Saturday, September 30, 2006

Million project pipeline Here's the to link Colorado Biz Magazine's story about the Million project pipeline. Thanks to the Denver Post for the link. 9:46:04 AM     Transactions between willing buyers and willing sellers Summit Daily News: "To the Colorado farmers who had their irrigation wells shut down this year, Veronica Sperling is the Wicked Witch of the West who killed their crops so thirsty communities and greedy competitors can drive them out of business and get their water cheap. To the farmers farther down the South Platte River who blame the wells for sucking their farms dry the past three years, Sperling is a savior helping them get precious lifeblood for their livelihood. "Sperling is a water attorney who represents Boulder and Centennial, two bustling cities hungry for water. She is unapologetic about her battle with well owners, saying she's caught in a fight between people who get water from the South Platte against well owners who came late to Colorado's water wars. To Sperling, communities have gotten a bad rap for taking legal action to shut down the farmers' wells. She said communities and farmers who have senior water rights risk losing their water if they don't fight back. Plus, she said, farmers have been willing to sell their water rights. 'All of those water rights are transactions between willing buyers and willing sellers,' she said. 'If the agricultural community doesn't want to sell their water rights to cities they should just stop doing it.' "John Monheiser, who has 1,800 irrigated acres and has a senior right from the South Platte dating to 1895, said his farm near the town of Crook got the water it was entitled to this season for the first time in years. He said Sperling deserves credit for saving thousands of farms. 'I call her a savior,' he said." Category: Colorado Water 9:39:12 AM     Blue River Pumpback Summit Daily News: "The Breckenridge Sanitation District last week suspended plans for a proposed $10 million Blue River pumpback after negotiations with the Board of County Commissioners failed to resolve issues related to the county's permitting authority over the project. "According to district manager Andy Carlberg, talks collapsed after the county added 'unreasonable and unlawful' language to a hotly debated Memorandum of Agreement. As approved by the BOCC, the agreement would subject the district and its board of directors to civil and criminal penalties, Carlberg said. "The permitting negotiations have been complex, but essentially, the county wants to ensure that it retains what it believes is a state-mandated responsibility to review and regulate any 'unintended consequences' resulting from operation of the pumpback outside the parameters outlined by the agreement. "At issue during the district's Sept. 21 board meeting was language that would have established a 'strong presumption of immediate and irreparable harm,' from operation outside those parameters, according to county attorney Jeff Huntley." Category: Colorado Water 9:19:27 AM     Fountain Creek management KOAA.com: "Politicians from El Paso and Pueblo counties gathered Friday to talk about their vision for Fountain Creek. They've met before but Friday there was more of them and they seemed to agree more often. The creek's erosion and water quality problems are not in dispute. The next step is to come up with a plan to fix the problems and possibly turn the stream into something more. Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera explains, 'We know the only way to grow responsibly is to take care of Fountain Creek.'" Category: Colorado Water 9:13:06 AM     Western primary to boost western issues? Salt Lake Tribune: "Ethanol was Exhibit A on Friday at the Western Presidential Primary Symposium in Salt Lake City, the evidence of why Utah and its Western neighbors need to band together with their own early presidential selection process. While ethanol is debated ad nauseam, Western issues like preparing for drought, managing public lands, guiding growth and complying with the Endangered Species Act are glossed over. "'When is it you ever knew a presidential candidate's position on water?' asked New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. "That's all about to change, according to Western primary boosters. University professors, state executives, political advisers and lawmakers gathered Friday to build momentum for a scheduled Western States Presidential Primary on Feb. 5, 2008 - the first Tuesday in February. So far, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico have signed on." Deseret Morning News: "[Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.] told participants at the Western Presidential Primary Symposium sponsored by the University of Utah's Center for Public Policy and Administration that even with just four of eight states in the region participating in the process early, Utah will benefit. 'We've never before forced the body politic, at least at a presidential level, to get smart about our issues,' Huntsman said. For too long, he said, Utah and much of the rest of the West have been a fly-over zone for candidates seeking the nation's highest office. The regional primary will attract candidates and their campaign spending to the state, the Republican governor said, as well as focus attention on regional issues such as water development, public land use and immigration. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also spoke at the symposium in favor of the primary. 'The West has a new voice and a real choice in the selection of the next American president,' Richardson, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, said." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 8:56:06 AM     Natural snowpack reservoir is getting smaller and smaller Arizona Central: "Everything you think you know about water in the West is about to change. Scratch that. It's changing now. The drought that's squeezing Arizona and the Colorado River? It could be the new normal. The warming temperatures that seem to start earlier and linger later? A shift in climate that already has stolen runoff in some parts of the Northwest. Scientists met in Colorado last week for a conference on drought and water scarcity and there was no missing the theme of change in their messages, swathed as they were at times in dense, geologic research papers. "'... the natural snow pack reservoir is getting smaller and smaller,' said Richard Palmer, who teaches water resource management at the University of Washington. 'In the winter of 2005, we had the smallest snow pack on record. That's a real wake-up call for us that something is changing.'" Category: Colorado Water 8:49:18 AM     The obligation lawmakers have to prepare for after the energy boom is over Republican state Senate candidate Josh Penry is up to it again. He is proposing a fixed percentage of federal mineral royalties (6%) to be earmarked for education and conservation, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, "Republican state Senate candidate Josh Penry unveiled a plan Friday during a Redlands Rotary Club debate that he said would 'responsibly' redirect federal mineral royalties into education and conservation funds. "Penry told the crowd that under his plan the first 6 percent of Colorado[base ']s share of federal mineral royalties would be diverted into education operations, water storage and other areas already consuming the tax funds. He said everything above and beyond the first 6 percent would go to conservation on energy-impacted areas, an education trust fund, and open-space- and habitat-conservation efforts. "He said his plan takes on the 'obligation' lawmakers have to prepare for 'after the energy boom is over.'" All you water nuts will know Penry from the legislation he introduced which became HB 1177 - Water for the 21st Century Act. HB 1177 organizes Colorado by basin instead of the capricious overlay of political boundaries. The hope is that all arguments will be settled without the traditional trip to court. Category: Colorado Water 8:29:58 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 12:15:55 PM.