BOARD00220

• Board Meeting Date: 9/22/2003
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Section 309 Study jIpdate

. Draft Section 309 Study report will be circulated by September 25th. A 30-day comment period will follow
and the draft report will be discussed at the October 309 meeting. .
. Final opportunity to provide input to the report will :be in the October 309 meeting as well as at the
WQCC's October Basic Standards Issues Scoping lIearing.
. So far, most comments have been to adopt refined ~esignated uses including adopting more aquatic life
uses. Also there are some proposals to slightly modifying the recreational use standards.
. Some comments have been given on the net environmental benefit concept; however, there are
divergent perspectives on this issue within the advisory group.
. No changes to current statutory or regulatory provisions for constructed conveyances.
. Final Report will be provided to the legislature by December 1, 2003. The report will contain
recommendations.

Draft MOA Addendum regarding substitutions and exchanges

. A draft MOA Addendum between the SEO and WQCD was circulated regarding the agencies' cooperation in
substitutions and exchanges.
. SEO and WCQD will finalize the Addendum this fall.

Updates

. CWCB:
. At its September meeting, the CWCB will consider providing a grant to the San Juan Water Conservancy
District (SJWCD) for $80,000 from the Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund account. The grant will be used to
complete Phase II of the Lower Rio Blanco Restoration and' Stream Habitat Enhancement Project.
. The Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund (aIkIa Fish & Wildlife Mitigation Account) was established by .
the Legislature in 1987 with a base of $5 million to :help mitigate the impacts of existing water
facilities. The statute was amended in 2002 to recognize the role instream flows play in mitigating
impacts, and authorized the CWCB as well as sponeors of existing facilities to use these funds.
. fu September 12, 2002, the CWCB adopted a policy that would allow the Board to recommend funding
for various projects including for "any instream flow acquisition, river restoration construction project,
or study that it determines would mitigate the effects of an existing water supply facility and furthers
the purposes of the Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund."
. SEO:
. Approximately two weeks ago, certain upstream water diversions in the La Plata River Basin affected the fish
that prompted DOW to move the fish to a hatchery in Alambsa.
. SEO requested that the DOW provide maps, identifying stream reaches of special concern to prevent future
oversights. (The SEO, WQCD, and DOW have signed an ~OA to cooperate with each other in these matters.)
. DOA:
. The DOA has expanded its ground water monitoring program as a result ofEP A funding to drill monitoring
wells. The existing ongoing monitoring will continue with funding under the SB-126 program that collects fees
from pesticide registrations and a fee assessed on fertilizers;
. WQCC:
. ' The WQCC is holding a hearing on September 9 to adopt iii new methodology for listing the 303 (d) streams
(list of impaired waters that require TMDLs) for the 2004li~ting cycle.
. The WQCC will have an informational hearing for the Basic Standards and Methodologies for Surface Water
in October. The rulemaking hearing will take place in July 2005.
. WQCD:
. Most issues are discussed above.
.D~: .