BOARD02058

• Board Meeting Date: 7/18/2005
• Description: Report of the Attorney General
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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3. Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes' Settlement, Case Nos. 7-W-1603-76F &
76J, 02-CW-85. & 02-CW-86.

These cases involve conforming the Tribes' water rights, settled through consent decrees
in 1991, to the final configuration of the Animas-La Plata Project, Case No. 01-54 is the
Southwestern District's diligence application for the water rights underlying the initial
configuration of the Project. The other cases are two applications to change the Tribes' use
from irrigation to municipal, and two applications to amend the 1991 consent decrees, The
state has filed pleadings in support of the applications, Citizens' Progressive Alliance is the
only active objector, The water judge has ruled on a number of legal motions, striking or
denying many of CPA's legal contentions, He recently denied motions for summary
judgment filed by both sides, setting the stage for discovery, Case management orders were
entered on June 17 and July 5, which set the time frames for discovery and exchange of
evidence in all five cases. In the diligence case: CPA has served broad requests for
production; the parties in support are filing an expert report on July 14; depositions will
occur in late-September through mid-October; and the diligence trial may begin after
October 15. In the other four cases: the settlement parties will file an expert report on
August I; depositions will occur in September and October; and trial may begin after
November IS,

4. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Reserved Ril!:hts Case. No. W-437,
Water Division 4.

The state water court case remains stayed, The Colorado Supreme Court issued its .
opinion on our petition for review of the water court's stay order on November 8, refusing to
lift the water court's stay, That means we will have to await resolution of the environmental
objectors' federal action before quantification can proceed in state water court,
In the federal action, all parties filed opening briefs for judicial review ofthe United
States' actions in May, and response briefs are to be filed July 15, All briefing should be
finished by the end of this summer.

5. Trout Unlimited v. Department of Al!riculture.

Briefing on our appeal to the Tenth Circuit has been delayed due to a series of requests
for extensions from the attorney for the United States, The federal brief is now due on July
19, Briefing won't be completed until October. The water users and we are filing a motion
to stay the federal district court's order invalidating the easement for Long Draw Reservoir
and remanding the matter to the Forest Service. The Forest Service has already issued a
scoping notice for its reconsideration of the reservoir's permit, and we want to avoid
needless cost during the appeal period.

6. Green Mountain ReservoirlHeenev landslide case.

On August 7,2003, the Colorado River Water Conservation District and several other
west-slope entities filed a petition against the Bureau of Reclamation in U.S. District Court
for Colorado to enforce the provisions of the Blue River Decree. The west slope petitioners .
are seeking changes of Bureau of Reclamation policy concerning the interrelationships of the .

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