BOARD01764

• Board Meeting Date: 2/16/1960
• Description: Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

MR. SPARKS:

"Not by legislation, Mr. Burr. That has to
be done under our state law and by our state
courts. There's nothing in here that deals with
water rights."

MR. BURR:

"There's nothing in here that takes up any
working principles at all. We are passing this
and giving a green light to, you might say, the
Fish and Game so they can go ahead and do this
work and what they do we don't know what they
are going to do with it."

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MR. SPARKS:

"They would have to go into our state courts.
They first have to purchase the water rights if
somebody is willing to sell them. Secondly,
they have to go into our state court under our
state law and convert that into a storage right."

rilR . ..BURR :
MR. SPARKS:

"That's right."

"The Federal Government has nothing to do
with that. All we are doing here is authorizing
the Corps of Engineers, at it's discretion, to
utilize a portion of John Martin Reservoir for
recreation purposes. That's all we are doing
here."

MR. BURR:

"We're authorizing anybody, such as the Fish
and Game or any other commission, to go ahead
and purchase water rights and we'll go ahead with
any deal that they come up with."

MR. SPARKS:
MR. BURR:

"No, I don't see it that way."

"We are practically through with this when
we authorize this bill. I think we shou~d know
something about the working end of this."

MR. SPARKS:

"I'm one of the Compact Commissioners from
Colorado and under the Compact the law states
that four of the Commissioners must be irrigators.
The other two are myself and the State Engineer
for the State of Kansas. This can't be accom-
plished without the consent - and unanimous con-
sent - of the Compact Administration."

MR. BURR:

"ivell, the Compact, reads that they get a cer-
tain amount of water and they are going to get
that regardless. I'feel that it wouldn't effect
them but it will effect some rights of the people
in the State of Colorado."

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