BOARD02178

• Board Meeting Date: 5/22/2000
• Description: Platte River Basin Issues - Platte River Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement - Water Action Plan Committee Update
• 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, (303) 8664474

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Memorandum

Bill Owens
Governor

To:

The Colorado Water Conservation Board

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director

From:

Kent Holsinger, Assistant Director, Water Policy
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May 15,2000

Peter H. Evans
CWCB Director

Date:

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director
Agenda Item 16.d. (1), May 22 -23, 2000 Board Meeting. Platte River
Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement, Water Action Plan
Committee Update.

Subject:

1. Introduction

In 1997 the Governors of the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming signed an
agreement with the Department of Interior to improve the habitat of four endangered
species in the Central Platte River in Nebraska. We are nearing the completion of the
three-year planning stage of this proposed program. Assuming negotiations continue to
go well for Colorado, we expect to participate in the proposed program with the other
states and the federal govemment. The proposed program has three components: water;
land; and monitoring and research. This memo will highlight issues related to the
program water component.

II. Water Action Plan Committee

At the April 26 Water Action Plan meeting, the states tentatively met the stated goal of
the Water Action Plan Committee. During the first increment of the proposed Program
(10 to 13 years, beginning in 2000 or 2001), the states are to provide 130,000 to 150,000
acre-feet (at) of water per year on average for Endangered Species Act (ESA)
compliance. At the April 26 meeting, the states came up with 142,000 af of potential
contributions.

The EIS Team (within the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service) has been modeling the states'
water contributions for the purposes of ESA compliance. While this could change, their
modeling now credits the states' contributions of water at 10,000 af more than previously
thought. At this last meeting, Nebraska increased the amount of water they are willing to
contribute by 4,500 acre feet, bringing the total to 142,000 acre feet, but also included the
caveat that they are reserving the right to "reshuffle" their portfolio of water projects and
estimated yields might change.