JOSIAH G. HOLLAND STEPHEN H. HART JOHN L.J. HART WILLIAM D. EMBREE, JR JAMES L. WHITE PATRICK M. WESTFELDT CLAUDE M. MAER, JR. ROBERT P. DAVISON JOHN FLEMING KELLY
WILLIAM P. CANTWELL DONALD W. ROE ,-RANK H. MORISON JAY W. TRACEY, JR. WILLIAM C. MCCLEARN JOHN ALLEN MOORE PHILIP A. DANIELSON BEN E. CHIDLAW JAMES E. HEGARTY FIELD C. BENTON JAMES T. MORAN DAVID BUTLER J. MICHAEL FARLEY WARREN L. TOMLINSON BRUCE T. BUELL DON D. ETTER KENNETH D. HUBBARD ROBERT L.VER SCHURE J. HARLEY WILLIAMS, JR.
GORDON G. GREINER DWIGHT K. SHELLMAN, JR. ROBERT H. DURHAM, JR. JOHN CARROLL RICHARDSON ROBERT A. KRANTZ, JR. WILLIAM E. MURANE GENE S. MORRIS FREDERICK B. HEATH, III H. GREGORY AUSTIN
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ATTORNEYS AT LAW
August 29, 1962
Mr. Frank Milenski, President Arkansas Valley Ditch Association Route #1 La Junta, Colorado Dear Frank: 500 EQUITABLE BUILDING DENVER 2, COLORAD AMHERST 6-1461
Re: Big Sandy Flood Control Project
You will recall that there was considerable discussion of the Big Sandy Flood Control Project, and particularly the
inclusion of the 500 acre foot fish pool in the Ranah structure, at the last meeting of the AVDA on Friday, August 24. It was stated by several people at the meeting that the persons
responsible for the Big Sandy Project had failed to notify the AVDA of their change in plans. Several people stated that the AVDA had been "double-crossed" by giving its approval to a plan which contained no conservation storage and then find-ing later that conservation storage was planned. Mr. Kit Carson of the Soil Conservation Service called me on August 28 to say that he believed that the Soil Conservation Service and the sponsors of the Big Sandy Project had in fact notified the AVDA of the change in plans. Mr. Carson stated that his records show that he attended the AVDA meeting on January 16, 1959 with several people from the Big Sandy District, that the 500 acre foot fish pool was discussed at the meeting, and that a motion was passed stating that the AVDA would vigorously protest the construction of any dam containing a conservation pool if no valid water filings were made.
I have rechecked my files in an effort to determine the exact facts so that we will not cause any injustice to the soil conservation people if our facts are incorrect. This is what my files show:
We were first notified about the Big Sandy Project in the early spring of 1957. The tentative work plan submitted to us in March 1957, at page 7, stated that no one in the
project area was interested in providing any additional capacity for recreation and wildlife purposes. Nothing in the report
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indicated any conservation storage was planned. Three members of the ditch association - and I attended a hearing in Denver in April and made quite a number of suggestions for alterations in the work plan.
In May, 1957, Ken Chalmers sent us the revised watershed work plan dated May 1957, which again stated that there was no interest in providing any recreation or wildlife storage in the structures (page 7). However, at page 9, appeared a statement that substantial intangible values would accrue from the program, including "increased opportunity for
recreation." Mr. Chalmers pointed out in his letter to me that they had included all or most of the suggestions made by the AVDA representatives in the revised work plan.
The first mention of Big Sandy is in the AVDA minutes for April 12, 1957, when Mr. Chalmers letter inviting us to the hearing was read. In the minutes for May 17, 1957 there is a report by Mr. Herzog on hearing which he and others had attended. The June 14, 1957 minutes show that the Big Sandy Project was discussed and I am quoted• as stating:
"Not going to be any pool of water left in there after a storm. They appear to have tried conscientiously to meet our require-ments, and if there is anything we think is going to hurt us, now is the time to object."
Nothing further appears in the minutes until March 14, 1958. Mr. Ballard of the SCS attended that meeting and there was some discussion as to qualifications on the AVDA's approval of the Big Sandy Project. Nothing was said about any fish pool. In the minutes for April 18, 1958 there was another discussion of the Big Sandy Project and Miss Pointer is quoted as follows:
"She also stated that she had reviewed our minutes since that time [Spring, 1957], which showed some investigation of the pro-ject, on our part, but nothing to indicate that we were ever given the opportunity of reviewing the 'final proposal' as suggested in Mr. Chalmers letter above quoted."
The letter from Mr. Chalmers which is referred to is one in which he offers to let us review the final proposal when it is drafted.
Mr. Frank Milenski Page
-3-August 29, 1962
My files contain minutes for all meetings thereafter down through November 14, 1958, except for the minutes of the September, 1958, meeting which are missing. None of . *these minutes contain any reference to the Big Sandy. My
files indicate, however, that on January 14, 1959, Mr. Thomas. L. Kimball, the Director of the Game and Fish Commission, wrote to Governor McNichols stating:
"The Colorado Game and Fish Commission in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service is attempting to provide a small conservation pool to be used for fishing and other recreational purposes in the Ramah Dam site on the Big Sandy River."
The letter was approved by the Director of the Water Con-servation Board and by the State Engineer.
I am not sure when this first cane to our attention, as the minutes for all meetings from December of 1958 through August of 1959 are missing from my files. This must have been the
period when Miss Pointer was ill and was having difficulty getting the minutes out. At any rate the minutes for the meeting of
January 16, 1959 must have showed considerable discussion of this project as I have in my file a number of letters written in late January to the Governor, to the Director of the Colorado Conservation Board and to the State Engineer vigorously protest-ing the proposed inclusion of the 500 acre foot storage pool in the Ramah structure. It does not look as though we fol.:pip:flied_ up on this protest and I do not recall the reason why we dropped it. If we could find some of the minutes for the period from December of 1958 through August of 1959 it might explain this. However,
I seem to recall that we were assured that the matter was still under study. For instance, I have a letter from Ken Chalmers dated January 28, 1959 in which he states:
"Before I will approve expenditure of funds which I control for the installation of the
conservation pool in the Ramah Dam site it will be necessary that the sponsors have complied with the State Law regarding storage of water."
I can find no mention of Big Sandy in the minutes for September, October and November of 1959. However, in the
minutes for December 11, 1959 it is shown that Messrs. Shanks, Carson, McCrimmon & McCorkle from the Soil Conservation Service
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were present at our meeting. The minutes read as follows: Nevious then asked the Soil Conservation Service representatives about the Big Sandy Flood Control Project and whether or not it had been
altered to include any recreational water retention. Mr. McCrimmon stated that the plan today is the same as it always has been and does not include any such recreational development. The sponsors of the project have requested an amendment to the present plan, estab-lishing a fish and wild life pool in the largest structure in the project. . The Soil Conservation Service will not accept any such amendment to the plan until such time as proper water filings have been made on the water which will be impounded. Five of the structures in the project have already been contracted and the five upper structures are next in line. The Ramah Structure, which will contain the fish and wildlife pool, if it is ever authority, will not be commenced until the other structures have been completed. No final designs for the Ramah Structure have
yet been prepared."
On November 25, 1960 the Game and Fish Commission filed a map and statement on the Ramah structure with the State Engineer, claiming 505.21 acre feet for recreation, fish culture, and
other beneficial uses. The statement claimed that surveys had commenced during the year 1959 and the priority, if any is ever obtained, would probably date from that time.
I can find no record of any discussion of this matter at any AVDA meetings in all of 1960 or 1961, nor do I have any
record of any notice to us by the SCS, the Game and Fish Depart-ment, or the Big Sandy sponsors, that they had initiated this filing, with the following exceptions:
a) The minutes for the November 1960 meeting are missing from my files.
b) On April 14, 1961 the minutes show that President Milenski reported the filing of the 500 acre foot fish pool and stated that the
Colorado Water Conservation Board staff was of the opinion that the 500 acre feet would have little or no effect on the Arkansas River.
Mr. Frank Milenski Page
-5-August 29, 1962
wish my files were more complete but perhaps this letter will be of some use in keeping the records straight.
My best regards.
Yours very truly,
Philip A. Danielson PAD/vib
cc: Mr. K. L. Carson Mr. Lloyd Barnhart
