BOARD00725

• Board Meeting Date: 1/18/1973
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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Mr. Berthelson: j~. Chairman.

Mr. Stapleton: Yes, Mr. Berthelson.

Mr. Berthelson: May I ask a question? There are two key words in
this amendment on natural environment. What's your definition of
that? Is that the way things are today, or the way they should have
been forty years ago, or how are we going to interpret that?

Mr. Sparks: I think the natural environment is the way it was before
people messed it up.

Mr. Stapleton: These are not words that have been defined.

j~. Sparks: No.

Mr. Burr: Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question?

Mr. Stapleton: Yes, sir.

Mr. Burr: Does this take away any rights?

Mr. Sparks: No, this does not affect any rights that have ever been
granted in the state of Colorado, but it would place some limitation
on future changes in use and points of diversion.

j~. Burr: That is right, you are taking away rights.

l~. Sparks: No, a change in point of diversion is not a right granted
by the constitution. The only right under the constitution is for an
appropriation. That is not being diminished in any way. At least
I don't interpret the constitution that way. The courts may say other-
wise. They may say that it is a constitutional right.

~tr. Stapleton: Well, we had the drafter. Now, we will have our
attorney.

l~. Moses: The chairman is an attorney, the director is an attorney
and now I have to second guess both of them. I think the director
is absolutely right. Some time such a constitutional amendment will
be submitted to the voters and this board has to either make its
input or if it doesn't do that it will be faced with perhaps some
other kind of an amendment. I think it is a trend of the timeB and
personally I would like to see the streams maintained.

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