Memorandum Agenda Item 11c 11/16/1998

• Board Meeting Date: 11/16/1998
• Description: Agenda Item 11c November 23-34, 1998 Board Meeting Anticipated 1999 legislation
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
•
Department of Natural Resources
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721 Centennial Building
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1313 Sherman Street
Denver,Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone] MEMORANDUM
FAX: [phone] Roy Romer
Governor
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members James S.Lochhead
Executive Director,DNR
Daries C.Lile,P.E.
FROM: Peter Evans 34-1,. ./2,/,,t-r---/-
Director,CWCB
Peter H.Evans
Acting Director Acting Director,CWCB
DATE: November 16, 1998
RE: Agenda Item 11c,November 23-34, 1998 Board Meeting--
Anticipated 1999 Legislation—Office of Water Conservation
Over the last six months, I have sought out expressions of interest in renewing,
amending or discontinuing the CWCB efforts to implement water use efficiency and
water education activities in response to the Colorado Water Conservation Act of 1991
(H.B. 91-1154). In the process, I have found a great deal of support for continuing these
programs among leaders in both the environmental and water development communities
• and I have yet to encounter anyone that wants to alter the programs significantly or
discontinue them.
The two people who worked most intensely to organize and gain approval for the
1991 Act, Dick MacRavey and Jo Evans, feel strongly that the program should be
continued and urge support for legislation that would simply remove the sunset date (July
1, 1999). Both also support authorization of another increment of funding for the
demonstration grant component of these activities. However, the two of them had
different ideas about legislative sponsors and it is no longer clear whether we will see one
or more bills proposed on this topic. Dick MacRavey advises that State Representative
Dorothy Gotlieb and State Senator Ken Chlouber are interested in this legislation. Jo
Evans has been out of town recently, and I don't know whether she also has lined up
sponsors, but it is conceivable we will have more than one bill proposing this good work!
With respect to the demonstration grant opportunities, we previously used
$500,000 from the Construction Fund to support demonstration projects in the municipal
setting and another$500,000 for demonstration projects in the"ag/multi-purpose"
setting. Unless the bill sponsors have strong feelings in this regard, I think there is strong
support for these demonstration grants and recommend that the Board evaluate the
availability of additional Construction Fund moneys for this purpose after evaluating the
demand for other project funding.
xc: Dick MacRavey
• Jo Evans