BOARD01856

• Board Meeting Date: 1/24/2006
• Description: CF Section - Legislative Review - Construction Fund Project Bill Review
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO

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Colorado Water Conservation Board

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

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

TO:
FROM:

Russel George
Executive Director

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
Rod Kuharich, CWCB Director
Joe Busto, CWCB Weather Modification Program
January 13, 2006
Agenda Item 23a - January 24-25, 2006 Board Meeting --
Weather Modification Fund - CF Bill & WM Statutes Language
change

Rod Kuharich
eWeB Director

DATE:
SUBJECT:

Rick Brown
Acting Deputy Director

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Background
The State of Colorado has had a weather modification permit program since 1972. Authority to run the
weather modification program has been delegated to the CWCB since 1987. In 2004 the CWCB offered
$20K in grants to local water users that fund wintertime weather modification with the goal of water
augmentation. In 2005 the CWCB offered $60K in grants to water providers and other types of local
government entities. This year's construction fund bill 37-60-124.4 establishes the "weather modification
fund" and the board will annually refresh this fund up to seventy five thousand dollars for use by local
governmental entities and water providers for weather modification activities.

Discussion
As part ofthe 7-Basin states meetings, the 7 States are discussing cloud seeding in the Colorado River
Basin as a means of water augmentation. The CWCB and Reclamation recently completed an analysis
of cloud seeding in the basin and showed that there is significant potential for water augmentation if
the Upper Basin states would continue existing wintertime weather modification programs and develop
new target areas. This is discussed in this director's report. In this regard entities other than the CWCB
may someday contribute to the weather modification fund as part of a cooperative agreement around a
basin-wide water augmentation plan.

The CWCB Finance Program staff have reviewed the CWCB and weather modification statutes and
determined that the Board would be able to receive funding from other entities if additional spending
authority was provided explicitly in the statutes regarding CWCB use of contributions and donations,
37-60-121 (3) (b).

The CWCB will not accept donations from other entities unless a cooperative agreement is developed
that addresses: local water users concerns, interstate compact issues, Colorado water law, and
equitable division of the donations.

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Sections 26-30-113 (1) provides for the payment of fees associated with permitting weather modification
activities. Said fees are authorized for purposes necessary to administer the weather modification

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