Colorado made progress on two interstate compact issues this week. Officials from Colorado and Kansas met this week in Topeka, Kan., to discuss compliance activities relevant to the Republican River Compact. At the same time, federal authorization for funding in the Platte River settlement cleared a hurdle in the U.S. Senate. The Republican River is governed by a 1943 interstate compact between Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska that allocates the basin’s water supply. A 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision determined that groundwater pumping, to the extent that it reduces surface flow in the river, must be accounted for under the Republican River Compact. Each state is required to keep its use within its allocation. Both states agreed to seek a solution that would ensure that Colorado will meet its obligations under the compact, while minimizing any adverse impact on the social, economic and recreational benefits the river provides for the rural communities in the Republican River basin, Sherman said. Meanwhile, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday approved legislation to implement the federal share of the Platte River recovery implementation plan.

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