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<br />state requirements. The board's loan for any project <br />specified in subsection (1) of this section shall not exceed <br />fifty percent of the total cost of constructing a project, <br />except for the Rio Grande Ditches and Drains project for which <br />the board's loan may be for up to one hundred percent of that <br />project's total cost. <br /> <br />(3) Contracts entered into by the Colorado water <br />conservation board pursuant to section 37-60-119 (2), Colorado <br />Revised Statutes, for loans to enable the construction of the <br />projects specified in subsection (1) of this section shall be <br />subject to the repayment periods and total repayrrientsset <br />forth in subsection (1) of this section; except that total <br />repayments shall be adjusted to reflect any changes in the <br />amount loaned by reason of subsection (2) of this section. <br /> <br />(4) In addition to the authorizations provided for in <br />subsection (1) of this section, the board is authorized to <br />loan and grant to the Conejos water conservancy district the <br />total amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for <br />the district's purchase from the United States of the existing <br />Platoro reservoir project. Notwithstanding the provisions of <br />section 37-60-121 (1) (b) (IV), Colorado Revised Statutes, one <br />hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of the board's cost for <br />the existing Platoro reservoir project shall be <br />nonreimbursable in recognition of the ~fact that the state <br />shall receive the right from the district/,o use a portion of <br />the said reservoir's storage capacity for the purposes of <br />meeting Colorado's obligations under the Rio Grande compact, <br />as such compact is set forth in section 37-66-101, Colorado <br />Revised Statutes, and maximizing the use of compact-allocated <br />waters in Colorado. The board shall not expend any moneys on <br />the Platoro reservoir project until the state engineer <br />certifies to the board that an operating agreement <br />satisfactory to him for the state's use of the reservoir for <br />compact purposes has been agreed upon. Said operating <br />agreement shall be incorporated in the contract between the <br />board and the district. The exception set forth in this <br />subsection (4) to section 37-60-121 (1) (b) (IV), Colorado <br />Revised Statutes, is necessitated by the terms of the Rio <br />Grande compact as ratified by the general assembly 'on behalf <br />of the citizens of the state of Colorado. It is the intention <br />of the general assembly that the state's funding of the <br />acquisition of Platoro reservoir cannot be a factor in the <br />administration of the Rio Grande compact and the state's <br />financial interest shall not influence decisions concerning <br />that administration. Such funding shall not justify or_ <br />otherwise validate any limitation on Colorado's full use of <br />its interstate, entitlement to the use of water under the Rio <br />Grande compact, including particularly, but not by way of <br />limitation, Colorado's ability to take advantage of the <br />100,000 acre-foot allowable debit under Article VI of the Rio <br /> <br />PAGE 3-SENATE BILL NO. 15 <br /> <br />- <br />