BOARD01020

• Board Meeting Date: 9/21/1998
• Description: Rio Grande Basin Issues - Legislative Council Meeting on Initiatives
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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PAYMENTS BY CONSERV A nON DISTRICT TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FUND AND
SCHOOL DISTRICTS

1 The proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution:

2 ,/ requires the Rio Grande Water Conservation District to pay $40 per acre-foot for water that
3 the district owns andpumps from beneath state trust land in the San Luis Valley;

4 ,/ requires that the $40 be divided as follows: $30 to the state's Public School Fund and $10
5 to school districts in the San Luis Valley;

6 ,/ requires payment for water that has been pumped from beneath state trust lands since 1987;

7 ,/ requires only members of the district that use water from the Rio Grande River to pay the fee;

8 ,/ requires that delinquent payments be assessed an 18 percent annual interest rate; and

9 ,/ prohibits the Colorado General Assemblyfrom considering these payments when determining
10 the state's aid to public schools in the San Luis Valley.

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Background

State trust lands and money fo,. public schools. State trust lands are public lands that
primarily generate revenue for public schools. This proposal requires that $30 of the payment for
water pumped from beneath state trust lands in the San Luis Valley of south central Colorado be
deposited in the Public School Fund, a state fund that earns interest for distribution to public schools
statewide. Under current law, the state trust cannot collect money for use of the water beneath its
lands in the San Luis Valley because the trust does not own the water. The trust does not own the
water because it never developed the water for irrigation, mining, municipal, or other purposes as .
required by law.

Rio G,.ande Water Conservation District and wate,. in the San Luis Valley. This proposal
requires the Rio Grande Water Conservation District to pay a fee to use water that is pumped from
beneath state trust lands in the San Luis Valley. The district is a local government entity that oversees
the use of the Rio Grande River by funding water conservation efforts and improvements of drainage
and irrigation projects, protecting water rights in court, and conducting water resources studies. The
district obtained a right to use water from beneath state trust lands when it developed the water with
the assistance of the federal government. The water beneath state trust lands is being pumped by the
federal government to help Colorado meet its legal obligations to deliver water to New Mexico and
Texas, and to supply two national wildlife areas. The water pumped by the federal government also
benefits some irrigators in the San Luis Valley.

July 29.1998

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