Second Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. R980916.01 EBD
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVES Dyer, K. Alexander, G. Berry, Entz, George, Miller, Smith, Sullivant, and Taylor;
also SENATOR Alexander.
AGR., LIVESTOCK & NATURAL
RESOURCES
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-1031
WHEREAS, Colorado negotiated the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement of 1986, which served to resolve all of
the reserved water rights claims of the two Colorado Ute Indian
Tribes in a way that produced comity, cooperation, and harmony
in the allocation of the rivers of Colorado's southwest; and
WHEREAS, A feature of that settlement was the agreement
by the State of Colorado, the citizens of Southwestern Colorado,
and the two Colorado Ute Indian Tribes that the construction of
the AnimasLa Plata Project and the allocation of a portion
of the water supply from that project to the two tribes would
be a part of the resolution of the Colorado Ute Indian reserve
water right claims, and in particular those claims associated
with the Animas and the La Plata Rivers; and
WHEREAS, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell has long
been a champion of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement
and the construction of the AnimasLa Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, The State of Colorado entered into an agreement
in principle concerning the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement
and Binding Agreement for the AnimasLa Plata Project Cost
Sharing, the other parties to that agreement being the Colorado
Water Resources and Power Development Authority, the AnimasLa
Plata Water Conservancy District, the New Mexico Interstate Stream
Commission, Montezuma County, Colorado, the Southern Ute Indian
Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, the San Juan Water Commission,
and the United States Secretary of the Interior; and
WHEREAS, The agreement provides for the construction
of the facilities of the AnimasLa Plata Project "or
mutually acceptable alternatives" in Phases I and II, for
cost sharing of the construction costs of the identified Phase
I facilities, and for nonfederal financing of the identified
Phase II facilities; and
WHEREAS, On December 10, 1986, the State of Colorado,
the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe,
the San Juan Water Commission, and the United States Department
of the Interior, the United States Department of Justice, the
AnimasLa Plata Water Conservancy District, the Dolores
Water Conservancy District, the Mancos Water Conservancy District,
the Southwestern Water Conservation District, the city of Durango,
Colorado, the town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, the Florida Farmers
Ditch Company, the Florida Canal Company, and Fairfield Communities,
Inc., entered into the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Final
Settlement Agreement; and
WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States adopted
and ratified the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement by
passage of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act
of 1986; and
WHEREAS, On November 10, 1989, the Colorado Water
Resources and Power Development Authority entered into an escrow
agreement with the United States Department of the Interior, and
the Treasurer of the State of Colorado, pursuant to which certain
funds of the Authority were deposited into the AnimasLa
Plata escrow account with the Treasurer of the State of Colorado
for disbursement of up to fortytwo million four hundred
thousand dollars to the United States to defray a portion of the
construction costs of certain Phase I facilities of the AnimasLa
Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, The escrow agreement provides that upon
the occurrence of certain events the authority may order cessation
of the disbursements from the escrow account, and in addition,
that the escrow agreement will terminate on the occurrence or
nonoccurrence of certain events; and
WHEREAS, The State of Colorado, acting through the
General Assembly, the Colorado Water Resource and Power Development
Authority, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and other state
agencies, has fulfilled all of the responsibilities incumbent
upon the State of Colorado and arising from the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement and the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights
Settlement Act, including participation in the construction of
the Dolores Project with irrigation water being delivered to the
Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe on its reservation, funding the
construction of a pipeline to deliver potable water to the town
of Towaoc, the successful adoption of water court decrees recognizing
the Indian reserved water rights on various tributaries of the
San Juan River, and finally the appropriation of funds to defray
the construction costs of the AnimasLa Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, The State of Colorado, acting through the offices of Governor Roy Romer and Lieutenant Governor Gail Schoettler, has sponsored a series of meetings in an effort to resolve objections to the construction of the AnimasLa Plata Project or to seek compromise solutions that meet the purposes of the AnimasLa Plata Project in order to allow the fulfillment of the provisions of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement and to reach a consensus that would allow the AnimasLa Plata Project construction to proceed; and
WHEREAS, The process convened by Governor Romer and
Lieutenant Governor Schoettler produced two proposals to satisfy
the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement and the goal of
the AnimasLa Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, The proposal from persons and entities opposing
the construction of the AnimasLa Plata Project called for
a cash settlement fund for the tribes in lieu of the construction
of the AnimasLa Plata Project, a proposal firmly rejected
by both tribes; and
WHEREAS, The second proposal from the Colorado Ute
Indian Tribes, the AnimasLa Plata Water Conservancy Board
of Directors, the Southwestern Water Conservation District, the
San Juan Water Commission of New Mexico, and the La Plata Conservancy
District of New Mexico proposed to construct a modified and downsized
AnimasLa Plata Project to settle the tribal rights; and
WHEREAS, Ultimately, Governor Romer and Lieutenant
Governor Schoettler endorsed the proposal of the AnimasLa
Plata Project proponents and joined in rejecting the cash buyout;
and
WHEREAS, The discussion and negotiations among the
parties concerned in the development and construction of the AnimasLa
Plata Project have resulted in the development of a proposal to
reconfigure the project by eliminating or delaying the construction
of certain facilities; and
WHEREAS, The proposal to modify the project in order to settle the tribal claims contemplates reduction of Colorado's costsharing obligation from the AnimasLa Plata Project to sixteen million dollars, with the remaining principal of twentysix million, four hundred thousand dollars currently in the AnimasLa Plata escrow account and committed
for costsharing on construction of the Project
to be held in escrow and not disbursed pending possible future
construction of the remaining facilities of the AnimasLa
Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, The proposal to construct the modified
AnimasLa Plata Project drastically reduces the federal cost
by over half and addresses the concerns for the environment previously
expressed; and
WHEREAS, Any further consideration of a cash settlement
fund, rejected by the tribes as an alternative to settle the tribal
water rights claims, fails to comply with the obligations of the
federal government to Colorado; and
WHEREAS, The proposal to construct the modified AnimasLa
Plata Project to settle tribal claims contemplates the construction
of the Ridges Basin Reservoir and the pumping plant and pipeline
from the Animas River with the water stored in the reservoir to
be used to satisfy the claims of the tribes, and for municipal
and industrial purposes without the construction of a transmission
facility into the La Plata River drainage or any of the irrigation
facilities that had been contemplated for the project; and
WHEREAS, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
has completed its section seven consultation on the project and
has authorized the construction of the facilities that are included
in the modified AnimasLa Plata proposal, together with an
entitlement to make an annual 57,100 acrefoot water depletion
to the San Juan River system; and
WHEREAS, The project participants have agreed on
an allocation of the authorized depletions among themselves and
the necessity of constructing the authorized facilities; and
WHEREAS, The United States Bureau of Reclamation
has completed a supplemental impact statement at a cost of more
than ten million dollars, which evaluated the impacts of constructing
the authorized facilities; and
WHEREAS, All environmental laws and regulations of
the State of Colorado, the State of New Mexico, and the United
States have been addressed; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to amend the Colorado Ute
Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1986 to reflect the compromise
settlement agreed to by the tribes to secure construction of a
modified AnimasLa Plata Project; and
WHEREAS, the Colorado Water Conservation Board and
the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority have
continued to support the construction of the AnimasLa Plata
Project; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly wishes to lend its
continued support to the construction of the AnimasLa Plata
Project, and in particular to the full compliance by the United
States with the terms of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights
Settlements; now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives
of the Sixtyfirst General Assembly of the State of Colorado,
the Senate concurring herein:
(1) The General Assembly endorses the
modified AnimasLa Plata Project proposed by the two Colorado
Ute Tribes and their nonIndian neighbors;
(2) The General Assembly commends United
States Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell for his leadership in promoting
the AnimasLa Plata Project and the Colorado Ute Indian Water
Rights Settlement and for his continuing efforts to obtain a compromise
acceptable to the two Ute Tribes and their neighbors;
(3) The General Assembly expresses its support for Governor Romer and Lieutenant Governor Schoettler in their efforts to support and promote this compromise resolution between the two Colorado Ute Tribes and the project proponents;
(4) The General Assembly expresses its
appreciation to the Colorado Ute Tribes for their continued efforts
to work with the water users in Southwestern Colorado to ensure
that the tribal rights are resolved in a way that avoids taking
water from other water users and recognizes that all of the water
users in the area must work together to ensure reliable water
supplies for all residents of the area;
(5) The General Assembly expresses its
appreciation to the water users in Southwestern Colorado for their
support for this resolution of the Indian reserved rights claims,
and the General Assembly commends the nonIndian project
supporters in achieving a settlement acceptable to the Colorado
Ute Indian Tribes;
(6) The General Assembly expresses its
appreciation to the water users in the State of New Mexico and
New Mexico's officials and congressional delegation for their
support of the negotiations leading to the modified AnimasLa
Plata Project; and
(7) The General Assembly urges all members
of the Colorado congressional delegation to join Senator Campbell
and unanimously endorse the legislative changes necessary to effectuate
the modified AnimasLa Plata Project and to effectuate the
Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement.
Be it further resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to each member of the Colorado congressional delegation, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, each member of the New Mexico congressional delegation, the appropriate officials in each of the Colorado River basin states, the Chairman of the Navajo Nation, the Director of the Native American Rights fund, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the President of the United States Senate.