Pubdate: Tue, 20 May 2014
Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Pueblo Chieftain
Contact:  http://www.chieftain.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613
Author: Chris Woodka

BOARD EYES WATER FOR POT

The Pueblo Board of Water Works today will discuss issues surrounding
the supply of water to marijuana growers.

The Pueblo City Council has adopted zoning regulations that allow
marijuana to be grown within city limits, but not sold. City legal
staff is working on how those rules will be written.

Providing water for growers is a different matter, with some questions
still unresolved.

While Colorado and Washington state voters legalized marijuana in
2012, it remains a federal crime. Pueblo is affected because it has
federal contracts for storage in Lake Pueblo.

Pueblo also has direct flow rights that pass through Pueblo Dam, as
well as a contract for connection to the dam.

"We're trying to evaluate issues that might arise with the Bureau of
Reclamation," said Executive Director Terry Book. "So far, there have
been no court cases you can hang your hat on with any certainty."

There have been requests to provide water to growing operations both
within and outside city limits, Book added.

"We just don't know the answers yet," he said.

After receiving legal advice prior to the meeting in executive
session, the Pueblo water board will convene at 2 p.m. today in the
William F. Mattoon Board Room of the Alan Hamel Administration
Building at 319 W. Fourth St.

Reclamation still is evaluating how water supply fits in under the
Controlled Substances Act, because it provides irrigation water for
land in both Washington and Colorado. It's not known what the decision
will be or when it will be reached, said Peter Soeth, Reclamation
spokesman in Denver.

The state Division of Water Resources has taken the position so far
that one type of crop is the same as any other, but also is awaiting
the decision on federal policy.

Another Pueblo County water provider, the St. Charles Mesa Water
District, already has banned use of its water to grow marijuana.

Two Rivers Water & Farming Co. has formed a subsidiary called GrowCo
that will use some of its privately held water rights for marijuana
growing.

Pueblo West and the Bessemer Ditch have not adopted rules prohibiting
water use by marijuana growers.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D