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e e e System (SPDSS) and the Chatfield Study and that tasks will be included in the project scoping for certain products of the Chatfield Study that can help the SPDSS development. We have also begun the process of preparing the scope-of-work for the performance of a water availability and storage use investigation for the Chatfield Study. We have also proposed the establishment of a steering committee made up of the following people: Denver Water Board (Chips Barry, General Manager); Urban Drainage & Flood Control District (Scott Tucker, Executive Director); Logan County (James LaForce - Chairman, Logan County Board of Commissioners); City of Greeley (Jerry Wones, Mayor); North West Cooperative Group - TBD (City of Arvada); Centennial Water & Sanitation District (Rick McCloud, Manager); Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (Tom Cech, Executive Director); USFWS (Lee Carlson); DNR (Greg Walcher); State Parks (Laurie Mathews, Director); Chatfield Watershed Authority (Russ Clayshulte); Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Ken Cooper, Deputy District Engineer). Cherry Creek Dam Safety PMP Technical Review: The state mailed/posted the Request-For-Proposal (RFP) on Aug. 16. A contractor selection panel reviewed the RFP's on Sept. 13. The panel had a membership from the communities of Greenwood Village, Aurora, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, UD&FCD, SEO, private consultant, CWCB, and Corps of Engineers. It is anticipated that the selected contractor will be under contract by November 2000. CBT Transfer Legislation Status: On Sept. 6 the House Committee on Resources, on a voice vote, passed HR 4389 that transfers the title of the Colorado Big Thompson Project to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (HR 4389). The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on a companion bill in June. A description of the legislation was included in the last Director's Report. To review a copy of the House Resources Committee report, see http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-binlcpQuerv/R?cpl06:FLDOI0: @1(hr812). Rio Grande River Basin Silvery Minnow Update: On Aug. 2 U.S. District Court Judge James A. Parker approved a negotiated agreement designed to meet the water needs of fish, farmers, and others -- for the present -- along the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico. Last November, six national, regional, and local conservation groups -- Defenders of Wildlife, Forest Guardians, National Audubon Society, New Mexico Audubon Council, Sierra Club, and the Southwest Environmental Center -- filed a lawsuit to protect the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow, southwestern willow flycatcher and stop the decline of the Rio Grande ecosystem (Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Martinez). Judge Parker ordered mediation, and called the recent agreement a "very ingenious achievement," but also "only a very temporary solution." The key provisions of the recent settlement involve the City of Albuquerque giving up 45,000 acre-feet of its San Juan-Chama water this year, with the District repaying the City half of that water in annual installments beginning in 2005. The District will give up 20,000 acre-feet of water that it is owed by the City, and put up 20,900 acre-feet of San Juan-Chama water this year in exchange for repayment of that water by next spring. Reclamation will pay the City and District about $ 1 million for water. Farmers will receive about 36,000 acre-feet, enough irrigation water to last through October. While applauded as a historic workable solution, Andrew Smith, U.S. Department of Justice, warns, "This is a stopgap measure. We are cautiously optimistic it will get us through this year." New Mexico State Engineer Tom Turney added, "It's sure an extravagant use of water. There's not enough water in the system to do this again. " In the meantime, the parties began long-term settlement negotiations on Sept. 11. Most parties have already given the Magistrate a position paper on how to solve the long-term water shortage. 12