Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />received from such improvements. The analysis of those <br />benefits really falls into the broader context of the issues <br />grouped under the heading of "Recognition of Values Impacted by <br />Water Diversions." In view of the limited resources available <br />to accomplish this study. the Board recommends that study of <br />pOlicy issues concerning improvements in efficiency of use be <br />deferred until the broader issues concerning "Recognition of <br />Values Impacted by Water Diversions" are analyzed. <br /> <br />Water Riqhts Determination and Administration <br /> <br />Make court system more responsive <br /> <br />Create a system whereby the rules will not continue to change <br />and development investments will be protected <br /> <br />Water quality issues addressed by the water court <br /> <br />Public interest values considered by water court <br /> <br />Protection of conditional decrees <br /> <br />*Diligence requirements for the continuation of conditional <br />water rights decrees <br /> <br />*Efficacy and validity of water right uses. changes in uses, <br />. and decrees for water rights decreed prior to 1969 <br /> <br />*Presumptive effect of long-term state administration of water <br />rights <br /> <br />The Board offers three observations about this category of <br />issues. First, section 4 of chapter 32. Session Laws of <br />Colorado 1987. authorized a $250.000 study of Colorado's water <br />rights adjudication system as compared to the systems employed <br />in other western states, with the Board to proceed with that <br />study only upon the approval of Legislative Council. Some of <br />the issues under this category would have been addressed by <br />that study. Since Legislative Council elected not to proceed <br />with the study, the Board assumes that these issues are not a <br />high priority item for the General Assembly. <br /> <br />Second, the question of whether water quality effects and <br />"public interest" values should be considered by the water <br />court are issues which also fall under the category of <br />"Recognition of Values Impacted by Water Diversions." <br />Therefore. those two issues would be encompassed in the broader <br />analysis proposed by the Board. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Third. the remaining issues under this category are very <br />specific issues concerning water rights administration. <br />Important though they may be, they do not raise broad policy <br />issues of the nature which it seems most appropriate to address <br />in the context of HJR 1001. The Board believes that it would <br /> <br />-3- <br />