Agenda Item 9, Platte River Recovery Updates and House Bill 07-1182

• Description: South Platte Endangered Species
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 5/11/2007
• Author: Randy Seaholm, Ted Kowalski
• Title: Agenda Item 9, Platte River Recovery Updates and House Bill 07-1182
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Board Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board , cONS
• Department of Natural Resources o �
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 °
a ,1
Denver, Colorado 80203 ' _ R
Phone: [phone]
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FAX: [phone] • 9 31 6
www.cwcb.state.co.us
MEMORANDUM Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
Harris D. Sherman
To: CWCB Members
Executive Director
Rod Kuharich
From: Randy Seaholm CWCB Director
Ted Kowalski Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director
Date: May 11, 2007
Re: Agenda Item 9, May 22 -23, 2007 Board Meeting, Water Supply Protection —
Platte River Recovery Updates
Legislation
In March, the Board passed a resolution supporting state legislation for funding the Platte River
Recovery Program efforts and federal legislation for authorizing and funding the Platte River
• Recovery Program efforts. The Colorado General Assembly passed H.B. 07 -1182. A copy of the
legislation, and the conference committee amendments from the Senate Journal of May 3, 2007, are
attached. The final legislation is very different than the originally proposed legislation, but it
provides an appropriate plan for meeting Colorado's obligations under the Platte River Recovery
Program. Governor Ritter is expected to sign the legislation.
On April 25, 2007, the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee,
Subcommittee on Water and Power, held a hearing on S. 752 (the Platte River Recovery
Implementation Program and Pathfinder Modification Authorization Act), attached. In addition, the
House Natural Resources Committee, Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on April 27,
2007 on the identical companion legislation, H.R. 1462. Ted Kowalski, Dan Luecke (NWF), Alan
Berryman (NCWCD), Ann Bleed (Nebraska) and Mike Purcell (Wyoming) testified in support of
H.R. 1462. There was no opposition to the legislation in the House hearing.
Two people were called to testify before the Senate hearing regarding S. 752. Mike Purcell, the
Chairman of the Governance Committee spoke in support of the legislation. Joe Glode, a water user
from Saratoga, Wyoming, also testified at the Senate hearing. He testified that he would support
legislation if the legislation would include the following amendment:
To protect existing upstream water rights in Wyoming, the Bureau of Reclamation shall not
place a priority call for Pathfinder Reservoir, including the proposed Pathfinder Modification
Project, between May 1 and September 30 in any year.
There was some confusion over the State of Wyoming's position regarding the proposed amendment.
To clarify the State's position, the Governor of Wyoming sent the attached letter. Nebraska and the
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