BOARD02099

• Board Meeting Date: 5/20/2002
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

EP A Limits Ruling Requiring Permits For Aquatic Herbicide Use: The EP A has released guidance
concluding that the application of herbicides to irrigation canals does not require Clean Water Act permits,
EP A issued the guidance memo on Mar. 29 to all regional administrators, The memo argues that the
application of herbicides to irrigation canals does not fall under the Clean Water Act's effiuent discharge
permit program because amendments specifically exempted "irrigation retum flow" from the law's
jurisdiction, EP A also asserts that irrigators who use the herbicide in accordance with the label instructions in
order to "ensure the passage of irrigation return flows" do not need to apply for discharge permits because
such activity is not a "point source" discharge, and therefore not subject to the Clean Water Act. The memo
specifically says that the guidance does affect point source discharges into irrigation canals that are
considered "water[ s] ofthe United States," which could still leave irrigation districts vulnerable to
enforcement cases or environmentalists filing citizen suits,

Meanwhile, environmentalists in Oregon have threatened to sue three irrigation districts under the citizen suit
provisions of the Clean Water Act unless the districts apply for discharge permits before using herbicides,
They sent the districts 60-day notices of intent to sue last month, but the lawsuit will likely take on greater
importance as a challenge to the agency's newly released guidance,

At issue is a March 2001 ruling by the U.S, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Headwaters, Inc, v,
Talent Irrigation District, requiring that herbicide sprayers obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit under the Clean Water Act before applying a common weed-and algae control
chemical to irrigation waterways, In May 2001, the agency issued a memo to regional administrators
declaring that forcing irrigators to obtain permits would be a "low enforcement priority," in a move that gave
water users temporary relief from federal enforcement, but still left them vulnerable to citizen enforcement
suits,

"Most Endangered Rivers" Announced: The environmental group American Rivers has released its
annual "Most Endangered Rivers" list. No Colorado rivers are on the list, A summary of this year's listed
rivers can be found at vV\\T<..\r.atnerical1rivers.org/n1ostendangered2002/index.htr01.

Statewide Issues

Map Modernization Plan: On April 17 we received a letter from the FEMA Region VIII Director
confirming there will be a substantial increase FEMA's flood-mapping budget in Fiscal Year 2003, The
letter solicited an application for a $50,000 grant to prepare a Colorado Map Modernization Implementation
Plan (MMIP), The plan must be submitted by Sept, 15 and would become part of a national MMIP that
would guide the expenditure of the mapping funds, The President's 2003 budget proposes $351 million -- a
$300 million increase, The agency's Fiscal Year 2004 and 2005 budgets indicate the high level of funding
will continue,

We responded to the solicitation and are working to select a consultant to assist with the preparation of the
MMIP if funds are provided, A central component of the process will be a series of meetings with local
officials to identifY flood insurance and mapping needs, After the meetings we will prepare a prioritized list
of mapping needs for communities throughout Colorado (a total of 333 counties, cities, and towns), That list
will include specific numbers of stream miles for each community and dollar estimates of the cost to map
those stream miles, The list will form the basis of the MMIP for Colorado,

If the President's proposal is approved by Congress, the CWCB expects that funds in the range of $3 million
to $5 million per year could become available about January 1,2003,

Statewide Drainage and Floodplain Management Criteria Manual - WRC Engineering has submitted the
initial draft version of the Statewide Drainage and Floodplain Management Criteria Manual for all chapters
included Phase I. We have also nearly completed our review ofthe draft and will forward our comments to

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