Colorado’s Senate Bill SB 62 passed another hurdle this week and moves to the Senate Floor with all Republicans and 2 Democrats (Isgar and Takis) supporting the bill. Now SB 62 heads to the House where it will be heard in Committee.
SB62 allows only the minimum flow for kayaking, canoeing, inner tubing, boating and rafting, all other water can be diverted and even the minimum flow standard is weak as it requires, in all cases, that water flows exceeding 350 cubic feet per second will be deemed wasted and subject to recovery.
SB 62 at one point defines ‘recreational in-channel use’ “to mean kayaking, but not inner tubing, swimming, fishing, boating, rafting, or other water-related recreational uses” and at another point defines it to mean “kayaking, canoeing, inner tubing, and rafting.”
The text of the bill can be viewed at http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics2005a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/057E10AFD107CBA587256F5D00809BA7?Open&file=062_ren.pdf
It is important for Colorado Residents to call their representatives in the House and to alert them to the problems with SB62. House members can be identified at http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics2005a/csl.nsf/DirectoryHou?openframeset.
For more information, visit AW’s orginal alert at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/1282/.