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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Colorado Water Trust Water Right Donation Peabody #1 Ditch and Lund Enlargement Boulder Creek and the Blue River Summit County September 2004 Background In 1973, the Colorado Legislature recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of the natural environment" and created Colorado's Stream and Lake Protection Program (Section 37-92-102 (3) C.R.S.). The statutes vest the Board with the exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire instream flow and natural lake level water rights, and provide that water, water rights or interests in water acquired by the Board may be used to preserve or improve the natural environment. At the request of any person or entity, the Board must consider the proposed acquisition and determine, in a timely manner, what terms and conditions it will accept in an acquisition contract. The statutes require that the Board make its determination within 120 days, unless further time is granted by the requesting person or entity. The Colorado Water Trust is a private, non-profit organization that works within the framework of Colorado water law to acquire, or assist others in acquiring water for conservation benefits. Staff first began working with the Water Trust on this proposed acquisition in early 2003. The owners of the subject water rights had contacted a few individuals and groups in an effort to sell their rights. The Water Trust and CWCB staff both expressed an interest in the rights due to the potential benefit to the Blue River, which is a Gold Medal fishery. During the summer of 2003, staff conducted preliminary investigations to determine the viability of the proposed acquisition to preserve or improve the natural environment. Although the Water Trust had not yet submitted a formal request for consiperation to the Board, CWCB staff and the Water Trust believed that preliminary investigations could minimize costs, and potentially avoid the need for extensions of time once the Board procedure was initiated. As part of the preliminary investigation, Staff reviewed available diversion records, an engineering report prepared for the owners, and data for existing instream flow water rights on Boulder Creek and the Blue River. Staff also met with the Water Commissioner to discuss historic use of the rights, and discussed water administration issues with both the Water Commissioner and the Division 5 Engineer. In November 2003, staff concluded its preliminary investigations, and discussed the Water Trust's purchase of the water rights with the Board. The discussion was held in Executive Session to protect the owner's bargaining position should the transaction not go forward. The Board's direction to staff was to continue working with the Water Trust to develop the purchase proposal. In March 2004, the Water Trust finalized an option agreement to purchase the water rights, and began working with CWCB staff to develop a proposed acquisition agreement for the Board's consideration. In early May, the Colorado Water Trust Board finalized the terms of the proposed acquisition agreement and submitted the agreement and a formal request to the CWCB for consideration. The Board considered the Water Trust's request at its May 2004 Board meeting, initiating the 120-day time period defined by statute for Board review. Pursuant to the Instream Flow (ISF) Rules, staff mailed notice of the proposed acquisition to all persons on the appropriate ISF Subscription Mailing Lists. Pursuant to statute, Staff also requested recommendations from the Division of Wildlife, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Interior. Following the May Board meeting, Staff also contacted each ditch owner within the acquisition reach to provide notice of the proposed action.