HB17-1248 Summary

• Appropriates $35.489 million to the Colorado Water Conservation Board and related agencies for the 2017-18 fiscal year from the construction fund for water projects including satellite monitoring, floodplain mapping, decision support systems, weather modification, and water forecasting.

• Authorizes $90 million in loans from the construction fund for the Windy Gap firming project, a regional water supply project including construction of a new reservoir.

• Appropriates $10 million for Rio Grande cooperative project rehabilitation, $5 million for watershed restoration programs, and $10 million for Colorado water plan implementation.

• Creates a loan guarantee fund to guarantee repayment of loans for water projects with multiple participants, funded by a $30 million transfer from severance tax trust fund on July 1, 2017.

• Transfers funds to restore balances in the flood and drought response fund ($500,000), litigation fund ($1.3 million), feasibility study small grant fund ($300,000), and fish and wildlife resources fund ($1.5 million).