Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act

Key Points

• Congress is considering a plan to give the City of Ouray, Colorado, ownership of the Crystal Reservoir and about 45 acres of surrounding land currently managed by the Forest Service. This transfer includes the Full Moon Dam and all the equipment and water systems used to run the reservoir.
• The city would take over all responsibility and costs for repairing and maintaining the dam and its infrastructure. While the federal government will cover most of the transfer costs, the city must pay for the land surveys needed to finish the deal.
• A key rule of the transfer is that the city must keep the land open as public space forever. People must be allowed to visit for activities like fishing without being charged a fee, and the city is banned from building stores or starting commercial businesses on the property.
• The city will also receive the legal rights to the water in the reservoir. They can use this water for the community's needs as long as they follow Colorado state laws and do not expand the reservoir in a way that floods or harms nearby wetlands.
• If the city ever stops following these rules or fails to keep the land open to the public, the federal government has the right to take the land and the reservoir back.

Impact Analysis

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