BOARD00125 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 1/24/2007
• Description: ISF Section - Injury with Mitigation - Case No. 1-04CW323, Application of EMJ Squaw Pass, LLC
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Ritter, Jr,
Governor

To: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

From: Dan Merriman and Linda Bassi J..Jf.-i
Stream and Lake Protection Sectio,JV

Harris 0, Sherman
Executive Director

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Date: January 14,2007

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

Re: Agenda Item 28, January 23-24, 2007 Board Meeting: EMJ Squaw Pass, LLC;
(Case No. 1-04CW323) -- Injury with Mitigation Proposal

This agenda item addresses a proposed pretrial resolution under ISF Rule 8i. (3) (Injury
Accepted with Mitigation). This is the second meeting of the two-meeting process required by
Rule 8i.(3). Staff and representatives ofEMJ Squaw Pass, LLC ("EMJ") first presented EMJ's
proposal to the Board at its November 2005 meeting. Subsequently, after meetings and site
visits to reassess the November 2005 proposal and other alternatives, CWCB staff and
representatives ofEMJ, the Division of Wildlife ("DOW") and Trout Unlimited ("TU") have
developed a revised proposal that the Board will be asked to approve at this Board meeting, The
revised proposal, dated November 30,2006, is attached to this memo.

Backeround
In Case No. 1-04CW323, EMJ Squaw Pass, LLC ("EMJ") has applied for a plan for
augmentation and conditional appropriative right of exchange to replace depletions from
snowmaking and domestic water uses at Echo Mountain Park, a winter skiing and snowboard park
located within the Warren Gulch watershed, tributary to Clear Creek, approximately 4.0 miles
south of Idaho Springs. (See vicinity map attached hereto). EMJ recently opened Echo Mountain
Park and is operating under a State Engineer approved temporary Substitute Water Supply Plan
("SWSP"). Water supplies for Echo Mountain will originate from a series of ground water wells
and two on-site ponds totaling 5.5 acre feet (AF) in capacity. The ponds will be filled by the
wells and will operate together to provide the necessary snowmaking and domestic water supply.
Under the plan for augmentation, EMJ proposes to utilize a combination of transbasin water
(Vidler Tunnel), non-tributary water (Henderson Mine) and both on-site and off-site storage to
replace expected stream depletions.

Colorado Water Conservation Board
Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning