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Ute Day at The Colorado State Capitol

I was immensely proud to be at the Colorado State capitol to celebrate Ute Day, March 15, with my long-time friends from the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribes. Thank you to their partners in state leadership for the honor you bestowed on them as they addressed a joint session of the Colorado General Assembly and met with Governor Polis and Lt. Governor Primavera.

Bipartisan infrastructure bill a funding miracle
for long-awaited Arkansas Valley Conduit

$160 million committed thus far and construction underway

The Bureau of Reclamation allocated another $100 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to the Arkansas Valley Conduit, on the heels of a $60 million allocation in 2022.

Commissioner of Reclamation Camille Touton (left) and Becky Mitchell, former executive director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and now Colorado's Upper Colorado River Commissioner, have a little fun demonstrating the size of the pipe which will carry safe drinking water from Lake Pueblo to communities to the east.

Kogovsek & Associates worked with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the project’s sponsor, to garner strong support from the Bureau of Reclamation and Colorado’s congressional delegation. The State of Colorado and its Water Conservation Board have played a key role in moving the project from planning to construction.

“We were all thrilled when the first construction contract was awarded and the construction start was becoming a reality,” Christine Arbogast, president of Kogovsek & Associates, said. “But the hard-fought passage of a robust infrastructure package for the Bureau of Reclamation is nothing short of a miracle for the residents of the lower Arkansas Valley. Safe drinking water coming, at last.”

Pipe is going into the ground this summer and a second contract will be awarded soon. While there is no certainty on a completion date, the infrastructure funding opportunity should accelerate construction by several years. The original construction estimate was 15 years.

“Reclamation is being very pro-active, and forward-thinking, in spending the infrastructure dollars where they can be of most benefit most quickly. Their partnership with the Southeastern District and the State of Colorado is a model for the future,” Arbogast said.

Reclamation awards second construction contract for Arkansas Valley Conduit Bureau press release

More federal funding on its way to assist Greeley in mitigating 2020 fire impacts

The Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest received $79 million in additional federal funding to address impacts of the 2020 historic wildfires within its boundaries. Working with Senator Michael Bennet, the City of Greeley is slated to received about $14 million of that funding to help mitigate fire damage which threatens its water infrastructure if not treated.

In addition, Kogovsek & Associates and Greeley are working to obtain additional funding from the State of Colorado for mitigation work, and spearheaded an FY '23 appropriations increase request to be used for mitigation purposes.

The City of Greeley continues to work with the City of Fort Collins, Northern Colorado Conservancy District, Grand County and others to quickly obtain funding needed this spring for mitigation on the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome burn areas. Further mitigation will add to the limited protections provided in 2021 in a determined effort to protect water providers downstream of the 400,000 acre fires.

Water providers fear run-off and monsoon season will bring massive amounts of burn debris into the watershed, potentially causing water delivery shut-off and damage to water infrastructure.

The coordinated efforts include working with the Colorado congressional delegation on potential funding. Congress included emergency fire funding in the continuing resolution for FY '22, and the delegation is strongly urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to commit funds immediately to the mitigation efforts in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt Forests where the two fires occurred.

In addition, the infrastructure package passed late last year offers further opportunity for mitigation funding.

In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly passed a much-needed wildfire mitigation funding measure with strong bipartisan support, and Governor Jared Polis quickly signed it into law, understanding the immediate need for help on the major burn scars from historical fires in the fall of 2020. The funding will be managed through the Colorado Water Conservation Board in an effort to protect and restore watershed health to the fire regions.

"Colorado's support will further the efforts of local communities, working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Forest Service, to protect water providers and water quality downstream of the fires," Kogovsek & Associates President Christine Arbogast said. "The non-federal effort had to be undertaken even though the vast majority of the burn area is federal land. The potential damage while waiting for more federal support is enormous."

To see how the ash from the burn scar affects the downstream water click here Poudre River

She added that emergency supplemental funds are needed, along with a fresh look at how forest management, wildfire prevention, wildfire suppression and wildfire mitigation programs are managed and funded.

Our firm has been retained by the City of Greeley, Colorado to assist them and a coalition of other stakeholders in securing federal and state support for a much-needed mitigation plan following the catastrophic Cameron Peak Fire last fall. The coalition will also coordinate with another group of organizations seeking similar support for the mitigation of lands burned in the East Troublesome Fire during the same period.

At one time, the two historically damaging fires came close to merging.

"During these times of prolonged drought in the West, we've experienced the added threat of wildfire, the reality of more wildfires, the increasing severity of wildfire, and of course the aftermath of wildfire. For water providers, like the City of Greeley and its partners in this effort, the problems really begin after the fire is out," Christine Arbogast, president of Kogovsek & Associates, Inc., said. "The potential damage to water quality and to water infrastructure is enormous, and must be mitigated in a timely and effective way. Any delay in starting the mitigation plan only increases costs later."

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, who chairs the key subcommittee which deals with forest health and management, and Senator John Hickenlooper have asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for help. (click here to read the letter)

President Biden restores Bears Ears National Monument

Bennet Applauds the Biden Administration's Decision to Restore Bears Ears National Monument

Bennet Fought to Protect Bears Ears for Years

Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced they will restore protections for Bears Ears National Monument: "Over the last four years, tribal communities, Coloradans and the American people have made clear: Bears Ears is a wild and sacred place that should be protected.  With this decision, President Biden has listened to and respected the tribes from the Four Corners Region, including the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. By restoring Bears Ears National Monument, President Biden has helped our nation reaffirm our commitment to our tribes, and ensure the area is managed in a balanced way to not only preserve our cultural heritage, but also strengthen our economy. I look forward to the administration moving forward on a management and funding plan, developed in partnership with our tribes, that will protect this sacred landscape for generations.

Ute Mountain Ute Councilman Malcolm Lehi, Tribal Chairman Manuel Heart, and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet attended the White House signing ceremony.

Following a strong appeal from Native American Tribes with close ties to cultural and archaeological features of a monument first created by President Obama, President Biden restored the monument to its original size after the previous Administration gravely diminished it.

The President did so on the recommendation of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who visited the monument last spring and had meaningful consultation with the Tribal representatives, including Kogovsek & Associates' client the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The Tribe is based in Towaoc, Colorado near the Utah border, and also has the White Mesa community in San Juan County, Utah, in the heart of Bears Ears.

Ute Mountain Chairman Manuel Heart and Malcolm Lehi, the tribal council member from White Mesa proudly attended the signing ceremony at the White House. They have worked with the Bears Ears tribal coalition and with
Senator Michael Bennet, who has been a strong and
vocal supporter of restoring the monument to its
original 1.3 million acres.

The very important work of developing a management plan for the monument will now begin, and will including the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies along with tribal representatives.

At the same time, it is expected that the State of Utah will appeal take this decision to the federal court. Utah and its congressional delegation have long opposed the monument and were instrumental in the massive reduction of monument acreage.

Lawsuits filed by the Native American Tribes and national environmental groups decrying the previous Administration's slashing of the monument's size were recently removed the active docket of the federal court, but have not been formally dismissed.

Opinion: We're running out of water.
It's time to overhaul Colorado's storage system

Read the piece here opinion