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. . 42.92 ta;WJ: " '~ . ~ /1<'1 wM , ,rd;~-al ~ t;:1 ()- GPa~r: t~~u~~ 1~~ ofY< T'" ~ J ~~1 ~ JOI1I S V" J-Y f 6"'1 , ~ .,,-u:-t'~"" This, is a call to arms To THE GREAT disap- pointment and shock of a hali- million persons living in the Arkansas Valley in Southeastern Colorado. some Asp,,, commissioners and other individuals in Pitkin County are attempting to negate agreements and amendinents concerning transmountaln diversion of water for the Fryingpan J\rkillll.S Project, Involved is a $maU stream known as Hiinter Creek, ' In 1982 the Fryingpan Arkansas Trarismountain Diversion Project was authoriied by Congress, em- bi'alclnjl a basic agreement ilf operatiilg 'principles between the West and East Slopes, It WIS understood that from Hunter Creek there would !>e a diversion of approximately 10,000 acre feet, through the Contiilental Divide, along with other diversions which, on the average, would provide 69,000 .cre feet of diverted water into the Arkansas River, The Colorado Water Con- servation Board. the state engineer. the Upper Colorado River Conservation District and other authorities agreed that the operating prinCiples and the plans for the development of the tran- smountain diversion were acceptable, The Eastern Slope users in the Arkansas Valley agreed to the construction and operation of the Ruedi Reservior above Basalt at no cost to the Western Slope, It has proven to be a great recreational facility for that part of the state. Ap- proximately 82 percent of the cost of the project will be repaid to the federal govern- ment by the distrlct. The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District agreed to increase the minimum flow of Hunter Creek at the request of the Fish and , , I , Wildlife Department of Colorado to 21 cubic' feet per '.. second instead of 14 CFS which liad been agreed to by the district in 1975, The Council on En- vironmental Qtlality. which is a federal council appointed by the president, stated on April 16. 1975. tha t the environmental Impact statement was one of. the most complete statements ever seen, But even .then the com- missioners of Pitkin County sued the secretary of interior as to the adequacy of the statement. After complete hearlngs the objections were not Bubstllittiated, but Pitkin County demanded a new study In 1977. The Fryingpan project d'oes riot disturb the decreed water rights on Hunter Creek, such as the one held by Red Mountain Ditch Company for 85 cubic feet per second and the decree for the City of Aspen, Which means tha t in addition to the decreed water for Aspen and Red ' Mountain Ditch Company and the minimum sti'eam flows agreed to by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy Distrlct. the projected diver- sion of approximately 10.000 acre feet of water through the Continental Divide was feasible, The sum and substance of this unconscionable. double talk in Pitkin County is that they ha ve apparently thrown down the gauntlet and challenged agreements openly arrived at during the, past 20 years, The project was ap- proved by Congress in 1962 and by every governor of the State of Colorado during the interim, H it is going to be an open fight like the Aspen contingent indicates. then it is time to take off the gloves of conciliation and compromise and start swinging with every resource at our command,O