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<br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS <br /> <br />1 J&.5tate Capilol <br />Denver. Colorado 80203~ 1792 <br />Phone (JOJJ 86&.2471 <br /> <br /> <br />,:1 <br /> <br />GOY. ROY ROMER <br />AND <br />LT. GOY. GAIL SCHOETTLER <br /> <br />Roy Romer <br />COIJernor <br /> <br />CONCERNING THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA WATER PROJECT <br /> <br />November 18, 1997 <br /> <br />Today, we are announcing our support for "A-LP Lite" -- the scaled-down version of the <br />Animas-La Plata water project. This proposal saves nearly $400 million from the original <br />project and is less environmentally damaging than the original project. Most importantly, <br />it satisfies the state's obligations to deliver water to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain <br />Ute Tribes. <br /> <br />f~ <br />'j <br />r,~ <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />In 1986, the State of Colorado, non-Indian water users in Southwest Colorado and New <br />Mexico, and the United States, entered into a landmark settlement agreement with the <br />Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes. This agreement quantified the Tribes' <br />entitlement to reserved water rights on 11 rivers in Southwest Colorado. <br /> <br />I,;: <br />.' <br />, <br /> <br />l~ <br />ill <br />, <br />t- <br /> <br />The settlement agreement set a national standard for cooperation between Indian Tribes <br />and non-Indians. It settled potentially expensive and divisive litigation" It protected the <br />water rights ofnon-Indians in Southwest Colorado. It maintained the fabric of Indian and <br />non-Indian societies and economies. <br /> <br /> <br />To comply with the agreement, the state has paid or set aside $60.8 million, and has <br />agreed to the adjudication of reserved water rights by the Tribes." The only remaining <br />obligation under the agreement is for the United States to fund and build the Animas-La <br />Plata water project" The project is necessary to satisfy the Tribes' water claims on the <br />Animas and La Plata Rivers. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />Yet after 10 years the project has not been built. Controversy and lawsuits have delayed <br />the start of construction. Each year, Congress debates whether to continue funding the <br />project. The Interior Department has conducted a number of studies which the courts or <br />the Environmental Protection Agency have found inadequate. We understand that one of <br />the EPA's primary objections with the environmental analysis has been that the <br />examination of alternatives is deficient. <br /> <br />;~ <br /> <br />,,'> <br />,~:~, <br /> <br />Last year, the project proponents asked us to convene talks among all sides to see if a <br />consensus solution could be reached. Through sometimes heated debate, the "Romer- <br />Schoettler Process" whittled an initial list of 65 options to two basic alternatives. <br /> <br />-more-- <br />