HJR 24-1018 — Grand Lake Water Clarity

HOUSESecond JOINTRegular RESOLUTIONSession 24-1018Seventy-fourth BYGeneral REPRESENTATIVE(S)Assembly McCluskie,STATE Amabile,Bacon,OF Bird,COLORADO Boesenecker,ENGROSSED Brown,LLS Catlin,NO. Clifford, Daugherty, deGruyKennedy, Duran,English, Frizell, Froelich, Garcia, Hamrick, Hartsook, Herod, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp, Lieder, Lindstedt, Lukens, Lynch, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Marvin, McCormick, McLachlan, Pugliese, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Snyder, Soper, Story, Taggart, Titone, Velasco, Vigil, Weinberg, Weissman, Young;

alsoR24-1027.01 SENATOR(S)Jessica Roberts,Wigent Baisley,x3701 Bridges,HJR24-1018 Buckner,HOUSE Coleman,SPONSORSHIP Cutter,McCluskie, Danielson,Amabile, Exum,Bacon, Fields,Bird, Gardner,Boesenecker, Ginal,Brown, Gonzales,Catlin, Hansen,Clifford, Hinrichsen,Daugherty, JaquezdeGruyKennedy,Duran,English,Frizell,Froelich,Garcia,Hamrick,Hartsook,Herod,Jodeh, Lewis,Joseph, Kirkmeyer,Kipp, Kolker,Lieder, Liston,Lindstedt, Lundeen,Lukens, Marchman,Lynch, MichaelsonMabrey, Jenet,Marshall, Mullica,Martinez, PeltonMarvin, B.,McCormick, PeltonMcLachlan, R.,Pugliese, Priola,Ricks, Rich,Rutinel, Rodriguez,Sirota, Simpson,Snyder, Smallwood,Soper, Sullivan,Story, VanTaggart, Winkle,Titone, Will,Velasco, WinterVigil, F.,Weinberg, Zenzinger,Weissman, FenbergYoung CONCERNINGSENATE SPONSORSHIP Roberts, House Committees Senate Committees HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1018 C ONCERNING THE WATER CLARITY OF GRANDG LAKE,RAND COLORADO'SL AKE , COLORADO S LARGEST AND DEEPEST NATURAL LAKE.LAKE .

WHEREAS,GrandLakeisColorado'slargestanddeepestnaturallakeWHEREAS,GrandLakeisColorado'slargestanddeepestnatural lake and part of the headwaters to the Colorado River;

and WHEREAS,GrandLakeisusedasacomponentofWHEREAS, theColorado-BigGrand ThompsonLake (C-BT)is Projectused authorizedas bya thecomponent Unitedof Statesthe Colorado-BigThompson(C-BT)ProjectauthorizedbytheUnitedStates Congress in 1937;

and WHEREAS, The C-BT Project collects water from the Upper Colorado River Basin, including Shadow Mountain Reservoir, and Lake Granby just downstream of Grand Lake, and involves pumping water fromthesefromthesedownstreamreservoirsinto downstreamreservoirs into Grand Lake and throughtheAlvathrough the Alva B.

this process reverses the g R 2 natural flow of water and thereby results in less pristine reservoir water beinga introduced, intoS GrandF Lake;2 O e r Shading denotes HOUSE amendment.

andDouble WHEREAS,underlining Senatedenotes DocumentSENATE No.amendmenH n r Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to emieting law.

80,Dashes 75ththrough Congress,the 1stwords Session,or authorizedtheU.S.BureauofReclamation(Reclamation)toconstructthenumbers C-BTindicate Project;deletions from existing law.

A F being introduced into Grand Lake;

and WHEREAS,SenateDocumentNo.80,75thCongress,1stSession, authorizedtheU.S.BureauofReclamation(Reclamation)toconstructthe C-BT Project;

Congress, when it authorized the funding totoconstructthe construct the elements of thetheC-BTin1937,acknowledgedtheneedto C-BT in 1937, acknowledged the need to preserveGrandLake,theColoradoRiver,andRockyMountainNational Park byrequiring, through the authorization language codified in Senate Document No.

Tosoconserveandmakeuseofthesewatersforirrigation,power,Tosoconserveandmakeuseof industrialthesewatersforirrigation, development,power,industrialdevelopment,andotherpurposes,astocreatethe and other purposes, as to create the greatest benefit.

and WHEREAS,WHEREAS,TheC-BT,asauthorizedbySenateDocumentNo.80 Theand C-BT,operated asby authorizedthe byNorthern SenateColorado DocumentWater No.Conservancy District in collaboration with the U.S.

80 and operated by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District in collaboration with the U.S.

and PAGE 2-HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1018 WHEREAS, In 2008, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) adopted a narrative and 4-meter numeric clarity standard (with a delayed effective date) - the first of its kind in Colorado - in an attempt to improve the clarity of the water in Grand Lake;

and WHEREAS, In 2014, the WQCC amended the 2008 Grand Lake -2- 1018 Clarity narrative standard to provide that Grand Lake achieve "[t]he highest level of clarity attainable, consistent with the exercise of established water rights, the protection of aquatic life, and protection of water quality throughout the Three Lakes System" and in 2016 subsequently adopted clarity goal qualifiers of a 3.8 meter (12.5 feet) average depth and 2.5 meter (or 8.2 feet) dailyminimum depth to be met throughout the most important recreational season - from July 1 to September 11 - the times when most pumping from downstream reservoirs occurs delivering water to Grand Lake;

and WHEREAS, Northern Water has a contractual relationship with the UnitedStates,asdefinedbyits1938RepaymentContractandsubsequentUnited 2013ClaritySupplement,thatoutlinestheircommitment"toidentifyandStates, evaluateas factorsdefined by its 1938 Repayment Contract and subsequent 2013 ClaritySupplement, that affectoutlines clarityintheir Grandcommitment Lakeandtodevelopa"to planidentify inand accordanceevaluate withfactors thisthat Supplementaffect toclarity meetin theGrand applicableLake and to developaplaninaccordancewiththisSupplementtomeettheapplicable water clarity standards";

and WHEREAS, In furtherance of the 2013 Clarity Supplement, and in acknowledgingtheimportanceacknowledging the importance of developing a larger cooperative action to address Grand Lake water clarity, in 2016, the U.S.

Bureau of Reclamation, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the GrandCountyBoardofCommissioners,theNorthwestColoradoCouncil of Governments,Governments,andtheColoradoRiver and the Colorado River Water Conservation District signed the "Grand Lake Clarity Stakeholders' Memorandum of Understanding"(MOU)"toestablishanadaptivemanagementprocessfor clarityinGrandLake,tooccurconcurrentwithReclamation'sexploration of alternatives to improve clarity in Grand Lake consistent with federal Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines that guide federal investments in water resources, which MOU was extended to 2026";

and PAGE 3-HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1018 WHEREAS, Since the adoption of the clarity goal qualifiers and the 2016 MOU, Grand Lake Adaptive Management (GLAM) has had some measurable improvements in Grand Lake clarity and an improved understanding of the relationship between water quality and operations that has informed the process, although Grand Lake has not consistently achieved the water claritygoals in the WQCC's standard because annual snowpack and rainfall are still major contributing factors to Grand Lake water clarity;

and WHEREAS, Grand County's economy relies on outdoor recreation, tourism, and agriculture, and the Grand CountyTourismCounty Tourism Board reported visitor days in July, August, and September totaled 4.3 -3- 1018 million in 2022 and 3.7 million in 2023;

and WHEREAS,WHEREAS,Thecollaborativeeffortstoimprovetheclarityofthe The collaborative efforts to improve the clarity of the waterinGrandLake,althoughlaudableandongoing,maybeinsufficient to consistently meet the clarity-goal qualifiers for Grand Lake;

now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fourth GeneralAssemblyoftheStateofColorado,theSenateconcurringherein:General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

(1) RecognizeRecognizetheimportanceof theGrandLakeanditsuniquewater importance of Grand Lake and its unique water clarity as an aesthetic, recreational, wildlife, tourist, economic, and historic asset to the state and nation;

(2) Recognize the importanceofimportance theC-BTprojectforessentialof waterthe deliveriesC-BT toproject Colorado'sfor northernessential FrontwaterdeliveriestoColorado'snorthernFrontRangeandplainsregionand Range and plains region and economy;

and (3) UrgethecollaboratingentitiesofUrge the2016MOUtocontinuetheirthe effortscollaborating toentities establishof effective,the measurable,2016 demonstrable,MOU andto achievablecontinue short-their andefforts long-term solutions to increaseestablish theeffective, claritymeasurable, depthsdemonstrable, inand achievableshort-andlong-termsolutionstoincreasetheclaritydepthsin Grand Lake and meet state-issued clarity standards.

PAGEBeItFurtherResolved,ThatcopiesofthisJointResolutionbesent 4-HOUSEtotheTownof JOINTGrandLake;GovernorJaredPolis;DanGibbs,Executive RESOLUTIONDirector 24-1018of BeItFurtherResolved,Thatcopiesof thisJointResolutionbesentto the TownDepartment of GrandNatural Lake;Resources;

Governor Jared Polis;

Dan Gibbs, Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources;

____________________________-4- ____________________________1018 Julie McCluskie Steve Fenberg SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE ____________________________ ____________________________ Robin Jones Cindi L.

Markwell CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE SECRETARY OF OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE PAGE 5-HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1018