BOARD02010

• Board Meeting Date: 9/24/2001
• Description: Snowmass Water and Sanitation District 404 Permit
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

Q

Bill Owens
G9vemor

MEMORANDUM

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director

To:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Rod Kuharich
ewes Director

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From:

Rod Kuharich
Dan Merriman

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

Date: September 14, 2001

Re: Added Agenda Item 24 - Snowmass Water and Sanitation District 404 Permit

Background

The Corps of Engineers (COE) is currently considering a petition (see Attachment A) for reexamination
and modification of a 404 Permit issued to the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District (SWSD) in
1979. The permit was for the construction of a diversion dam on Snowmass Creek to supply municipal
water to the Town of Snowmass Village. The petition to re-open the permit was submitted by the
Snowmass-Capitol Creek Caucus, American Rivers, Sierra Club, Ferdinand Hayden Chapter of Trout
Unlimited, Aspen Wilderness Workshop, Roaring Fork Chapter of the Audubon Society, Windstar Land
Conservancy, and High Country Citizens Alliance (petitioners). The Petitioners requested the COE
modifY the permit to include a condition making all diversions from the authorized diversion dam
subject to a stair-step bypass from October 16 to March 31 of each year, The amounts of the stair-step
bypass would mimic the decreed instream flow water right held by the Colorado Water Conservation
Board (CWCB). The CWCB instream flow water right is junior to the SWSD's municipal water right.

On August 13, 2001, the COE met with CWCB staff, representatives from the SWSD, and a
representative from the Petitioners to discuss the petition to re-open and modifY the SWSD's 404 Permit.
At this meeting the COE indicated that this is the first time they have considered re-opening a 404
Permit on the petition of a third party to impose bypass flows for environmental pmposes. They further
stated that as a result of this process they would be determining the adequacy of the State's instream
flow water right on Snowmass Creek. The COE also indicated that the decision to re-open the permit
was being based on a "white paper" analysis out of the COE's Grand Junction office (see Attachment B).
At the time of the meeting the "white paper" had not been circulated to anyone outside the COE. The
CWCB Director requested that the COE provide this paper to the State for review, The COE indicated
that after further in-house review, review by their attorneys, and removal of the conclusions that they
would make it available to the public,