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<br />001559 <br /> <br />721 SIll. Cenlennlal-.g <br />1313Sl1ermon _ <br />Decwwr.~ 802113 <br />_(303)_' <br />FAX (303) _7. <br />TO: <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />Depanment of Natural Resources <br /> <br />Floy- <br />- <br /> <br />Members, CWCB <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />Daries C. Lile <br /> <br />-- <br />_ Doreclor. DNR <br /> <br />Done. C. Uie. P.E. <br />DncIor. CWC8 <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />March 25, 1993 <br /> <br />RE: <br /> <br />ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT - UTE INDIAN SETTLEMENT <br />AGREEMENT <br /> <br />On Thursday, March 18, 1993, I was able to accompany the Animas-La Plata Project <br />proponents along with the two Ute Indian Tribes to Washington, D.C. to meet with the <br />Secretary of Interior. Bruce Babbitt. In attendance was Leonard Birch, Chairman of the <br />Southern Ute Tribe; Judy Knight-Frank, Chairperson of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe; Scott <br />McElroy and Sam Maynes, Attorney's for the Indian Tribes; Jim Dunlap, Representative or <br />the San Juan River Water Commission from New Mexico; Chris Mulick and Ray Kogovsek, <br />of Kogovsek & Associates, Inc. <br /> <br />We met with the Secretary Babbitt and his staff on Friday, March 19, 1993. At that <br />meeting the Tribes discussed with the Secretary the need to complete the Animas-La Plata <br />Project in a timely manner, and within the schedule that was outlined in the Ute Indian <br />Settlement Agreement Act of 1988. The Agreement calls for completion of Ridges Basin <br />Dam by the year 2000. Of course, the problems they are encountering in maintaining a <br />construction schedule is a result of the necessary compliances with the environmental aspects <br />of the project. The Bureau of Reclamation is in the process of developing a supplemental <br />EIS which will update the 1980 EIS. <br /> <br />Secretary Babbitt indicated the administration's support for funding of the Animas-La <br />Plata Project in the amount of $5,000,000. He would also convene a working group of <br />agency heads from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Indian <br />Affairs, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency to see if <br />a cooperative effort could be made to resolve environmental issues. Also, he took under <br />advisement the suggestion that environmental requirements could be addressed while <br />construction was occurring. <br /> <br />The meeting concluded with the group giving a briefing in detail to John Duffy of the <br />Secretary's staff. <br /> <br />DCUdbr <br />dr0272.mern <br />