Funding for South Platte, Ute projects
Rocky Mountain News
Published November 9, 2007 at midnight
Thursday's override of a presidential veto on the Water Resources Development Act means $120 million for Colorado projects.
"(We) will now be able to move forward on providing funding for urgent water projects that will have critical and long-lasting impact in Colorado," Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said in a statement.
"Today the Congress stood up to the president, and we stood up for the farmers, ranchers, and communities of Colorado that rely on the precious amount of water the projects in the bill help provide."
WRDA includes funding authorization for the following projects in Colorado:
• $79 million for Arkansas Valley Conduit to bring fresh drinking water and economic opportunities to southeast Colorado.
• $10 million for the Boulder County Pipeline to protect water quality and allow for year-round water delivery from Carter Lake to Boulder and other municipal area water providers.
• Fountain Creek Watershed Study. WRDA includes instructions to the secretary of the Army to speed up completion of the study, the first step toward clean up and protection of Fountain Creek.
• $5 million for selenium study. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct studies to address selenium concentrations in Colorado, which in high doses can be fatal to humans, livestock and wildlife.
• $13.06 million to complete flood mitigation, habitat restoration and improved recreation along the South Platte River in Denver.
• $25 million for the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, for restoration and management of the Rio Grande, which is headwatered in Colorado, and its tributaries such as the Alamosa and Conejos rivers.
• $1 million for water and wastewater infrastructure for the Ute Mountain Project in Montezuma and La Plata counties.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
