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his farm. ♦ Mr. Paul Sater – has a farm in the bottom of Box Elder east of the drainage ditch; stated that because the basin was not designated before, does not mean that it should not be now. Mr. Tom Cech, manager of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District in Greeley, stated that Central’s board of directors spent $200K to 300K for Leonard Rice to do a report and said that engineers should describe the physical nature of Box Elder Creek instead of lawyers. He asked the Commission to deny the motion to dismiss this and to set a date because this is important to the farm families in the area. Commissioner Clever stated that the petitioners presented adequate data to justify publication and will give the petitioner the right to a hearing and the objectors the right to dispute the facts; therefore, he made a motion to deny all of the motions to dismiss pending before the Commission. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Loose. Commissioner Jaeger stated that this is an important enough issue that sending this to hearing makes sense and the motion that was made is appropriate because this needs more time, there is a lot of confusion, Ground Water Commission Meeting Page 5 August 18, 2006 and both sides have a right to be heard before an informed decision is made. Commissioner Coryell added that interpretation of factual data will be debated for a long time, even after a finding. A roll call motion was held and the motion passed unanimously. Commissioner George made a motion that the Commission publish notice of the petition to create a new designated ground water basin to be known as the Box Elder Designated Ground Water Basin, and to begin the process for formal hearing on the petition granting to the Hearing Officer discretion in determining the date and location of the hearing. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Clever and was passed unanimously. Staff Report by Keith Vander Horst - Mr. Vander Horst presented the Staff Activity Report for the last quarter, the written report of which was included in the Commissioners’ packets. He reported on the small capacity and large capacity well permit applications, change applications, final permit activities, the fourteen pending cases before the Hearing Officer or the court, the eight completed hearings, and enforcement items and actions. Regarding miscellaneous items, Mr. Vander Horst reported that staff are working on metering requirements and plans are to require installation of acceptable metering by March 2007. They are also working on dry-up of irrigated lands under the CREP program. Report of the Attorney General by Ginny Brannon – Ms. Brannon stated that the report that provides a summary of the matters that the Attorney General’s Office was involved in is included in the packets. Main issue for this meeting was publication of Pioneer which was heard this morning. Management District and Conservation District Reports - Chairman Smith called for the Management District reports. Mr. Aaron Nein reported from the Frenchman, Sandhills, Marks Butte and Central Yuma Ground Water Management Districts. Mr. Nein thanked Sandy Johnson for assisting with emergency permits and Jay Bloomfield for assisting with well file documents. He reported that it has been extremely hot and dry and precipitation has been below normal. Regarding well administration, they are currently administering 173 high capacity wells; six wells were over the 90 percent mark on water used this year, five wells were over the 80 percent mark, and he was still waiting for 52 more power readings from the power companies. Mr. Nein reported that regarding enforcement, he is working with staff on finding and correcting illegal expanded acres. Regarding the new metering requirements, the cost is approximately $1,000 per well, and if there is any funding to assist well owners pay for installation, he would like to know. Mr. Nein questioned how the $500 per day fine for cease and desist orders are enforced. Mr. Jack Dowell, from the W-Y Ground Water Management District, reported that he checked 140 wells for chemigation this summer; of which five failed, the flapper was not working on three, and two were never chemigated before. The crops look good considering sporadic rains and wind, and the corn and sugar beets are ahead of normal and they are considering shutting their wells off. There was no report from the Arikaree Ground Water Management District. Ground Water Commission Meeting Page 6 August 18, 2006 Commissioner Coryell reported on behalf of the Plains and East Cheyenne Management Districts. Deb Daniels was not able to attend, so he read her faxed report. The average change in static level wells is less than one-half foot for the combined districts. Regarding well administration, the majority of growers are far from using their allocated amount of water for irrigation. There was an enforcement issue with a grower who is not in compliance with his permit. It’s been a hot and dry year, the corn is looking better than last year and other crops are more mature than normal at this time of year. Commissioner Coryell added that the Plains District held a rulemaking hearing on small capacity wells on areas less than 35 acres, and the district promulgated rules requiring meter administration. Commissioner Smith reported for the Southern High Plains Ground Water Management District. He stated that he gave a presentation using data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service that showed precipitation in the 1930’s during the dust bowl, the 1950’s, and currently. Commissioner Smith said that prior to last week, they were drier than the 1930’s or 50’s. Commissioner Loose reported for the North Kiowa-Bijou Ground Water Management District. He stated that irrigators are complying, but the “pilgrims” want to irrigate non-stop. There was no report from the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Ground Water Management District, from the Upper Big Sandy Ground Water Management District, or from the Lost Creek Ground Water Management District. Mr. Stan Murphy, from the Republican River Water Conservation District, reported that the NRCS acquired more funds and offered 5-year contracts, resulting in approximately 7100 acres in the EQIP program. Not all wells will be shut down this year, they will be spread over this irrigation season and some in 2007. This year, almost 75 percent are permanent retirements. He reported that in 2006 they offered a one-year lease program because the CREP program was not available, and shut down 1400 acres. They collected 85 to 90 percent of the water use fees. They billed the Department of Natural Resources for $33,000 and are still waiting for the money. Old Business – None New Business – None Next Meeting – November 17, 2006, in Denver. The meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marta Ahrens Secretary to the Ground Water Commission MinutesMay06.PDF NoticeAug06.PDF PacketMemoAug06.doc STATE OF COLORADO GROUND WATER COMMISSION Division of Water Resources Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman Street, Room 818 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone (303) 866-3581 FAX (303) 866-3589 Bill Owens Governor Russell George Executive Director, DNR Hal D. Simpson, P.E. Executive Director