Title
Resolution approving the Amended and Restated Green Mountain Reservoir Administrative Protocol Agreement
Presenter:
Michael Gustafson, Senior Attorney, City Attorney's Office
Aram Benyamin, Chief Executive Officer, Colorado Springs Utilities
Body
Summary:
Colorado Springs Utilities ("Utilities") is one of 14 parties to the Green Mountain Reservoir Administrative Protocol ("Protocol") and the Green Mountain Reservoir Administrative Protocol Agreement ("Agreement") and is seeking City Council approval of amendments to the Agreement. The Protocol is an administrative document that governs certain water rights operations related to the 1955 Blue River Decree and Green Mountain Reservoir. The Agreement outlines the procedures necessary to implement the Protocol and was originally entered into in 2013, following City Council approval. The Agreement requires the parties to seek State Water Court and Federal District Court approval of the Protocol. The Agreement needs to be amended as a result of a 2017 Federal District Court decision in which the court determined it will no longer exercise jurisdiction over the Blue River Decree. The parties have negotiated an Amended and Restated Agreement that requires the parties to only seek State Water Court approval of the Protocol. No amendments were made to the Protocol, and the benefits and protections secured by Utilities will remain in place.
Utilities, along with each of the other parties to the Agreement, must take the Amended and Restated Agreement to their governing bodies for approval. Utilities estimates that all parties will have secured their governing bodies' approval and the Amended and Restated Agreement will be effective by the end of the third quarter of 2020.
Background:
The Blue River System contributes approximately 8,500 acre feet of water per year to Utilities' water supply system. A portion of the Blue River System water rights are governed by the Blue River Decree which was entere...
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