BOARD01744

• Board Meeting Date: 4/18/1958
• Description: Minutes and Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

900

District and was held to be a legal and valid contract and
fully binding upon the Conejos Water Conservancy District
by the District Court in and for the County of Conejos,
Colorado, which said contract provided for the repayment
of the cost of the construction of Platoro Dam and Reser-
voir which was allocated to irrigation uses and the provi-
sions of the said contract provided for a five (5) year
development period, to convert its cropping system to one
making full use of a regulated water supply, so that repay-
ment ability would be commensurate with repayment require-
ments; and

WHEREAS, due to unprecedented drouth conditions and to
Colorado's position under the Rio Grande Compact, Platoro
Dam and Reservoir could not be used to store and regulate
water for irrigation use on District lands and since Colo-
rado has incurred a debit of approximately 500,000 acre-
feet under the provisions of the Rio Grande Compact, it may
be some time before the District can utilize Platoro Dam and
Reservoir for regulating the flow of water for irrigation
purposes on District lands, and

WHEREAS, during the Development Period the District has,
as evidence of good faith, continued to pay its share of the
operation and maintenance costs, at considerable sacrifice,
despite the fact that the facilities could not be used for
regulating and improving the irrigation water supply; and

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WHEREAS, under the Contract between the United States
and the Conejos Water Conservancy District, the year 1958 is
the last year of a five year development period and the obli-
gation for repayment of construction costs is due to begin in
1959 and such payments would be an extreme hardship on land
owners of the District;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Direc-
tors of the Conejos Water Conservancy District do hereby
respectively request the Congress of the United States, the
Secretary of the Interior, and the Bureau of Reclamation to
take such action as may be required to:

First: Extend the Development Period for an a~ditional
five (5) years.

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Second: Authorize a variable repayment formula for re-
payment of the reimbursable costs of Platoro Dam and Reser-
voir which will gear annual installments to the amount of
water which will be available for use, from the reservoir, OR