BOARD00137

• Board Meeting Date: 7/28/2003
• Description: Report of the Attorney General
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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discuss our last response. The Board members may wish to discuss litigation and settlement .
strategy on these cases with counsel in executive session.

3, Kansas v. Colorado, United States Supreme Court, No. 105, Original.

Post-trial briefing is complete and we continue to wait for the Special Master's final report
on 1997-99 compact compliance and future compliance.; After Special Master Littleworth issues
his report the states will file any exceptions to the report, and the U.S. Supreme Court,will
consider the case and most likely hear oral argument early in 2004. In the meantime the two
states have stipulated as to damages for 1995 and 1996 "-$ 236,664 in 2002 dollars, with
prejudgment interest running at 6% from January 1, 2003.

4. Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Keys, No. 99 CV 1320, US District Court, District of
NeW Mexico.

Colorado and several other states filed amicus curiae briefs to support the State of New
Mexico in the appeal of the federal district court's ruling ordering the Bureau of Reclamation to
maintain a 50 cfs flow from whatever source they could find. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
heard oral arguments on January 14. On June 12, 2003 the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a
ruling upholding the district court. The Court ruled t~at the Bureau of Reclamation has
discretion to reduce contract deliveries, inCluding d,eliveries brought into the basin by the
San Juan - Chama project, and ,to restrict diversions to meet its duties under the
Endangered Species Act. The State of New Mexico and other parties plan to file a Motion to
Reconsider this ruling and will ask for rehearing en, Mnc; We believe that the United States will ' .
also ask for rehearing. The State of Colorado will join an amicus brief with several other states
supporting the requests forrehearing en banco N,ew Mexico's congressiorialdelegation has ' '
proposed legislation that would effectively overrule the 10th Circuit decision and specifically
exempt San Juan - Chama water from being used for endangered species recovery. Negotiations
among the parties to the litigation also continue. '

5. Three Forks Ranch v. City of Cheyenne, WYOming State Engineer, and Wyoming
Water Development Commission, Civil Action No. 02-D-0398 (MJW) (D.C. Colo.)

Plaintiff Three Forks Ranch has filed their briefin their 10th Circuit appeal of the dismissal of
their lawsuit against Wyoming and Cheyenne: We are working with New Mexico and Utah, as
well as counsel for the Upper Colorado River CotIUl:\ission, to prepare an amicus brief supporting,
the district court's opinion. The Colorado River Water Conservation District has filed an amicus
brief asking for clarification of the district court' s or~er "so that it does not impair the existing
ability of entities, other than the signatory states, to litigate the meaning of an interstate compact
that is implicated in a suit brought to vindicate a vested property right."

6. Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes' Settlement, Case Nos. 7-W-1603-76F &
76J, 02-CW-85, & 02-CW-86. '

These cases involve conforming the decreed water rights to the final configuration of the
Animas-La Plata Project. The state has filed pleadi;ngs in support of the applications. Citizens'
Progressive Alliance is the only active objector. Cf A has filed a welter of motions and they
have been briefed. The court recently consolidatedi these cases with the diligence application for .