount <br />of water requireoi for an RICD and how and when it will be used turn on the purpose of the <br />appropriation. 71ie proper limita.tions on the amount of water that may be appropriated for <br />RICDs are founii in the long-standing prohibitions against waste and speculatiion. Additionally, <br />RICDs further tlie policy of maximum utilization by stimulating the recreational economy and <br />leaving water in the streams for use by other Colorado appropriators. <br />S.B. 216 did not change the role of the water court and did not give the CWCB veto <br />power. S.B. 216 creates an advisory role for the CWCB by requiring the CWCB to make <br />recommendatioiis to the water court on an RICD application, based upon findings of fact that aze <br />presumptive and subject to rebuttal. Further, S.B. 216 establishes criteria that: both the CWCB <br />and the water court must apply to evaluate an RICD application. S.B. 216 is :not ambiguous, and <br />does not require this Court to look at the legislative history in order to understandl its meaning. <br />2