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<br />similar projects; political pressures on local decisionmakers; and competing local <br />priorities.68 He further contends that the effect of Eagle County's permit denial is to <br />regulate the exercise of a water right, a function reserved to the courts and the state <br />engineer.69 (A court decision is pending as to whether the county's permit denial <br />constitutes a taking of property without just compensation.) <br /> <br />Like University of New Mexico Law Professor Charles DuMars, Eagle County's <br />attorney Barbara Green does not think that public interest considerations can be addressed <br />appropriately in the water courts. She also supports the development of regional water <br />planning processes that would identify values attributable to water within the basin. <br />Negotiated settlements in lieu of adversarial proceedings are one component of such a <br />policy option. Green contends that the Homestake project could have been sited if <br />negotiations had occurred upfront between Aurora and Eagle County. <br /> <br />33 <br />