Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />." <br /> <br />Page 4 <br /> <br />another to acconnnodate lands that were practical to irrigate. <br />Fortunately, two federal reclamation projects that had been authorized by <br />Congress as part of the Upper Colorado River Basin storage Proj ect Act had <br />made allowances for Indian water. 'lhese projects - the Dolores which is under <br />construction, and the Animas-La Plata which has not begun construction, would <br />be the cornerstones from which a settleJrent agreement would be framed. <br />Through the efforts and leadership of the Attorney General, Duane Woodard, <br />and the gove=r, RichaJ:d Lamm, a meeting was held with the Tribal leaders to <br />discuss the possibility of a negotiated settlement. It was agreed that there <br />was potential for a settlement, <br />'lhe federal govermnent at this time was pressuring for a resolution of the <br />claims before construction of the Animas-La Plata Project and completion of <br />the Dolores Proj ect. 'lhe federal government also requested cost sharing for <br />the construction of the Animas-La Plata Project. <br />'lhe negotiation process began in March of 1985 with parties from several <br />entities present, 'lhey included the State of Colorado, the ute Mountain ute <br />Tribe, the Southern ute Tribe, U. S. Department of the Interior, State of New <br />Mexico, the communities of Durango, Mancos, and Cortez, water conservancy <br />districts, and private parties who had entered into the pending litigation. <br />'lhe state of Colorado took the position that it could not negotiate away <br />the vested property rights of water users which had been awcu:ded by the State <br />Court; that any settlement had to protect existing users or those users had to <br />agree to relinquishment of their rights, 'lhe test was non-injury, if <br />possible, to existing rights. 'lhe State also recognized the inequities that <br />the Tribes had suffered, particularly the lack of a potable water supply for <br />Towaoc, and the state was willing to help shoulder the bw:den to resolve some <br />of these issues, <br />'lhe Tribes wanted wet water and not paper water, i. e" water that could be <br /> <br />LEEO <br />