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<br />Streams Engineer, and asked for his participation and cooperation. Dan Merriman and I will <br />keep you informed as these investigations proceed. <br /> <br />South Platte River Basin <br /> <br />Special Water Committee: The General Assembly has named the members of the <br />interim Special Water Committee. House members include Rep. Diane Hoppe, who will chair <br />the committee, Rep. Al Gagliardi, Rep. Mark Paschall, Rep. Jack Taylor, and Rep. Brad Young. <br />Senators appointed to the committee include Sen. Doug Lamborn, who will serve as Vice-Chair, <br />Sen. John Evans, Sen. Ed Perlmutter, and Sen. Terry Phillips. Thus far, the Committee is <br />expected to hear an overview of Colorado water law from Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg <br />Hobbs, about South Platte River and Compact issues from Eric Wilkinson (Northern Colorado <br />Water Conservation District), about Denver Basin aquifer issues from State Engineer Hal <br />Simpson. Other general water topics are expected to be added to the agenda in August. A <br />hearing has been scheduled on September IS at lOam in room HCR 0112 in the State Capital <br />Building. For more information, contact David Beaujon or Allison Pasternak a~ 303-866-3521. <br /> <br />Cherry Creek Reservoir Technical Meeting: Based upon previous discussions <br />between the Board and the Corps and several discussions with legislators, we have intervened in <br />the evaluation of dam safety issues concerning this critical flood control facility. The Army <br />Corps of Engineers and the Board are hosting a technical discussion on July 21 in Aurora <br />regarding the National Weather Service's Probable Maximum Precipitation (pMP) study. That <br />study, you probably recall, has raised questions about whether Cherry Creek Dam and Reservoir <br />cari handle the Probable Maximum Flood (which would result from the PMP). As a result, the <br />Corps has been developing flood mitigation proposals to be analyzed in an Environmental <br />Impact Statement. The alternatives may include enlarging Cherry Creek Dam, making the <br />accuracy of the study very important. <br /> <br />Experts about weather studies from around the country will be attending the meeting to <br />review the data and assumptions used in the study. The technical meeting is not open to the <br />public, but the Corps has invited about 25 "observers," including the State Engineer and other <br />Colorado experts. Following the meeting on July 22, the Corps and the National Weather <br />Service will hold a widely publicized, open meeting to discuss the study recommendations and <br />the conclusions of the experts that were developed the previous day. We expect to analyze the <br />results of this technical discussion carefully and fmd out if new questions are raised at the public <br />meeting before determining whether we believe additional data or technical studies are required. . <br />We will not approve any use of the appropriated funds until0is determination is made. <br /> <br />Yampa and White River Basin <br /> <br />Yampa plan status: On July 9, we met with US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional <br />Director Ralph Morgenweck, DNR Executive Greg Walcher, Eric Kuhn and other <br />representatives of the Colorado River Water Conservation District to discuss a letter the District <br />had sent regarding the IS-Mile Reach Biological Opinion discussions and Endangered Species <br />Act concerns in other Colorado sub-basins of the Colorado River. It was agreed at this meeting <br />that a similar solution for the Yampa River should be proposed. <br /> <br />22 <br />