CWCB Construction Fund and Severance Tax Trust Fund Annual Report 1999

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I 2.8 Litigation Account Section 37-60-121 (2.5) (a), CRS, created the Litigation Account in the Construction Fund. Under certain conditions, the Board is authorized to expend up to $4.0 million from the Litigation Account for litigation in support of water users whose water supply yield may be diminished as a result of conditions imposed by any federal agency on permits for existing reservoirs located on federal lands. No lawsuits have yet been determined to meet the criteria. The Litigation Account is not to be confused with the Reserved Rights Litigation Fund created in the State Treasury by the General Assembly in 1982 through SB 82-087. Authority for that fund is found in the statutes at Section 37-60-121.1, CRS. Any interest earned by the Litigation Account is credited equally between the Construction Fund and the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. Pursuant to SB 99- I 173, the State Treasurer was directed to transfer $1,000,000 from the Litigation Account to the Capital Account of the Species Conservation Trust Fund. The balance of the Litigation Account was $3,000,000 on June 30, 1999. 2.9 Colorado River Recovery Program Loan Account Section 11 of HB98-1189 created in the State Treasury as part of the CWCB Construction Fund, the Colorado River Recovery Program Loan Account. The purpose of the account is to make loans to the Colorado River and San Juan River Recovery Programs for construction or improvement of certain water related projects in Colorado under agreements with power users of the federal Colorado River Storage Project(CRSP) required to recover the four endangered fish species of the upper Colorado River, including the San Juan River. Loans from the account must be approved by the General Assembly in accordance with Section 37-60-122(1)(b), CRS. The Board shall determine the interest rate and repayment period for each loan. Interest earned in the account is credited to the Construction Fund. The State Treasurer was directed to transfer $2,000,000 from unreserved funds in the Construction Fund into the account. Furthermore, pursuant to Section 18 of SB 99-173, the State Treasurer was directed to transfer an additional $5,000,000 from unreserved funds in the Construction Fund into the account. Due to a conflicting interpretation of SB 99-173 (Section 18) by the Department of Natural Resources Controller, the funds were not transferred from the Construction Fund unreserved cash into the account. The FY 2000 Construction Fund Bill will reconcile this conflict by clarifying the SB 99-173 Section 18 language. The unavailability of account funds caused by this conflict has not adversely effected the users of this loan account. 2.10 Transfer to the Species Conservation Trust Fund Pursuant to HB 98-1006, the State Treasurer was directed to transfer $1,500,000 from unreserved cash in the CWCB Construction Fund to the newly created Species Conservation Trust Fund. Furthermore, pursuant to SB 99-173, the State Treasurer was _ CWCB FY99 Annual Report,page 15