SAN LUIS VALLEY — County commissioners in Saguache and Alamosa have voted in favor of resolutions regarding protecting water resources.

The commissioners have also voted in favor of "1041" regulations that can protect resources, in this case water, from development. The name 1041 is derived from the 1974 legislation, HB 1041, that allows local governments to identify, designate, and regulate areas of state interest they can regulate.

According to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, “The general intention of these powers is to allow for local governments to maintain control over particular development projects even where the development has statewide impacts."

Under the terms of the nine-page proposed Intergovernmental Agreement drafted by the San Luis Valley Council of Governments for the six Valley county board of county commissioners to consider, is the stipulation that all six counties in the Valley must agree to it for it to become effective.

The accord also states, "Member jurisdictions recognize that efforts currently and will foreseeably exist to transfer water from within the San Luis Valley to outside of the San Luis Valley and that such transfers will be significantly detrimental to the Valley's human and natural resources, environment, and abilities to continue to thrive as a community."

Essentially, the agreement will give the counties in the Valley the power to regulate any water export proposals.

During the June 6 Saguache County meeting, Commissioner Liza Marron said, "I will be very proud to be part of this six-county consortium that is working on areas of state interest, this is a moment and I'm proud to be a part of it."

The vote did not receive any public comment and had little discussion at the meeting.

Saguache County Commissioner Tom McCracken told the Valley Courier, "I was very happy and encouraged that the BOCC [Board of County Commissioners], was unanimous in supporting the adoption of the new 1041 declarations, and that there was no negative public comment. This is an important step in the process of implementation of the six-county Intergovernmental Agreement, which Saguache County has already signed.”

On June 7, the Alamosa County Board of Commissioners passed the Intergovernmental Agreement and amended their existing 1041 to accommodate the water protection issue.

Commissioner Lori Laski told the Valley Courier, "I want to thank the SLV Council of Governments, for their facilitation of this 1041 for the entire valley. Even though Alamosa County has had a 1041 since 2009, it did not adequately address the potential transfer of water, therefore it needed to be revised. With Alamosa County's Resolution, we acknowledge that many issues impact neighboring counties, and it is vital we have a process and guidelines that address this as a county within a larger region. Surface and groundwater resources are the Valley's lifeblood. The transfer of water from the SLV could endanger our viability.”

Commissioner Vern Heersink offered, "I'm pleased that we passed the IGA and Resolution. It is my hope that history will prove this was a wise decision."

The proposed agreement, if adopted, will establish the San Luis Valley Joint Planning Area to Protect Surface Water and Groundwater Resources and the San Luis Valley Planning Board.

On May 16, at the regular meeting of the Costilla County Board of County Commissioners, the IGA proposal was tabled after county attorney Nicolas Sarmiento expressed concern over the agreement and the five-year plan stipulation. A date to consider the agreement has not yet been set.

Rio Grande County will consider the agreement on June 14. Conejos and Mineral counties will vote on June 21.

The Valley Courier reached out to Renewable Water Resources (RWR), a company that has floated the idea of exporting water from Saguache County to the Front Range and has not received a response by press time.

In other RWR news, the Colorado Sun reported on June 8 that RWR has "poured money into Douglas County water district races." According to the Sun, RWR has donated thousands of dollars into the campaigns of candidates Robert Kennah and Kory Nelson for the Parker Water and Sanitation District board. Kennah won election to the board and RWR-backed candidate Nelson did not win.

Last year, Douglas County Commissioners rejected RWR's plan to export water from the Valley via a proposed pipeline to be constructed using COVID-19 relief funds.

Political pollster Floyd Ciruli, who has extensive experience working with Douglas County water providers said of RWR, "They have resistance at both ends. And It's interesting that [RWR] is contributing to these boards. It's really a long shot."