Fort Morgan Farmer Jailed in Water Rights Issue

In a case being watch by water rights-holders across the plains, a Fort Morgan farmer believed to be the first sent to jail by a Colorado water court on allegations of stealing water is now free but owes penalties to the state. Craig Kroskob explained his side of the story to KUSA last night:






To protect senior water rights holders, wells in the South Platte Basin cannot be pumped unless there is first an agreement with the state to replace the water. District Water Engineer Jim Hall told the Greeley Tribune Kroskob was pumping water from the basin from five of his wells though he didn't have a legal right to it and kept pumping for about 100 days from each well despite a cease-and-desist order in 2005 from the courts. Krosskob has documentation that the wells aren't in the South Platte basin; that's the key point of disagreement.

Tri-State May Accept More State Supervision

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Co., the supplier for many area REA's, and an environmental group have submitted a proposal that would allow more input into the utility's planning while maintaining its independence. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has been considering whether to increase its oversight of Tri-State, Colorado's second-largest utility. Environmentalists say Tri-State is too dependent on coal-fired power plants. Tri-State had objected to more state involvement in its planning. It serves customers in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.