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Revised Opposition to the Prehearing Statement <br />of the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />By way of the Stipulation and resulting Decree, the CWCB and the District agreed that <br />the permitting process was the appropriate time for the District to submit an inundation request. <br />The timing of the District's request is material because it is relevant to the amount of information <br />regarding operation of the Reservoir available to District and the CWCB, including terms and <br />conditions imposed by other permitting agencies, operating criteria, and the timing of <br />construction. That the CWCB requested a term in the Stipulation and Decree regarding the <br />timing of the District's inundation request illustrates the importance to the CWCB of obtaining <br />information about other permit terms and conditions prior to addressing the request. <br />Furthermore, it is not clear at this stage whether the District will successfully obtain all necessary <br />permits to construct the Reservoir. <br />C The CWCB may not consider the District's inundation request until the District <br />has outlined their storage plans in a water court application orfiledplans and <br />specificationsfor ajurisdictional dam with the State Engineer, pursuant to CR.S. <br />§ 37-87-105. <br />ISF Program Rule 7c states that "no requests for inundation will be considered or <br />approved until the Person seeking permission to inundate files a water court application outlining <br />their storage plans or files plans and specifications with the State Engineer for a jurisdictional <br />dam pursuant to §37-87-105, C.R.S." The District filed a water court application and obtained a <br />decree approving the storage of water in Morrison Creek Reservoir in Case No. 07CW61. That <br />application and decree do not, however, outline the District's storage plans to a sufficient degree <br />to satisfy Rule 7c. The District must, therefore, file plans and specifications for a jurisdictional <br />dam with the State Engineer before the CWCB can consider its inundation request, which the <br />District admitted at the prehearing conference it has not yet done. <br />Storage plan information must be provided by the filing of plans and specifications with <br />the State Engineer to satisfy Rule 7c. The information may not merely be submitted within the <br />inundation request, as the District has attempted, because the applicant is not necessarily bound <br />to those plans. The ISF Program Rules specifically requires either a water court application <br />stating the storage plans or a filing of plans and specifications with the State Engineer. By such <br />means, the CWCB is assured that the applicant is committed to the described plans. The District <br />may not circumvent this explicit requirement of Rule 7c. <br />The stipulation between the CWCB and the District and resulting decree in Case No. <br />07CW61, further supports that the District must file plans with the State Engineer prior to <br />submitting an inundation request. The stipulation states that "[t]he extent of... inundation of <br />the CWCB's instrearn flow right as it relates to the proposed Morrison Creek Reservoir is not <br />known with precision at this time." (emphasis added). This language explicitly acknowledges <br />that the application and decree do not contain sufficient information regarding the proposed <br />Reservoir-to establish the extent of inundation of the Silver Creek ISF. Instead, per the <br />stipulation and decree, the District is to obtain other necessary permits — including those required <br />by the State Engineer — before filing its inundation request. The CWCB simply does not have <br />sufficient information at this time to adequately consider the District's request. <br />