BOARD00356

• Board Meeting Date: 5/22/2000
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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CWCB Director Search: My contract expires on June 30, 2000 and I will not seek to .
have it renewed for several reasons. Greg Walcher and I are in agreement that Deputy Dan
McAuliffe can manage a very smooth transition with the support of our strong Senior Staff. Dan
is also comfortable with this plan. The Senior Executive Service position has been posted and
applications must be submitted to Department of Natural Resources, Human Resources Office,
1313 Sherman Street, Room 425, Denver, CO 80203, ATTN: Rick Worley, (ph) 303/866-4911
(fax) 303/866-2251. Deadline for applications is 5 :00 p.m., Mav 24.

CWCB Appointments: Following our last meeting, the Senate Agriculture Committee
scheduled confirmation hearings on April 6 with Bob Burr, Eric Wilkinson, and Keith Catlin. In
case you haven't already heard, their appointments were confirmed by unanimous vote of the
Colorado Senate on April 12.

Federal and Interstate Issues

Endangered Fish Funding Legislation: On May 25, Greg Walcher testified on our
behalf in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water & Power to
support Senator Allard's S-2239; this is the legislation we have urged for years to authorize the
Bureau of Reclamation to implement the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs on the Upper
Colorado River Basin and San Juan River Basin. S-2239 authorizes $46 million in federal funds
and the remaining $54 million would be generated from non-federal sources. A copy of Greg's
testimony can be found on the DNR's web page at htto:llwww.dnr.state.co.us/cdnr news.

Army Corps "Reform" on Hold: One of our frequent Federal partners in water
resource projects is under considerable scrutiny by both the Clinton administration and Congress.
As a result, managerial reforms recently armounced by Army Secretary Louis Caldera have been
deferred pending a "broader discussion" with members of Congress on the need for these
reforms." Senator Daschle (D-South Dakota) has introduced legislation to establish a
commission that would access the Corps's performance of its civil works functions and prepare
an investigative report to Congress within two years.

Behind this, there are several important currants. First appears to be a concern within the
Clinton administration that policy making and program implementation within the civil works
functions should be more accountable to the civilian employees (many appointed by the
President). The most notable areas of the administration concern include the calculation of
cost/benefit ratios and compliance with environmental requirements. There appears to be
evidence (although it is contested), for example, that the cost benefit analysis for an ambitious
navigation study of barge traffic and the proposed construction oflarge lock-and-dam projects in
the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers was manipulated to justify construction. The Corps is accused
of consistently over estimating the barge traffic that a lock-and-dam project would attract in
order to help justify elaborate river-taming efforts. To make matters still more interesting,
several environmental groups filed a 30 day Notice of Intent to sue the Department of the Army
alleging mismanagement of water resources, flood control projects and commercial navigation
(not to mention violation of the Endangered Species Act)!

The Corps, itself appears to be intensely divided in the investigation. There is no
question however, that General Joe Ballard, the agency's military commander, was overtly

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