Coyote Gulch

Saturday, January 7, 2006

Rio Grande water roundtable

Here's an article from the Pueblo Chieftain dealing with the Rio Grande water roundtable set up by HB1177. They write, "The Rio Grande Basin has learned some hard lessons that the rest of the state will be grappling with in the next few decades. This land of little rain has survived attempted interbasin raids by water speculators, has dealt with the demands of downstream states and now is facing a groundwater crisis of its own. 'Our immediate issue is that we've been depleting the groundwater in the Closed Basin area,' said Travis Smith, Colorado Water Conservation Board member from the area. 'Since the drought of 2002, we've been in a water-mining situation.' Even before statewide roundtables formed, the valley is used to looking inward for solutions, banding together to face internal and external threats to its water supply. A subdistrict of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District is forming, signing up landowners who would participate in a water management program to reduce the pumping from the aquifer used to irrigate the farm belt, which runs from Alamosa to Del Norte north of the Rio Grande. The plan could include fallowing ground, conservation of water and more efficient irrigation."

Category: Colorado Water

9:37:11 AM

Yampa - White River Roundtable

Here's an article from the Pueblo Chieftain about the Yampa-White River basin roundtable set up under HB1177. They write, "The Yampa and White watersheds provide the northwest corner of the state a relative abundance of water, producing on average 10 times as much water as the people in that part of the state need - more than 1 million acre-feet a year. To move water from the basin to the Front Range, pipelines would have to cross at least two mountain ranges. Flows on the mainlines of the Yampa and White rivers never have been administered, the way they are in every other basin in the state. And, the rivers join the much larger Green River, which flows through wild and scenic country in Utah before joining the Colorado River. 'Really, as a roundtable, I wouldn[base ']t say there are any pressing issues internally or externally,' said Tom Sharp, Colorado Water Conservation Board member and president of the roundtable. A lawyer, Sharp also sits on the board of the Colorado River Water Conservation District."

Meanwhile State officials will not meet their deadline for drafting the charter for water roundtables set up under HB1177, according to CBS4Denver.com. From the article, "State officials will probably miss a self-imposed March deadline for completing a charter governing water roundtables across the state, making it unlikely state lawmakers can act on it this session. The roundtables represent the state's seven river basins and two sub-basins. They were formed by state lawmakers, who ordered to them write a charter governing relations among their boards. Members of the roundtables, which have been meeting since August, include environmentalists, farmers, ranchers and others competing for the state's water supplies. The Interbasin Compact Committee officially has until July to submit a draft charter to the Legislature for approval, but Russ George, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources and chairman of the 27-member committee, had hoped to submit the charter for consideration by March 1 so lawmakers could approve it before they adjourn in May."

Category: Colorado Water

9:08:47 AM

Drought plan for the Colorado River?

Colorado River water officials wrapped up a couple of days of talks about the management of the river yesterday. There was no long-term agreement but most are hopeful that an accord will be reached, according to the Arizona Sun. From the article, "Representatives for Arizona and six other Western states that rely on the Colorado River said Friday that they are on track to meet next month's deadline for turning over a water-sharing proposal to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. 'I think the states have an agreement in concept on all the difficult points,' said Pat Mulroy, Southern Nevada Water Authority general manager. 'I am more than optimistic that we will meet the Feb. 2 deadline.' Officials from the seven river basin states spent nearly two days behind closed doors trying to compromise on a drought management plan that will pass federal muster. Norton has said she wants the new plan in place by the end of 2007. If the states want a say in the process, they have to submit their own plan by early next month."

More coverage from the Salt Lake Tribune. They write, "Peace - on the Colorado River, at least - is at hand. Representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin states announced Friday they have reached a tentative agreement about how the river will be managed during water shortages. The deal culminates a year of sometimes stormy negotiations between upper basin states Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, plus California, Arizona and Nevada in the lower basin over how the river's precious resource should be shared...

"Specifics of the pact were also kept under wraps. But in general terms, it will extend to 2025 and:

"Modify and coordinate the operation of the Colorado River's two major reservoirs - Lake Powell in the upper basin and Lake Mead in the lower basin - in order to ensure that neither suffers at the expense of the other. When Powell's water level is up and Mead's is low, upper basin officials will have the discretion to release additional water to the lower basin, beyond the yearly 8.23 million acre-feet they are committed to provide. Conversely, lower basin users will accept less than the 8.23 if Mead is up and Powell is faltering.
"Settle the amount of water shortage that Arizona, the lower basin's junior partner, will accept when such decreases are deemed necessary. If Lake Mead dips to a certain water elevation, Arizona will take an initial cut of several hundred thousand acre-feet, and more if the water line continues to drop.

"Create a way for fast-growing Nevada to take additional Colorado River water as it develops groundwater resources over the next decade, mainly by improving water efficiency elsewhere in its system. When Nevada's groundwater pumping becomes operational, it will revert to its normal take from the river.

Category: Colorado Water

9:00:06 AM

Judicial term limits proposed
John Andrews is hoping to put a measure on the fall ballot that would set term limits for judges, according to the Rocky Mountain News [January 7, 2006, "Term limits for judges?"]. From the article, "Former state Senate president John Andrews proposed a state initiative Friday that would set term limits for Colorado appellate judges and Supreme Court justices in an effort to make them more accountable to voters. Andrews, who called some judges 'black-robed dictators,' said the public is increasingly concerned because 'our appeals court and Supreme Court frequently set out to make the law and not merely interpret it.' Under the proposed constitutional amendment, state appellate judges and Supreme Court justices would face retention election every four years and would be term-limited after 12 years. Currently, they're subject to retention election every 10 years, and fewer than 1 percent are turned out, Andrews said. Two years ago, when Andrews was Senate president, lawmakers killed his proposal to put a similar measure on the ballot after state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis told lawmakers the measure would make the judiciary more political."

Here's some coverage from the Rocky dealing with the proposed late term abortion restrictions ballot initiative [January 7, 2006, "Battle over abortion likely to heat up again"]. They write, "Colorado voters can brace for an expensive, emotional battle this November if abortion foes are successful in getting an initiative on the ballot that would ban late-term abortions. Political analysts predict that proponents of the measure will easily gather the required 68,000 signatures and leap over the legal hurdles to get the measure on the ballot. Then, the big guns nationally on both sides of the heated issue will descend on Colorado, armed with millions of dollars for campaign advertising...The proposed initiative would ban abortions that lead to the death of a 'viable fetus': Definition of viable fetus - 'A fetus that has attained that stage of fetal development when its life may be continued indefinitely outside the womb by natural or artificial life-supportive systems'; Doctors performing abortions would have to determine whether a fetus is viable; Exceptions - in the case of a medical emergency; Sanctions - Doctors could face felony charges for performing "post-viability" abortions."

Mike Littwin weighs in on Mayor Hickenlooper's indecision about running for governor, in his column in today's Rocky Mountain News [January 7, 2006, "Littwin: Hickenlooper fiddles as history beckons"]. From the opinion piece, "John Hickenlooper can't seem to make up his mind whether to run for governor. Which is surprising. Because he doesn't really have a choice. If he doesn't run, Colorado Democrats will have blown an historic opportunity. You can fool around with politics. Or love. Or money. Or even, no matter what you've heard, Mother Nature. What you can't fool around with is history. Check your, uh, history if you don't believe me. The surprising thing, of course, is that Colorado Democrats have an historic opportunity that they could blow. I don't understand how it happened, but here it is: This is a watershed year in Colorado politics. The stakes range from control of the state legislature - where the Democrats run both houses for the first time since my bar mitzvah year - to national strategy in the 2008 presidential election. The Mountain West will be a huge battleground, because - you can do the geography - the Democrats don't have anywhere else to go."

The Vail Daily News is running a story about Gary Lindstrom and his run for governor. From the article, "With the calendar flipped to 2006, the countdown has begun for gubernatorial candidate Gary Lindstrom to get moving in his campaign to be the state's next governor. And he has some real work to do...The race statewide, however, isn't all about money. The nomination process by the state Democratic party begins with precinct caucuses across all corners of the state. Every precinct has to hold a caucus by March 21, the first real deadline in the race. That's where Lindstrom says he's going to focus most of his attention between now and then; he's working now to get people who support his candidacy into leadership positions in precincts everywhere."

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

8:14:14 AM

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