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Home My WebLink About2.0 CorrespondenceJOHN R. SCHENK DAN KERST WILLIAM J. OEWINTER III Fender ReaIty 2l-6 E. 21st SrreerRifle, CO 81650 ATTN: Carolyn Bernhardt DK/sr Enc. c - Davis Farrar c - Elouise Bishop ScupNx & I"(ERST ATTORNEYS AT LAW SUITE IOO, VILLAGE PLAZA GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO AI8O1 July 15, 1981 Yours very truly, DAN KERST (303) 945-2447 JuL 1 6 1981 GAITTIC"LD CO . PLi\t'lti iR TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This firm rePresents Elouisb A. Bishop ln connection with the parcelsof real Property which she or.rns on East Divide described in Resolution ofthe Board of county Commissioners of Garfield County dated l"lay 12, 19g0,in which a 40 acre parcel owned by Elouise was divided lnto four tractsof approxlmately 11.09, 10.67, g.23, and g.98 acres, respectlvery. rnconnection with that subdivision exemption process, the Garfleld County?lanning Department received confirmation fiom the Dlvision of waterResources of the state of colorado that well permits woul-d be issued foreach of the four tracts. concern has arisen recently, however, as aresult of action taken by the Colorado Divislon of water Resourceslimiting the issuance of well permits in the Colorado River drainage. Iattach a copy of the June 12, 1981, letter from the Divlsion of ItaterResources to the Garfield county Board of county conrmissioners settingforth the Divisionts new policy in this regard. you w111 note in thefirst full paragraph ot p"g.2 of the enclosed letter, that the Divislonagrees that It will issue the type of domestic well permit indicated inthelr letter of approval for previously platted subdivisions. r havealso confirmed by telephone confe...r..L wlth responsible persons in theoffice of the Divl-sion of water Resources that the ,r", po1i"y as articulatedln the June 12, l98L letter will provide for the issuance of well permitsto the four tracts created fron Ms. Blshops above referenced property. To summarize, the purchaser of any of the four tracts from Ms.Bishop will, based upon the current posltion of the Divislon of l^IaterResources' be able to obtain a well permlt for the tract purchased bysubmittlng the weIl permit applicatlon to the State Division of waterResources, making reference io the letter of approval issued by theDivision of Water Resources in connectton wlth the Bishop SubdivisionExemption and identifying the subject property as one of the exemptedtracts. rf any interested party should have Lny questions regardlngthis matter or if r can be of assistance in any regard, please do nothesitate to contact me. D FrcHr.ho o,ilr,lu Gor err. ;t /r++i- /.J. A OANTELSON Statc E ngrncer't** t a DIVISION OF WATER BESOURCES Oeparlmenl of Nalural Flesources 'r313 Shcrman Slrcel - Room 818 Dcnver. Colorado 80203 Admrnrsl ralron (303) 866-3581 Ground \ryalet (303) 866-3587 Junc 12, l98l Board of County Commissioners Garfield County 2014 Btake Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 Dear Bo.ard I'lembers: ' This letter is:-n rega-rd to the a<iministration of water rights, surface and grould w:rter, oh the Colorado River and its tributaries Cameo which is locatr:d on the Colorado River near Grand Junction. both above Due to recent irrterpretations by this office of Senate Document 80(Act of August 9, 19.17, 50 Stat. 564) which dealt with the authorization.ofthe Colorado-Big Thoirpson Project, I have revised previous poli.cies dealing with water rights adrrinistra*-ion which. inrpact your county prinrarily through the subdivision wate:: supply plan revier,r process This policy rev:ision is based on the fact that there are demands for water by certain wat,:r right owners at Cameo (Grand Valley water rights) and at the Shoshone Hydr,> Power plant in Glenrn,ood Canyon which cannot be totally satisfied by reLease.; of water from Green l.lopntain Reseryoir in accordancewith the provisions of Senate Document 80. As a result of these denands for s*ater (river calls), I and rny Division Engineer are required to adrninisterexisting junior water rights above these two locations- In particular, during tthe irrigation season, the Grand Valley water rights have and will continue toplace a call during low flow periods rll"t.d to drorght conditions and duringthe winter months, the Shoshone tJydro Power Plant has and will continue toplacc a call wltcn thc fJow in Clcirwood Cunyon is bclow epproxinrutciy.I4O0 cfs. As a result of this policy rcvision, subdivision water supply plans re-ceived after the date of ifris letter witi be reviewed wit.h r"spl.i io the -impact of the subdivisionts watcr supply plan upon senior watei rights in gcncral and the above in particular. For .r-,pt", on the Colorado River and its tribu-taries above Cameo aIl subdivision watt, r"ppfy plans with v,rater rights junior to the Shoshone Hydro Power Plant or the Crana-Vaftey water rights rvould not be recommended for appro'ral since the subdivisionrs water right tr,ould be cur-tailed: Any such sutdivision watcr suppty plan should include a plan for aug- mentation to replace the injury caused-io stnior water rights. Obviously, a proposed subdivision situatcd above Shoshone is impacted. by both calls and r''ill rcqurrc rcplucctrtctlt wrtcr tlrrough :tn JUglrcrrtutiorr llIult botlr 1 I 19Bl Gieit[tD i;0 '4 n t] I I Itou rr,l iune ?l'rrgc 2of Ct:ulrty Corruniss j olrct.s 72, l98l and wintcr nrotttlts. 'l'lris policy also irrc.ludcs subrJivisions witlr intlivitluul on-lot wells if the curnulative effcct of all the wells in thc subdivision would cause a depletion in the flow of the Colorado River or its tributaries above Cameo. h'ith.resPect to previously plattcd subdivisions, this office r*'ill issue the tlpe of domestic well pcrnrit inrlicatert:in our letter of approval and for thosc plettcd prior to Junc l, 1972, lrorrschold usc only rvclI pcrnrits rvill bc i s sued. I realize that this policy rcvision may have some impact upon subdivision develoPment in your county, but I cannot ovcrlook ny responsibility to Protectsenior vested water rights. If you would Iike to discuss this situation in more detail, I wouli be most willing to meet with your Board. Very truL y yours, A t a -a Je s A. Danielson, P.E EngineerSta JAD,/HDS.:mvf cc Lee Enewold, Di'rision Engineer Robert Longenba:gh, Assistant State Engineer, Ground lVater Section Hal D. Simpson, Assistant State Engineer, Engineering Section