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<br />ANIMAS RIVER CITIZENS COALITION CONCEPTUAL <br />ALTERNATIVE TO THE ANIMAS LA PLAT A PROJECT <br /> <br />August 4, 1997 <br /> <br />L INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Our goals in proposing this conceptual alternative are two-fold: to respect the interests <br /> <br />of the Ute Tribes in the water described in the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement of <br /> <br />1986, and the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988; and to show that these <br /> <br />interests can be met in ways which are far more environmentally and economically sound than the <br /> <br />other proposed project configurations (i.e., the Animas-La Plata project or the Animas-La Plata <br /> <br />Reconciliation Plan, which has been commonly referred to as "ALP Lite"). This alternative <br /> <br />contemplates provision of the full settlement amounts of water to the Ute Tribes and the Navajo <br /> <br />Nation, in a framework which will allow the tribes the maximum ability to use that water either <br /> <br />on-reservation or off. <br /> <br />This alternative embraces sensible, modern-day approaches to development issues, <br /> <br />including the need to make use of existing resources more efficiently. In addition, this alternative <br /> <br />takes advantage of the free market, rather than fighting it. Further, our alternative is consistent <br /> <br />with policies of pressing, region-wide citizen concern, such as the need for "smart growth" and <br /> <br />diligent preservation of the quality and character of New Mexico and Colorado's incomparable <br /> <br />land and water resources. It recognizes that water is a commodity which can be bought and sold <br /> <br />like other commodities, and will be put to the best use when it is subject to the marketplace. <br /> <br />The two primary elements of this alternative flow from the objectives of supplying "wet <br /> <br />water" to the tribes, protecting the environment, and harnessing rather than fighting the free <br /> <br />market: (I) the creation of a dedicated fund for the purchase of water rights and lands within and <br />