Wednesday, November 29, at a Tribal Council Work Session, Animas-La Plata Project (ALP) Association General Manager, Russ Howard, and Accounting Clerk, Tom Clarke, provided an update to Tribal Council on ALP. Tribal Council members present included: Chairman Melvin Baker, Vice Chair Lorelei Cloud, Marge Barry, Linda Baker, Dr. Stacey Oberly, and Treasurer, Marvin Pinnecoose. The Tribe’s Water Resources Specialist, George Gavrielides, and Water Resources Division Head, Pete Nylander, were also present. 

This work session allowed for Tribal Council to get an update and ask specific questions on ALP. Russ Howard provided a background of the ALP Project and the ALP Association and how they both operate. Howard explained that he manages the ALP Project Works as well as the ALP Association. The ALP Project is a Bureau of Reclamation project authorized by Congress through the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956, the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968, the 1986 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement, the 1988 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. One of the main purposes of the ALP Project is to resolve the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe’s federally reserved water rights claims to the Animas and La Plata Rivers and their tributaries. The ALP Association was created in 2009 when Lake Nighthorse first started filling. The association was contracted by the Bureau of Reclamation to manage and operate the project, and the association is comprised of member entities that are allocated ALP Project water, one of which is the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.  

The ALP Association is governed by the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) which cannot be modified without unanimous approval from all association members. Howard stated to Tribal Council that there is a complex history to the ALP Project, and he recognizes that ALP would not have been completed without the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe which are majority water holders of the ALP Project.  

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has a total project water allocation of up to 44,662 acre-feet (AF) of diversions per year, of which 38,108.5 AF can be stored in Lake Nighthorse. The Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000 limits uses of the ALP Project to municipal and industrial uses only, including recreation, stock watering, fish and wildlife, and flood control.  

The costs to operate the ALP Project are allocated on a pro rata basis, and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is responsible for 35.5% of the Fixed O&M costs based on the Tribe’s proportion of allocation. However, the U.S. government currently pays the Tribe’s 35.5% of O&M costs until the Tribe begins to use their water. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has not used any of its ALP Project water yet, so the U.S. government is still paying the Tribe’s ALP O&M’s.  

The ALP Association controls releases from Lake Nighthorse and does the accounting for Project water, so whenever the Tribe decides to use their water, a request to Howard and his ALP Association staff and a notification to the Bureau of Reclamation is all that’s required. Howard and the Association will only release or account for water for the Tribe if the Tribe requests it, meaning no other entity can determine releases of the Tribe’s water.  

The IGA states that Lake Nighthorse can be operated as a “joint pool” which means an Association member can temporarily use water stored in Lake Nighthorse, but not otherwise being used by other Association members to satisfy their needs. However, the Association and its members decided this can only occur for certain, temporary cases to prevent a reliance on the “joint pool” and therefore another entity’s ALP Project water.  

The Tribal Council brought up recreation at Lake Nighthorse, and Howard explained that recreation is not the primary purpose of the ALP Project, but the Bureau of Reclamation requires recreation at all Reclamation Projects of which the ALP Project is one. The Bureau of Reclamation identifies an entity to manage recreation, and they identified the City of Durango as the recreation management entity at Lake Nighthorse. The ALP Association does not manage recreation at Lake Nighthorse because there’s no profit, it typically costs more to manage than the revenue generated. In fact, if the Bureau of Reclamation wasn’t paying for 50% of the losses that the City of Durango incurs to manage recreation, the City would most likely not be managing recreation. Although the ALP Association does not manage recreation, they do make sure recreation does not affect water quality, cultural resources, or interfere with the Association member’s ability to use their water.  

The ALP Association’s main job is to operate and maintain the ALP Project. The Association performs routine preventative maintenance on the ALP Project Works and facilities, and they are currently replacing check valves on the pumps, upgrading fire detection equipment, and they just finished rebuilding pump number five.  

Tribal Council asked important questions throughout Russ Howard’s update, and they were very appreciative of Howard visiting and providing information on ALP. The main points from the informative Work Session included: 

• Russ Howard manages the ALP Project and the ALP Association which is composed of member entities that are allocated project water.  
• The Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s ALP Project water allocation is up to 44,662 AF of diversions per year, of which 38,108.5 AF can be stored in Lake Nighthorse. 
• ALP Project is limited to municipal and industrial uses only, including recreation, stock watering, fish and wildlife, and flood control.  
• The ALP Association will only release or account for the use of the Tribe’s water if requested by the Tribe; no other entity can determine what is done with the Tribe’s water.  

• Recreation is not the primary purpose of Lake Nighthorse, and the ALP Association does not manage recreation. 
• The City of Durango manages recreation at Lake Nighthorse because the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) requires recreation at all BOR Projects of which the ALP Project is one.  
• The ALP Association ensures that recreation at Lake Nighthorse does not impact water quality, operations of water deliveries to association members, and ensures cultural resources are protected. 

 

In early 2024, Russ Howard and the Tribe’s Water Resources Division plan on providing the newly elected Tribal Council another background update on the ALP Project and the Tribe’s overall water resources and water rights. If anyone has questions about the ALP Project or the Tribe’s water rights, feel free to contact the Water Resources Division at 970-563-9482.