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~ENVER POST Denver, CO enver County) . aily.301.OOO Colorado Press Clipping Service L336 GIenaml Place. Denver, co 80204 303-571.5117- FAX 303-571-1803 ~J..~ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2004 C~ o N W c...:> DENVER & THE WEST I Secret. dam talks see light Transcript released of '03 meeting on Animas-La Plata water project overruns Minutes of the dosed session show participants irate. over federal officials blaming all ills on the Ute Mountain Utes. By Electa Draper Denver Post Staff Writer Durango - Minutes were made available last week from a secret meeting held. in August 2003 over who was responsible for $162 mil- lion in cost overruns for the Ani- mas-La Plata Project. The minutes, which a judge re- .cently determined are public record, offer few details of the dis- cussion except that partiCipants, which included Four Corners tribes. water districts and lawYers. were angered and frustrated by the Bureau of Reclamation's attempts to blame all of the overruns on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The tribe was awarded a noncom- petitive bid to build A-LP in compli- ance with federal laws giving the Ute tribes preferred contractor sta- tus in a water project approved by Congress to settle long-standing In- dian water claims. "There were also expressions of skepticism about the Bureau of Rec- lamation's ability to manage the project at all," the minutes' said. "The feeling was that the bureau should be held accountable for its ac- tions and be required to accept what- ever portion of the cost overnm that was attributable to the bureau's ac- tions or the bureau's failure to act." However. the minutes were re- constructed after the meeting from the recollections of three partici- pants because, A-LP officials said, the tape recorder at the session mal- functioned. The closed session, hosted by the Southern Ute Tribe for more than 40 people representing water dis- tricts, other Indian nations and the city of Durango, triggered a lawsuit by Taxpayers for the Animas River. TAR alleged a violation of open meeting laws by a public agency, the Animas-La Plata Water Conser- vancy District, and called for disclo- sure of meeting minutes. The minutes .also said that the tribes and water districts must con- tinue to stick together in negotia- tions with the Bureau of Reclama- tion. Participants said they were bothered by the way the bureau's re- marks on the new price tag of $500 million had been publicized before they were notified. They also were frustrated that the bureau did not consult with project sponsors on project design changes. District Court Judge David Dick- inson.ruled in late July that the dis- cussion on how to negotiate with the bureau went beyond the scope of what state law allows for closed sessions. A-iP water district attor- ney Barry Spear said last week that the water district decided not to ap- peal and is releasing the minutes. Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.