From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Public scoping meetings for the Arkansas Valley Conduit and a master contract for communities up and down the valley will begin next week. The Bureau of Reclamation announced the meeting schedule Sunday…
The master contract is being sought by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District for up to 28,000 acre-feet of excess-capacity storage in Lake Pueblo. While part of the contract is tied to the conduit, also sponsored by Southeastern, other communities also want a long-term option to store water in Lake Pueblo. Pueblo West, Fountain and Security, partners in the Southern Delivery System who would gain storage under SDS, also want to participate in the master contract. Also involved in the master contract discussions, which have been going on since the Preferred Storage Option Plan was developed in 2001, are communities upstream of Lake Pueblo on the Arkansas River. In June, the Southeastern district decided to pair the environmental evaluations of the conduit and the master contract as a cost-saving option. The National Environmental Policy Act process can cost sponsors millions of dollars, and the federal government would be required to assess both efforts in the same geographic location.