Pueblo Chieftain By SAL PACE STATE REPRESENTATIVE

When water leaves a community so does the opportunity to attract companies, build homes, draw business or grow crops.  When water leaves a community, so does a community’s future opportunity for prosperity. We’re facing tough economic times, but we need to ensure that when we rebound, that we rebound together as an entire state — urban and rural.

   That is why I am running House Bill 1159 to require that mitigation plans must be a part of any large transfer of water from one part of the state to another — specifically from one river basin to another.     When a farm shuts down operations, the tractor repairman or the fertilizer salesperson will soon close their doors. Under current Colorado water law, there is no legal consideration for the permanent loss to the economy that is felt when water is transferred permanently out of a community.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2010/01/31/editorial/doc4b64e1d9f0bc8388687208.txt