From The Durango Herald (Joe Hanel) via Cortez Journal:
Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, said he expects his House Bill 1013 to die without a vote in May, when the Legislature adjourns for the year. His bill would have forbid the Forest Service from demanding that ski areas sign over their water rights in return for approval of their permits to operate on federal land. “I think it’s important for the state to tell the feds to stay out of our business,” Sonnenberg said.
Colorado law allows water right holders to sell the right to whomever they choose. But the Forest Service wants to make sure water used for snowmaking doesn’t get sold to condo developers or others who would use it for purposes other than skiing. “We’re committed to the long-term health of recreational opportunities and economic opportunities that the ski resorts provide for Colorado,” said Chris Strebig, spokesman for the Forest Service’s regional office in Golden.
But Sonnenberg’s bill would have amended Colorado water law to forbid the U.S. government from requiring anyone to surrender their water rights in order to get a land-use permit.
Legislators got calls urging them to kill the bill from Harris Sherman, who is the undersecretary of agriculture and the federal official who oversees the Forest Service. Many legislators know Sherman personally, because he directed the state Department of Natural Resources before he went to Washington…
Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, opposes Sonnenberg’s bill, which she thinks oversteps the state’s authority. “It’s a state law on what the federal government can do on a special use permit or lease on federal land. I don’t think Colorado has the power to pass a law to that effect,” Levy said.
Legislators worked out a deal, which both Levy and Sonnenberg confirmed: The House will vote on a symbolic resolution that disapproves of the Forest Service’s practice on water rights, but Sonnenberg’s bill will “die on the calendar” – legislative slang for being killed without a vote on the last day of the year.
From The Denver Post:
The U.S. Forest Service has scheduled public meetings next week as it works to craft a rule addressing ski resorts and water.
Dozens of resorts with permits to operate on national forests have bought or acquired rights to use nearby bodies of water for snowmaking. The Forest Service had adopted a clause that said those resorts had to transfer their water rights to the federal government, so that the water rights would stay with the land. After the National Ski Areas Association sued, a judge ruled last year that the agency violated procedure in not seeking public comment before adopting the clause.
The agency now plans open houses April 16 in Lakewood, Colo., on April 17 in Salt Lake City, and April 18 in Lake Tahoe, Calif., to get input.
More 2013 Colorado legislation coverage here.