DWR_3348300

• Board or Commission: Colorado Ground Water Commission
• Document Type - Board and Commission Meetings: Meeting Document
• Document Date: 2/22/2002
• Subject: MEETING MATERIALS

February 14, 2002

MEMORANDUM

TO: Designated Ground Water Management Districts

FROM: Suzanne M. Sellers, Designated Basins Team

SUBJECT: Upcoming Ground Water Commission Meeting

The upcoming Ground Water Commission meeting is scheduled for 9:00 am on Friday, February 22, 2002, in Sterling, CO following the Ogallala Aquifer Symposium also being held in Sterling
on Thursday, February 21, 2002. An agenda for the meeting was mailed to you about three weeks back. Please find enclosed herein the following:

Revised Agenda (renumbered)

Minutes of the last Commission meeting, Agenda Item No. 3.

Staff Activity Report, Agenda Item No. 9.

Hearing Officer's Report.

PacketDistrictFeb02.doc

cc: Commission Staff (w/o enclosures)

ERNEST L. MIKITA, CHAIRMAN, Calhan; ANNE J. CASTLE, VICE-CHAIRMAN, Denver; JON B. BROWNELL, Hooper; EUGENE A. BAUERLE, Julesburg; DENNIS W. CORYELL, Burlington;
ROBERT R. LOOSE, Wiggins; LARRY CLEAVER, Grand Junction; RICHARD F. HUWA, Keenesburg; CHARLES “MAX” SMITH, Walsh

QRTSTATFeb02.xlsQRTSTAT.XLS
Print_Area_MI
TABLE 1
DESIGNATED BASINS BRANCH
QUARTERLY ACTIVITY REPORT
C.R.S. 37-90-

NEW
REPLACE

CHANGE
BASIN
EXEMPT
NON-EXEMPT

RECEIVED
ISSUED
N. HIGH PLAINS
KIOWA BIJOU
S. HIGH PLAINS
UPPER BLACK SQR
LOST CREEK
CAMP CREEK
UPPER BIG SANDY
TOTAL
SUMMARY OF APPLICATION ACTIVITY
APPLICATIONS
INCOMPLETE
RETURNED
DENIED

AP
NP
AU
AR
AD & AW

EXEMPT PERMITS
NON-EXEMPT PERMITS

CHANGE APPLICATIONS
NOVEMBER 01, 2001 THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2002
UPPER CROW CREEK
105.00
107.00
111.00
111.00
59.00
38.00
17.00
2.00
1.00
3.00
3.00
15.00
2.00
86.00
77.00
3.00
28.00
20.00
0.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
11.00
9.00
2.00
2.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.00
0.00
47.00
27.00
3.00
10.00
3.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
30.00
28.00
2.00
9.00
0.00
1.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
4.00
4.00
0.00
0.00
3.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.00
2.00
0.00
2.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
240.00
187.00
28.00
53.00
27.00
4.00
5.00
17.00
2.00
240.00
215.00
44.00
20.00
5.00
57.00
32.00
33.00
12.00
1.00
17.00
2.00
6.00
5.00
0.00

StaffReportFeb02.doc STATE OF COLORADO
GROUND WATER COMMISSION
Division of Water Resources
Department of Natural Resources

1313 Sherman Street, Room 818
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone [phone]
FAX [phone]
Bill Owens
Governor

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director, DNR

Hal D. Simpson, P.E.
Executive Director
February 14, 2002

MEMORANDUM

TO: Hal D. Simpson, Executive Director - Ground Water Commission

FROM: Suzanne M. Sellers, Designated Basins Team

SUBJECT: Staff Activity Report for November 1, 2001 through January 31, 2002
AGENDA ITEM # 9

Various activities performed during the last quarter are briefly described below.

New and Replacement Applications

Table 1 provides a breakdown, by basin, of permitting activity for the last quarter. The following permit activities were performed:

Small capacity:

240 small-capacity well applications were received
215 small-capacity well permits were issued

Large Capacity:

57 large-capacity well or Determination of Water Right applications were received
32 large-capacity well permits or Determination of Water Rights were issued

Table 2 shows the current status of new and replacement permit applications for the large-capacity wells.

Change Applications

Table 3 provides the current status of the change applications. During the last quarter the following
change application activities occurred:

17 new applications were received;
2 change applications were approved; and
62 applications are currently in different stages of processing, including 18 in initial processing, 4 in publication, and 40 in hearing (including for 39 for Eagle Peak Farms) as shown
in Table 3.

Final Permit Activities

For this last quarter, there was final permit activity within the Northern High Plains, Upper Crow Creek and Southern High Plains.

Activity in the Northern High Plains focused on those remaining conditional permits which were previously set aside due to their complexity or lack of cooperation from well owners.
Activity continued with conditional permits within Yuma County where 71 permits have been published. Three objections have been received, with two of the three objections now resolved.
There is hope for the third objection to be resolved without hearing as well. There now remains 55 permits in Yuma County. Unfortunately, response has been slow on requests for information,
and only 20 of the 55 have been clarified. In Kit Carson County, there are 287 permits that need to be processed and work has begun to clarify the first group of 47 permits. In addition,
work continues on the clean up of the few remaining permits in Lincoln and Phillips Counties.

Work also continues on Upper Crow Creek. Letters to well owners requesting the necessary information to clarify the permits have been sent. As in the Northern High Plains, the response
to these requests have been slow. Out of the 105 permits in the basin, only 29 have been clarified.

Finally, preparatory work continues on the Southern High Plains. The land ownership report from the Baca County Assessor has been received, and a similar list from Prowers County has
been requested and should be sent soon. Once the Baca County list has been clarified and Prowers Counties list received, clarification of the first group of permits can proceed.

As indicated in previous reports, there is the problem of lack of current ownership information within many of the permit files, which causes delays in the clarifying process. In order
to facilitate correspondence with well owners, the staff asks District Managers to encourage land owners to complete and submit change of ownership/address forms to the Commission Staff,
if they have acquired wells or moved in the last 10 years.

Objections/Hearings

Pending hearing cases are listed in the Hearing Officer's report. The Staff took part in pre-hearing conferences or otherwise spent time trying to resolve or otherwise work on the
hearing cases related to following applicants: Caribou Land and Cattle, Bradbury, Dennis Dunnivan, Eagle Peak Farm, Fred O. Gibbs/JoAnn Pearson, Linnebur, Lost Creek Land and Cattle,
Magnum Feedyard Inc., Larry Ride, Doren Shaulis, University of Colorado Foundation, and Young Colorado Farms. Of all the above 12 hearings, 10 are still pending with 4 being objections
to Determinations of Water Right applications, one objection to export of water from a District; 4 objections to water well applications outside the Denver Basin, one is an objection
to a final permit, one is an appeal of an expired permit, and one is an objection to a change in water right. The Bradbury and the Eagle Peak Farm applications are currently in District
Court.

Enforcement Items and Actions

Staff spent time investigating illegal irrigation in the Arikaree GWMD. Mr. V.F. Smith was observed irrigating 70 acres in excess of what his final permit allows. Staff issued a cease
and desist order which prompted Mr. Smith to file an expanded acres application. Staff is in the process of reviewing said application.

Staff has also sent certified letters to Fred Hilt Jr. and Kenneth Pottorff in the Plains GWMD. Mr. Hilt's letter was in reference to a potential illegal use of a stock well for irrigation
and unauthorized irrigation from recently commingled irrigation wells. Both problems have been resolved. Mr. Pottorff was contacted about clarification of expanded acres put to use
before 1977 and filed before 1979. Mr. Pottorff has since clarified said uses.

Finally, Staff sent a certified letter to Mr. Joseph Fruend in the North Kiowa-Bijou GWMD for potential illegal use of an unregistered small capacity well for irrigation. No response
has been received from Mr. Fruend to date and a future field inspection in scheduled.

Miscellaneous

Staff spent time this quarter participating in other duties, of which are presented below:

Staff has attended various water quality meetings with the Water Quality Control Commission.
Staff continued to gather information and attend meetings concerning the Republican Compact litigation.
Staff has received and is beginning its review of proposed new rules for the Upper Black Squirrel Creek GWMD.
Staff compiled and reviewed comments concerning the applicability of the anti-speculation doctrine to applications for Determination of Water Rights of the Denver Basin aquifers within
the Designated Basins.
Staff spent time compiling and preparing a report of the 2000 water quality sampling in the High Plains.
Staff spent some time organizing and preparing for the Ogallala Symposium scheduled for February 21, 2002.
Staff also spent some time organizing the administrative information submitted and collected by the GWMD for changes of water rights.

Memorandum to Hal Simpson Page 3
Quarterly Commission Staff Activity Report
February 14, 2002

S:\DesBasPrograms\GWC Meetings\Feb2002\StaffReportFeb02.doc

ERNEST L. MIKITA, CHAIRMAN, Calhan; ANNE J. CASTLE, VICE-CHAIRMAN, Denver; JON B. BROWNELL, Hooper; EUGENE A. BAUERLE, Julesburg; DENNIS W. CORYELL, Burlington;
ROBERT R. LOOSE, Wiggins; LARRY CLEAVER, Grand Junction; RICHARD F. HUWA, Keenesburg; CHARLES “MAX” SMITH, Walsh

2002.02.22 Agenda.pdf
2002.02.22 Anti-Speculation Doctrine Memo.pdf
2002.02.22 Applicability of the Anty-Speculation Doctrine.pdf
2002.02.22 Attendance Record.pdf
2002.02.22 CGWC Meeting Memo.pdf
2002.02.22 Comments on Anti-Speculation Doctrine.pdf
2002.02.22 Groudwater Resources Presentation.pdf
2002.02.22 Hearing Officer's Report.pdf
2002.02.22 Meeting Attendance (Staff).pdf
2002.02.22 Minutes (Signed).pdf
2002.02.22 Ogallala Symposium Booklet.pdf
2002.02.22 Ogallala Symposium Correspondence.pdf
2002.02.22 Ogallala Symposium Flyer.pdf
2002.02.22 Ogallala Symposium Proceedings.pdf
2002.02.22 Questions re.Speculation.pdf
2002.02.22 Record of Proceedings.pdf
2002.02.22 Resolution of the CGWC (2).pdf
2002.02.22 Resolution of the CGWC.pdf
2002.02.22 Staff Report w_ Tables.pdf
2002.02.22 Upcoming CGWC Meeting Memo.pdf
2002.02.22 Written Comments on Anti-Speculation.pdf
2002.02.22 01-cv-2053 Order.pdf