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<br />June 21, 2006 <br /> <br />u. S. Senator Wayne Allard <br />521 Dirksen Senate Office Building <br />Washington, D. C. 20510 <br /> <br />Dear Senator Allard: <br /> <br />I write today to support the efforts of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the South Platte River <br />Chatfield Reservoir Reallocation Environmental/Ecosystem Restoration Project Coalition to secure <br />funding for the next phase of the Chatfield reallocation Environmental Impact Statement and to ask for <br />your help in doing so as well. <br /> <br />To ensure that we are able to move forward with this important project, I ask that you work with your <br />colleagues to restore $500,000 in the FY 2007 Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill <br />to the u.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Investigations Account for the purpose of funding the <br />FY2007 work on the project's EIS. The Colorado Water Conservation Board is the local sponsor for the <br />EIS. <br /> <br />As Colorado continues to grow, particularly in the Denver metro area, it becomes increasingly necessary <br />to look at the resources we have to determine whether we can put existing infrastructure to better use. <br />The U.S.A.C.E. has determined that Chatfield Reservoir can accommodate an additional 20,000 acre feet <br />of storage space without limiting its usefulness as a flood control structure. This additional storage space <br />will be utilized by a group of water providers, farmers and environmental organizations to meet the <br />diverse needs of our growing state. It is imperative that the current EIS move forward in a timely fashion, <br />which means that funding for the EIS must move forward in a timely fashion. <br /> <br />We simply cannot lose time for this rare opportunity to maximize the use of the river for multiple needs <br />by delaying completion of the EIS. I appreciate the work that you do on our behalf, and ask for your <br />support of this very important endeavor. We have worked hard to bring and keep this unique coalition <br />together. Please help us see this project to its beneficial conclusion. <br /> <br />Thank you for your time. I look forward to working with you and your office in the future. If you have <br />questions, please contact myself or Tom Browning, (303) 866-4804, at the Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br />Russell George <br />Executive Director <br />