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. I , '-, ! f I f ':;\ ~: .i__j ,~, ...:''::-/ /..." . I _I ~ \ ., "'-e'Z..J()'-"} lA, . ~~'- ,,--, f -V~~ ~ The Capitol Rei~;:icqG' ~~ Officials still fretting over proposal to lease state water to Nevada By CAROLYN J. MAtHEWS The CapKoI Reporter A plan to'lease Colorado River water to Nevada continues to worry Colorado legislators and water officials despite assurances by lease proponents that the project is legal and beneficial to Colorado. The Roan Creek project was introduced by Chevron Shale Oil Co. and Getty Oil Exploration Co. a month ago at a news conference. Since that time the proposed annual lease of 175,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water to Nevada for 30 to 50 years has raised ques- tions concerning the legality of interstate water leases. Also, Colorado water officials have opposed the project on the grounds that the lease could open up an unregulated water market in Colorado. "Maybe we made a mistake by going public too.soon," Gary E. . Bishop, manager of Chevron Shale Oil Co. said at a joint meeting of the House- and Senate Agriculture committees last week. The project is in an early stage, and the companies intend to work with all interested parties, including the state of Colorado, to define the project, Bishop said. Andy Williams, legal counsel for the oil companies, said, "We would not be here today if we did not believe that we could put the project together consistent with the law of the river." Ken Salazar, executive director of the state Department of Natural Resources, said, "We are not the opponents of the Roan Creek project," but the state of Colorado cannot endorse something that could potentially threaten allotments. Hal Simpson, state engineer, said he estimates that water con- servancy districts and secondary water rights could be threatened by the amount of water that would be diverted by the lease. Oil company representatives stressed that the water they pro- pose to lease involves water rights owned by the oil companies for oil shale development. Under the plan, water would be leased to Nevada for a limited period in exchange for the construction of a reservoir that eventual- ly would help the oil companies extract oil from shale in western Colorado. The state will realize several benefits including $50 for each acre- foot ($8 million annually) of water leased as provided under state statute, Williams said. Reereational use and the reservoir's poten- tial of saving endangered species of fish are additional benefits, he said. Sen. Linda Powers. D-Crested Butte, asked what other options Nevada has to fulfill its water demand. Christopher Paulson, an attorney for Chevron, responded that Nevada is looking at Alaska and California as future water sources. But the state faces a time crunch and the lease would provide an interim supply while other options are explored, Paulson said.