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COLORADO WATER QUALITY CONTROL COMMISSION <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />REBUTTAL STATEMENT OF THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br />IN THE MATTER OF PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE CLASSIFICATIONS AND <br />NUMERIC STANDARDS FOR THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN, <br />REGULATION #37 (5 CCR 1002-37) <br />The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) submits this Rebuttal Statement in response to the <br />Responsive Pre-Hearing Statements (RPHS) of the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) and <br />the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <br />1. STATEMENT OF FACTUAL AND LEGAL CLAIMS <br />The CDOW's mission is to preserve and protect wildlife and its habitat for the benefit <br />and enjoyment of the state's citizens and visitors. The CDOW is a party in this hearing <br />for the purpose of reviewing the evidence submitted by the WQCD and other parties <br />regarding revisions to Regulation 37, the Classifications and Numeric Standards for the <br />Lower Colorado River Basin. The CDOW provides aquatic data, interpretation of the <br />data, and other technical expertise to the WQCD, to other parties, and to the Water <br />Quality Control Commission (Commission). The CDOW's interest at this hearing is to <br />ensure that revisions to Regulation 37 are appropriate to restore or protect aquatic life and <br />recreational fisheries. <br />II. WRITTEN TESTIMONY <br />In its Proponent's Pre-Hearing Statement (PHS), CAM-Colorado LLC and CAM Mining <br />LLC (collectively, CAM) proposed resegmentation of Lower Colorado River Segment <br />13a, which is defined in Regulation 37 as: <br />Lower Colorado River Segment 13a (COLCLC13a): All tributaries to the Colorado <br />River including wetlands, from a point immediately below the confluence of Roan <br />Creek to the Colorado/Utah border except for the specific listings in Segments 13b <br />through 19. <br />The segment currently has a Use-Protected antidegradation designation, a Warm Class 2 <br />Aquatic Life Use Classification, and standards for metals and inorganics that are based on <br />the Agriculture use. <br />CAM has proposed resegmentation of Segment 13a to create a new Segment 13e, which <br />would be defined as: <br />Lower Colorado River Segment 13e (Proposed by CAM): All tributaries to the <br />Colorado River, from the West Salt Creek drainage east to Lewis Wash, and from the <br />Government Highline Canal upgradient to the base of the Book Cliffs, excluding the <br />main stem of East Salt Creek. (CAM PHS, page 5). <br />December 1, 2010