Laserfiche WebLink
<br />-2- <br /> <br />Ongoing Information Gathering by Staff <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The CWCB staff has begun investigations into existing regional initiatives for federal funding. A series of questions <br />about these existing initiatives has been developed, in an attempt to provide the Board with sufficient background <br />information about these efforts in other geographic regions of the country: <br /> <br />. What was the legislative history of the creation of these regional initiatives? <br />. How much funding has historically been provided for these initiatives? <br />. What is the nature of signed agreements among the participating states (and other parties) in these regional <br />initiatives? <br />. How are the states and the regional entities that implement these initiatives governed within the context of the <br />initiatives? (i.e. what is in the charters or other documents enabling the initiatives) <br />. What are the cost-sharing arrangements among the various partners to the regional initiatives? <br />. What impact would comparative population (i.e. Congressional injluence) and scarcity vs. availability of water <br />(i.e. arid West vs. humid East or Midwest) have in making these other states suitable models for a regional <br />initiative in the Rocky Mountains, where population is small and water is scarce? <br /> <br />After researching the above questions, the staff will provide the Board with a recommendation about the suitability of <br />these other regional initiatives as models for an initiative in the Rocky Mountains. <br /> <br />The staff will examine currently available federal funding sources for supporting watershed restoration activities and <br />provide the Board with a summary of these funding sources. <br /> <br />The staff will provide the Board with a list of the watershed restoration issues and problems in Colorado that would be <br />addressed by a federally funded regional initiative (i.e. restoration to address historic mining activities, urbanization <br />impacts, alterations to historic hydrologic regimes, increasedjlood risks), with specific watersheds and communities <br />experiencing these issues and problems. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Proposed Board Action <br /> <br />Staff requests that the Board review the list of current and proposed staff activities to determine whether the staff is <br />developing the most appropriate information to guide the Board. The staff has also investigated preliminarily the <br />preparation, at the Board's direction, of a proposed Board resolution for consideration by the Board members at the <br />November 2004 Board meeting. The specific actions that could be contained in a proposed resolution fall into two <br />categories: <br /> <br />. The Board recognizes: <br />1. The importance of broad-based watershed stakeholder groups; <br />2. The fact that the most appropriate solutions will come from locally support projects; and <br />3. The need for a federally funded regional initiative. <br />. The Board endorses the creation of a regional federal funding initiative. <br /> <br />Staff plans to present a Board resolution at the November 2004 Board meeting. <br /> <br />Staff Solicitation <br /> <br />The staff solicits a Board review of the ongoing information gathering activities by the staff, as described in this <br />memorandum. The staff also welcomes specific guidance that the Board can provide to the staff regarding the . <br />proposed federally funded regional initiative for the Rocky Mountain Headwaters states. <br /> <br />Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection <br />Water Supply Protection. Conservation Planning <br />