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First Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. R97@0813.01 BWM

STATE OF COLORADO

BY SENATORS Ament, Norton, and Bishop;

also REPRESENTATIVES Entz and C. Berry.

ENGROSSED

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

AGRICULTURE, NATURAL

RESOURCES AND ENERGY

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 97-33

CONCERNING THE CREATION OF AN INTERIM COMMITTEE TO STUDY WATER AND LAND RESOURCE ISSUES.

WHEREAS, Colorado is experiencing considerable population growth and development in various areas of the state; and

WHEREAS, The need for adequate water supply in growth areas is generating concern; and

WHEREAS, The areas with water resources are not necessarily in the area of growth; and

WHEREAS, The transfer of water from basins of origin with excess water to growth areas could cause serious problems; and

WHEREAS, The competing interests involved in this evolving serious problem warrants careful and thoughtful study; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty­first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1)  That there shall be a committee to meet in the interim after the 1997 Regular Session of the General Assembly to study water and land resource issues and needs with special attention to growth impacts in all areas of Colorado. Such interim committee shall consist of twelve members of the General Assembly. The President of the Senate shall appoint five members of the Senate, of whom the President of the Senate shall appoint 3 members and 2 members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint seven members of the House of Representatives. At least one member of the interim committee from the Senate and one from the House of Representatives shall be from west of the Continental Divide. The interim committee may consider, but need not be limited to, the following:

(a)  The management and development of surface water resources;

(b)  The management and development of ground water (tributary and nontributary) resources;

(c)  The role of water transfers (both inter­ and intra­basin) in meeting Colorado's future water and storage needs;

(d)  The recognition of adequate compensation to the basin of origin in the matter of water transfers;

(e)  The recognition of harmony in the matter of local land use controls, for example the so­called 1041 process, and water development; and

(f)  The question of legal standing for public entities including their right to protect their water rights and their interest in water.

(2)  That, in conducting such study, the interim committee may consult, as may be required, with appropriate local, state, and federal agencies and interested members of the public. The study shall not require additional staff for any state agency or any additional appropriation to any such state agency.

(3)  That the Legislative Council shall report its findings and recommendations to the 1998 Regular Session of the Sixty­first General Assembly.

(4)  That all expenditures incurred in the conduct of the study enumerated in this resolution shall be approved by the chairperson of the Legislative Council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by law from funds allocated to the Legislative Council from appropriations made by the General Assembly.