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The closer we get to June 10, decision day for Two Forks, the closer the fires come to Gov. Romer's feet.
A large and vocal lobby plans to hold his left foot to the fire by pointing out that the environmental bloc supported Romer in 1986, that even if he ran on a platform of economic development, Colorado isn't going to attract investment if it isn't an attractive place. Drowning a scenic canyon, a world-renowned trout fishery close to a metropolitan area, is hardly the way to make Colorado attractive.
The fire for his right foot got more fuel a couple weeks ago. A consortium of prominent business types, led by Steve Schuck of Colorado Springs, announced that they would accept no alternative to Two Forks. That came right after Romer said he'd like to consider alternatives, and it means that there's no hope that Romer can propose a compromise -- expanding Cheeseman or whatever -- which will quench their flame.
It is, however, the governor's job to make decisions. And it turns out that there is a precedent. A previous governor of Colorado, a pro-development Republican at that, said no to Two Forks.
That happened in the early 1970s, when John Vanderhoof was governor. I didn't recall anything about a Two Forks controversy in 1973 or 1974, but a recent article in High Country News mentioned Vanderhoof's veto. So Monday morning, I called the former governor at the Club 20 office in Grand Junction.
Two Forks wasn't as big a deal then,
he
explained, but the Denver Water Board was all for it.
Back in those days, the Water Board rode high, wide, and
handsome. They didn't consult anybody, there weren't any
appeals. As soon as they got a water right, they perfected
it and started moving the water across the
mountains.
On transmountain diversions installed by the federal government, like the Colorado-Big Thompson and the Frying Pan-Arkansas, there had to be compensatory storage on the Western Slope, which accounts for Green Mountain and Reudi reservoirs.
But Denver never had to bother with that. They never
made any compensations to the basins of origin where they
got their water. Two Forks was just the same, with nothing
for the Western Slope.
However, the federal government was involved in Two Forks. Now it's the Army Corps of Engineers that will not issue a permit for Two Forks unless the governor approves the project.
In Vanderhoof's day, I think it was the Department of
Interior that wanted my opinion on Two Forks before they'd
issue a permit. So I gave them my opinion, which was that
Two Forks shouldn't be built because it took water from the
Western Slope and provided nothing in return. So the feds
squashed Two Forks.
Vanderhoof started chuckling. It was the first time,
maybe the only time, that I ever exercised any power as
governor. I don't think anybody realizes how little power
the governor of Colorado really has. It's mostly [expletive
deleted]. About all you can do is talk and try to B.S. the
legislature and the public into going along with you. You
can do some crusading. That's about it.
Although he's from Glenwood Springs on the Western Slope, and used to be the president of Club 20, an organization that promotes Western Slope interests, Johnny Van isn't crusading against Two Forks this time around.
Things have changed in the past 15 years. The Denver
Water Board can't run roughshod over the rest of the state
any more. The new Two Forks plan does have some things for
the Western Slope.
So he's for it now?
I wish to hell I didn't have to say that,
he
replied. The thing is, the current Two Forks plan is the
best deal the Western Slope is likely to get. Sure, the
Western Slope would be better off without losing any more
water, but it's probably wiser to cooperate so that we at
least get something.
I wish there was a moral to the story of how one governor aborted Two Forks, but it's all irony after that. Vanderhoof's decision on Two Forks wasn't widely known at the time, and he was certainly not perceived as any friend of the environment. He was defeated in 1974 by Dick Lamm, who was enthusiastically supported by Colorado environmentalists.
And Lamm has been succeeded by Roy Romer, who's supposed to make the decision by Friday. Here's hoping he follows precedent.
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