Coyote Gulch

 



















































































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  Saturday, December 22, 2007


JibJab: In 2007

Here's a retrospective on 2007 from the JibJab kids. Thanks to NewMexiKen for the link.

"2008 pres"
9:25:22 AM     


Iraq

Juan Cole: "Reuters says that Iraq made a comeback as a campaign issue on Wednesday through Friday of this week. On Wednesday, Senator Hillary Clinton told a voter that she could get all US troops out of Iraq by early 2009. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has called for an immediate and complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq, accused Clinton of changing her position."

We'd say Richardson is correct.

TPM Muckraker: "A report prepared for the State Department's inspector general in January 2005, and obtained by TPMmuckraker, shows Blackwater's accounting system for its no-bid, multimillion dollar Iraq contract was 'not considered adequate for accumulating costs on government contracts.' The report is an audit of Blackwater's contract prepared by the accounting firm of Leonard H. Birnbaum. It has been referred to by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (pdf) and in a 2006 story in The Nation, but has not been made publicly available until now. It was obtained by TPMmuckraker after we filed a Freedom of Information Act request in October with the State Department for Blackwater-related documents."

"2008 pres"
9:16:14 AM     


? for President?

Political Wire: "A new GWU Battleground Poll finds among Republicans nationally that Mike Huckabee lead the party's race for president with 24%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 22%, Mitt Romney at 16%, Sen. John McCain at 15% and Fred Thompson at 9%. Among likely Democratic voters, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 47%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 23% and John Edwards at 13%."

"2008 pres"
8:52:16 AM     


Update: Dry Gulch Reservoir
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The water districts hoping to build the Dry Gulch Reservoir near Pagosa Springs have signed a deal for the land, according to The Pagosa Springs Sun. From the article:

The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) and San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) have jointly entered into an agreement to purchase 666 acres of land for the proposed Dry Gulch Reservoir outside of Pagosa Springs. Nevertheless, while representatives of both districts and the landowner, Running Iron Ranch, LLC, signed the agreement Monday, the exact terms and closing date are still in question. According to the districts' legal council, Evan Ela, of Collins, Cockel and Cole, P.C. in Denver, the purchase contract contains certain contingencies -- any one of which, if not met, could nullify the agreement. Therefore, he declined comment as to the agreed purchase price or the exact acreage involved, suggesting instead, that he divulge that information once the transaction is complete.

Wednesday conversations with PAWSD Manager Carrie Weiss and SJWCD President Fred Schmidt, however, established the acreage as the subject of the purchase at 666 acres, with a purchase price "in the ballpark" of $9.5 million. Meanwhile, closing is scheduled for Dec. 28, but the SJWCD still awaits funding of a $1 million endowment from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) approved last March. The district is relying on the grant to cover a portion of the overall purchase price, but by press time yesterday, the money had still not arrived. Weiss, who also serves on the SJWCD board, has received assurances that it will arrive on time, but time is rapidly running out.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

"colorado water"
8:45:51 AM     


Grand County water projects
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Here's a look at the 2008 Grand County budget and its focus on water issues from The Sky-Hi Daily News. From the article:

The county is committed to "protecting and enhancing water in every way possible," says the county manager. The water protection budget is set at $1,144,407 for 2008, a significant portion of which will be used to address the water quality in Grand Lake. About $100,000 more has been set aside in a separate water-quality budget to support monitoring and other testing that is directly attributable to the Three Lakes.

The county has also established a budget with five other partners for the purchase of 85 shares of the Vail Ditch. By setting aside $325,000 in 2008, in addition to funds already spent, the county hopes to change the point of release for a portion of these shares to improve the water quantity and quality from the head of the Fraser River to its confluence with the Colorado River, and down the Colorado to the western boundary of the county. Among other water projects, the county's stream management plan has a cost of more than $800,000, $450,000 of which has already been spent out of county funds.

"colorado water"
8:36:04 AM     


BLM to swap land for water rights for augmentation?
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The Bureau of Land Management is considering a land swap for water rights for the Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The Bureau of Land Management will consider swapping up to 2,700 acres in western Rio Grande County in exchange for water needed to augment well pumping on the Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area. The water rights for 190-acre feet of water annually from the Anderson Ditch in Monte Vista would go toward a state-mandated augmentation plan for the ground water wells that feed the Blanca, roughly 10 miles northeast of Alamosa...

The exact amount of land in the swap will depend on the appraisals of the land and water rights involved in the exchange. BLM officials have, however, put a ceiling on the amount of land under consideration at 10 parcels totaling 2,700 acres, which run from just south of Monte Vista to the Del Norte area. The initial phase of study on the proposal will include public input during a 45-day comment period, but Malecek said the agency already knows some issues will need a hard look. Some of the parcels proposed for the swap provide important winter habitat for deer, elk and antelope. Malecek said the loss of winter range on public land could stress the animals given the rate of development on nearby private land. All of the proposed parcels are contiguous to private land, avoiding the creation of any private inholdings on BLM land. Malacek said the agency sent notices of the proposal to more than 100 adjacent private landowners...

The water rights, which are owned by the Sun Peaks Land Company, make up approximately 7 percent of the total adjudicated Anderson Ditch Water Rights. The water would then be put toward an augmentation plan for the BLM, which would compensate for the effect of groundwater depletions on surface water users. The wells on the Blanca maintain the ponds and wetlands that serve as habitat for 13 species that have either federal or state status as endangered, threatened or as a species of concern. Species such as the bald eagle, the southwestern willow flycatcher and the American peregrine falcon are commonly found there. The ponds and wetlands in the area are also home to the Rio Grande chub, a fish classified as a state species of concern. The 9,775-acre area provides mitigation for wetland destruction caused by the federal Bureau of Reclamation's Closed Basin Project, which transports water from the northern end of the San Luis Valley into the Rio Grande.

"colorado water"
8:29:11 AM     


Leadville Sanitation to raise rates
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From The Leadville Herald Democrat, "Because of rising costs, the Leadville Sanitation District will be raising rates beginning Jan. 1. The district hasn't raised rates in about ten years, but it has decided that an increase of $3 per equivalent residential unit per month is needed to keep up with inflation and to accomplish the required maintenance at the treatment plant. Because residences are billed bi-monthly, that means a $6 increase per bill (from $28 to $34 for the average residence) amounting overall to a 21.4-percent increase. Along with the increase in user fees, the cost per EQR for tap fees will increase to $4,000. As this is also considered a system-development fee, the majority of the money generated by tap fees will be spent on the collection system, with some of it being used for plant upgrades such as the electrical work that is currently being done."

"colorado water"
8:20:03 AM     


Update: First Groundwater Management Sub-District, Rio Grande Water Conservation District
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As expected "District/Water Judge O. John Kuenhold consolidated cases and essentially extended the objection period in water cases involving the San Luis Valley's first water management sub-district plan," according to The Valley Courier. From the article:

As water judge and district court judge, Kuenhold is presiding over both the case involving objections to the state engineer's approval of the first sub-district water management plan and the Rio Grande Water Conservation District (RGWCD) board's approval of the plan. Kuenhold has consolidated the cases. On Friday during another status hearing on the combined cases Kuenhold ordered that the state's approval of the plan be republished through the court resume process, a procedure that the state did not complete earlier. The judge said it did not make sense for everyone who is currently involved in the cases to spend a great deal of time and money on court proceedings when objectors might come along later and contend they did not have adequate notice so the cases would have to start all over again. "Why not close that gap," he said. Some of the objectors had challenged the adequacy of the state's notice in this case. Attorney Tim Buchanan, for example, said he could not find any notice published by the state and had to call the water clerk. He said the procedure for providing notice to people whose water rights might be affected by a case is through the resume process. The resume will be published on January 10. That effectively extends the time period for objections to the state's approval of the plan to March, 60 days after the resume publication. Kuenhold scheduled another status date for March 20...

Attorney Stéphane Atencio, representing objector Richard Ramstetter, said this is the most significant case since the 1969 water act and the most significant water matter in the Valley "since the water grab, and it would be a shame if all the parties did not get to participate and address all the issues in both of the cases that have already been consolidated." He said the consolidation of a water case and civil case created "one weird critter." He suggested that the judge's order of consolidation be clarified that all parties who filed in either case are parties in the consolidated case and should be able to fully participate in the combined matter. "Then we need to get involved in a very detailed and rather complicated case management order so we can sort through this and deal with all the different issues in an orderly manner," Atencio said...

Attorneys also talked about who had the burden of proof in these cases. RGWCD Attorney David Robbins argued that the objectors had the burden. He said all of the information and meetings leading up to the sub-district plan development and approval were open to the public and any potential objectors, and most of the objectors in this case did not participate during that process. Robbins said it should be up to those objecting to the plan to prove what it is they do not like about it and what should be changed. He said it was offensive to him to think that his clients who had spent so much time and effort on this plan should now bear the burden of defending it...

Kuenhold said he wanted the water sub-district board of managers to provide on computer disc general information such as their minutes, documentation, spread sheets and studies - "whatever it is that was considered in these various meetings and were approved by the board" - for a foundation for this case, not necessarily as a burden of proof but as a starting place.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

"colorado water"
8:16:38 AM     


Colorado Department of Health and Environment refuses approval for Fairplay water well
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From The Fairplay Flume: "The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has inexplicably refused to fully approve the new well recently constructed to provide water for Fairplay, according to Jeff Goble, town water operator. In a report to the Fairplay Town Board on Dec. 17, Goble said that, even though all the water tests submitted show that the water is clean and fit for consumption, the Health Department maintains that, due to the proximity of the well to the pond on site and the depth of the well, which is 55 feet rather than 100 feet, the well will still be classified as 'under the influence of surface water.'

More from the article:

Wells are normally expected to contain only ground water, which indicates that the water comes directly from an underground aquifer, rather than being mixed with water that has come from rainfall or snow melt, called surface water, which may contain contaminants. Goble explained that he had submitted all the documentation required and had been in close contact with the Health Department since the project began earlier this year, and no one had mentioned that either the location of the well site or the depth of the well would be a problem. Board members asked if either of the engineers, Lytle Water Solutions or Littlehorn Engineering, were aware of the restriction. Goble replied that he had not had time to contact them, but would do so. Goble was also instructed to contact the Town Water Attorney, Rick Fendel, for advice on how to proceed. Goble indicated that, although he had been told the information verbally, a letter would be sent to the Town Board regarding the finding, to which they could reply and furnish any mitigating information. Goble said that the ultimate solution that the state might eventually require would be a surface water treatment plant, which is well beyond the financial capability of the town right now.

"colorado water"
7:46:58 AM     



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