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GREEN RIVER BASINS ADVISORY GROUP
ISSUES IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT

The Green River Basin Advisory Group (BAG) was formed to aid the Wyoming Water Development Commission River Basin Planning Staff with the development of the Green River Basin Plan. This group is made up of people who live in the Green, Little Snake, and Great Divide Basins. When asked by the River Basin Planning staff what issues were important in their basin and needed to be addressed by the River Basin Planning Process the BAG developed a list of issues based on the following topics:

These topics can be furthered grouped into "main" headings to reduce repeating issues that are similar to each topic, to better represent topics that stand alone, and to better summarize the issues identification discussion: Following is a list of the issues and topics the BAG would like to have addressed in the Green River Basin Water Plan.
  1. Regulations, Policy, Law, Government
    1. Glossary / Definitions of water related terminology
    2. State's Rights (primacy)
    3. Wyoming Water Law
    4. Water Marketing
    5. Water Leasing
    6. Colorado River Law
    7. Clean Water Act
    8. TMDL'S
    9. Endangered Species Act
    10. Conservation Reserve Program
    11. Wetland Reserve Program
    12. Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program
    13. Best Management Practices
    14. Desert Land Entry Law
    15. Well Head Protection
    16. Standards Related to Groundwater
    17. Water Conservation (federal- and state-related programs / definitions / law)
    18. World Heritage Sites (international)
    19. Regulations associated with floodplain development
    20. State and Federal Regulations / Programs relative to water and land

  2. Surface and Ground Water
    1. Benefits and Impacts of the aforementioned regulations, policy, etc. on all users and uses
    2. Inventory of all users and uses for surface and ground water (water rights coverage, etc.)
    3. Previous studies (irrigable lands, first water plan, etc.)
    4. Quality of both surface and ground water
    5. Water Conservation Methods (benefits and impacts of conservation)
    6. Multipurpose aspects of water project development
    7. Specific sub-topics
      1. Agriculture
        1. G.I.S. land ownership coverage
        2. Contributions of irrigated agriculture to wildlife habitat
        3. Water Right Transfers (impacts, benefits)
        4. Return flow, influence of irrigated agriculture
        5. Identification of water short irrigated acreage
        6. Available alternatives for irrigated agriculture (practices)
      2. Municipal / Domestic
        1. Options for water conservation, delivery, and recycling
        2. Wastewater Issues
        3. Subdivision Growth
      3. Non-Consumptive Uses
        1. Historic, Cultural, Environmental Land Identification
        2. Non-Consumptive impacts and benefits to other users and uses
        3. G.I.S. current instream flow filings coverage
        4. Compatibility of consumptive and non-consumptive uses of water
        5. Identification of lands with historical, cultural, or environmental significance
        6. Water Quality and Wetlands
      4. Recreation
        1. National Parks, Monuments, Recreational Area Identification
      5. Industry / Minerals / Manufacturing
        1. Identify non-consumptive industrial water uses
      6. Ground water
        1. Geographical location, extent of aquifers and availability of the water
        2. Recharge rates
        3. G.I.S. well density coverage
        4. Degradation trends
        5. Impacts of groundwater development on surface water
        6. Coal-bed-methane development
        7. Aquifers suitable for injection / storage

  3. Economics
    1. Economic analyses (taxes, revenue generated and lost, unit valuations, impacts of development, change of use, loss of existing use, etc.) of consumptive and non-consumptive water users, uses and development, and the impacts, costs, and benefits relative to each (surface and ground water)
    2. Available government funding for users and uses
    3. Assessment of current water cost throughout the basin
    4. Valuation of water marketing and leasing
    5. Costs related to conservation and reuse
    6. Funding for water development and implementation of the final plan

  4. Future
    1. Projections of trends for all users and uses (potential development, changes of use, growth, demand, etc.)
    2. Knowledge of downstream states' development and how that may effect water development in Wyoming
    3. Identification of water development opportunities and rehabilitation opportunities of existing facilities
    4. Foreseeable changes in local, state, federal, international regulations and law
    5. Implementation of the water plan
    6. Consideration of the update of the water plan (dynamic and ongoing process)

Green/Little Snake River Basins
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