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Longenbaugh ended his remarks agreeing with Commissioner Wolfe regarding using the water level declines shown by Mr. Topper to move forward in administration and control of designated water. In response to a question of Commissioner Clever, Commissioner Wolfe stated that Staff will get together with the Districts before the August meeting to discuss this issue. Commissioner Burr requested that the Commission members be invited to participate in those discussions. Chairwoman Burr called for agenda item no. 13, new business. a. Review of Rules and Regulations pursuant to Governor Hickenlooper’s Executive Order D 2012-002. Mr. Jody Grantham addressed the Commission He said that the Division of Water Resources has 26 sets of rules which is a lot for a division. Mr. Grantham went on to say that he is waiting for Staff to publish amended measurement rules to catch that most southern portion of the Basin. Mr. Grantham advised the Commission that he will begin their rules after he works on those of the State Engineer. He closed his comments by offering to work with the Districts and Staff in their discussions surrounding HB-1052. Commissioner Wolfe provided some background to the process. He said that this is coming from the Governor’s Office in their effort to make government more transparent. Agencies are to review their rules, eliminating archaic ones and rewriting others to make them easier to understand. Any new rules are to be approved by the Governor’s Office and are now to be written for eighth grade readability. b. Location of August 15, 2014 meeting. Ground Water Commission Meeting Minutes Page 7 May 16, 2014 Commissioner Wolfe informed the Commission that he had spoken with Justice Hobbs about speaking on designated water at the meeting. Justice Hobbs is available but it must be in the Denver area because of other commitments of his. Commissioner Clever suggested that seeing the effects and recovery efforts from the floods of September would be interesting. It was decided that the August meeting will take place along the Front Range, include a presentation by Justice Hobbs, a tour of the recovery efforts. Secretary Nielsen was directed to look into the possibility of visiting a fracking site. Chairwoman Burr called for agenda item no. 14, public comment. Mr. Bob Longenbaugh addressed the Commission. Referring to Mr. Tausig’s comments on the round table meetings, Mr. Longenbaugh stressed the importance of being involved. He has been involved in the South Platte round table for four years and is frustrated by their approach. It appears that they, the experts, are only considering the needs of Denver and other municipal users. He said that ground water, for the most part, is not included in the discussion. Mr. Longenbaugh stated that the State Water Plan is on the fast track, they are placing a chapter a week on the internet for review, the deadline is the beginning or end of July. Mr. Longebaugh next spoke to the need for more intense monitoring of the water levels, sometimes day by day to understand how the water levels are affected. He referenced the recorded rise in Black Squirrel downstream of the Cherokee recharge site asking, is the Cherokee plant the only reason water levels rose. Mr. Longenbaugh closed his comments by mentioning the successful weather modification in Texas and suggesting that it be considered in the Eastern Plains and urging recharge projects in the plains. Commissioner Wolfe reminded the Commission about the CWCB web site for the State Water Plan as a place to provide their input and ideas. There being no further business the meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Richard A Nielsen, P.E., Secretary Colorado Ground Water Commission PacketMemo2014August.docx Ground Water Commission 1313 Sherman Street, Room 821 Denver, CO 80203 August 5, 2014 MEMORANDUM TO: Ground Water Commission Members FROM:Keith Vander Horst, Designated Basins Team Leader SUBJECT: Upcoming Ground Water Commission Meeting The upcoming Ground Water Commission meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 15, 2014, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 4705 Clydesdale Pkwy, Loveland, CO 80538. Please find enclosed herein the following: Meeting agenda Minutes of the last Commission meeting, Agenda Item No. 3 Staff Activity Report, Agenda Item No. 6 Attorney General’s Report, Agenda Item No. 7 Memo addressing proposed statutory changes regarding “de novo” appeals of the Commission’s decisions, Agenda Item 10.a Memo addressing uses allowed under the category of commercial, Agenda Item 10.b Hearing Officer's Report A memo addressing coordination of enforcement actions between the Commission and the Ground Water Management Districts resulting from HB 14-1052 (Agenda Item 9.a) is being prepared and will be either forwarded to you separately prior to the meeting or provided at the meeting. Please contact myself or Rick Nielsen if there are any questions about the Commission meeting. cc:Commission Staff Designated Ground Water Management Districts PacketMemo2014August.pdf QRTSTAT-2014August.xlsQRTSTAT.XLS Print_Area_MI TABLE 1 DESIGNATED BASINS BRANCH QUARTERLY ACTIVITY REPORT C.R.S. 37-90- BASIN RECEIVED ISSUED KIOWA BIJOU LOST CREEK CAMP CREEK UPPER BIG SANDY TOTAL SUMMARY OF APPLICATION ACTIVITY INCOMPLETE AP NP AU AR AD & AW CHANGE APPLICATIONS UPPER CROW CREEK TOTAL RECEIVED NEW ISSUED REPLACE ISSUED NEW RECEIVED DENIED & WITHDRAWN NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS UPPER BLACK SQUIRREL CREEK RESUBMITTED SMALL CAPACITY PERMITS REPLACEMENT CA CANCELED CHANGE OF WATER RIGHT LARGE CAPACITY PERMITS, LARGE CAPACITY PERMITS (NEW & REPLACEMENT) (INCLUES DETERMINATIONS OF WATER RIGHT) MAY 1, 2014 THROUGH JULY 31, 2014 LARGE CAPACITY PERMITS, NEW 105.00 107.00 111.00 111.00 30.00 22.00 12.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 34.00 22.00 4.00 5.00 21.00 3.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 4.00 0.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 17.00 8.00 1.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 4.00 0.00 20.00 19.00 2.00 6.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 17.00 2.00 0.00 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 0.00 5.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 4.00 4.00 0.00 50.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 112.00 82.00 22.00 68.00 26.00 6.00 7.00 5.00 27.00 9.00 112.00 104.00 37.00 44.00 0.00 7.00 75.00 31.00 69.00 71.00 1.00 6.00 27.00 9.00 18.00 15.00 0.00 StaffReport2014August.docx Ground Water Commission 1313 Sherman Street, Room 821 Denver, CO 80203 August 15, 2014 Meeting MEMORANDUM TO:Dick Wolfe, Executive Director – Ground Water Commission FROM:Keith Vander Horst, Designated Basins Team Leader SUBJECT:Staff Activity Report for May 1, 2014 through July 31, 2014 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. Permit activities are summarized as follows. Small capacity: 112 small-capacity new and replacement well permit applications were received 104 small-capacity new and replacement well permits were issued Large Capacity: 75 large-capacity new and replacement well permit applications, and Determination of Water Right applications, were received 31 large-capacity new and replacement well permits and Determinations of Water Rights were issued 6 large-capacity well permits were canceled Table 2 provides details on the individual pending large-capacity new and replacement permit applications and Determination of Water Right applications. Change Applications Table 1 also gives a breakdown, by basin, of change of water right application activities for the last quarter: 27 new change applications were received 9 change applications were approved Table 3 provides details on the individual pending change of water right applications. Final Permit Activities Below is a summary of the status of permits subject to Final Permitting as of July 31, 2014. Conditional permits counted in the table below that have not been issued Final Permits consist of either recently issued conditional permits for which the applicant still has opportunity to use the well and prove up the conditional right and be issued a Final Permit, or older conditional permits that had been on hold pending the implementation of Senate Bill 13-72 on August 7, 2013 and ended up not to be subject to that statutory change.< Final Permit Status as of July 31, 2014 Basin Total Number of Permits Total Number of Final Permits Issued Percent Northern High Plains 4100 4100 100% Southern High Plains 1244 1172 94% Lost Creek 372 372 100% Kiowa-Bijou 879 861 98% Upper Big Sandy 121 121 100% Upper Black Squirrel Creek 162 154 95% Upper Crow Creek 114 96 84% Camp Creek 49 47 96% Total 7041 6923 98% Objections/Hearings Below is a list of pending cases. Details on these cases are contained in the Attorney General’s and Hearing Officer's reports. The Staff took part in meetings, pre-hearing conferences, preparation of pre-hearing statements, and otherwise worked on resolving these cases. Pending with the Commission Cherokee Metro Dist. & Meridian Service Metro Dist., 08GW71 (replacement plan) Cherokee Metro Dist., 08GW78 (change of use of alluvial well) Cherokee Metro Dist., 09GW15 (change of use of alluvial wells) Farmer, Edna, Dan & Teresa, 09GW02/03 (Determinations of Water Right) Front Range Resources, 11GW03, (Determinations of Water Right) Front Range Resources, 13GW05 (change in place of use of alluvial rights) Front Range Resources, 13GW07 (replacement plan) Gardner, James T., 14GW03 (change of acreage) Gourley, Blake & Chelsea, 14GW01, (new appropriation in SHP) Greathouse, William, 11GW06 (objection to Final Permit publication in Southern High Plains) Meridian Service Metro Dist., 09GW11 (change of use of Denver Basin rights) Meridian Service Metro Dist., 14GW02, (7 drain systems) Meridian Service Metro Dist., 14GW04 (change place of use of 8 Determinations of Water Rights) Woodmen Hills, 03GW20, (new alluvial rights and a repl. plan) Under appeal Gallegos, 03GW06, (Request for de-designation in Upper Crow Creek) Meridian Service Metro Dist., 12GW10 (status of water) Completed during the last quarter None Enforcement Items and Actions Enforcement actions performed by staff this quarter are summarized below NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS Plains GWMD It was reported that Fred Ebert was using a domestic well to irrigate a tree farm without a well permit for commercial use. A show cause letter was sent to Mr. Ebert, and it was discovered that he had been granted a commercial permit for said use in May of 2013, but our office had not filed the permit with the correct permit file. At this time, Mr. Ebert is in compliance with his permit, and staff will be performing a field inspection to verify the irrigated acreage is less than one acre. John Stewart was found to be using his domestic well to irrigate in excess of the one acre allowed by the permit. A field inspection performed by a water commissioner calculated the well to be irrigating around four acres of lawn, garden, and trees. Mr. Stewart has agreed to irrigate no more than one acre, signing a well permit compliance notice to that effect. Staff will be following up with field inspections to ensure compliance. Jesus Perez was found to be using his domestic well to irrigate in excess of the one acre allowed by the permit. A field inspection performed by a water commissioner calculated the well to be irrigating around three acres of lawn, garden, and trees. Mr. Perez has agreed to irrigate no more than one acre, signing a well permit compliance notice to that effect. Staff will be following up with field inspections to ensure compliance. Arikaree GWMD Cure LLC was found to be using a small capacity commercial (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) well for unpermitted commercial uses, specifically for sale of water for oil and gas and/or road construction projects. A show cause letter was sent to the owners and they acknowledged the violation. They have agreed to use the permit within the confines of the permit. Staff will be following up to ensure compliance. W-Y GWMD Ruben Richardson was found to be using a small capacity commercial well (permitted to be used in a potato processing facility) in a Confined Animal Feeding Operation. Mr. Richardson is working with staff to ensure the well is operated in compliance with the well permit, and plans to change the use of the permit. KIOWA BIJOU Staff continues to work with the Rocky Mountain Rooster hunting club to address violations associated with a number of illegal groundwater ponds discovered to be in existence on the ranch. During a recent meeting with the owner, Brett Axton, Staff requested that Mr. Axton immediately backfill the ponds to a point where groundwater is no longer exposed OR apply to permit the ponds as wells and apply for a replacement plan to offset the evaporative losses. At this time, the owners of the ranch are pursuing the well permitting option. KVH Staff Activity ReportPage 3 August 15, 2014 Commission Meeting Staff Activity ReportPage 4 August 15, 2014 Staff Activity ReportPage 2 August 15, 2014 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 StaffReport2014August.pdf