Natural Energy Resources Co. v. Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

Petitioner-Applicant, Natural Energy Resources Company (“NECO”), appeals the decision of the Water Court for Water Division No. 4 (“water court”), dismissing its application seeking a finding of reasonable diligence for its conditional decree (“Decree”) entered in Case No. 82-CW-340 for storage rights in the Union Park Reservoir. The Decree’s use provision contemplated using Taylor Park Reservoir as a forebay and afterbay for the proposed higher-elevation Union Park Reservoir in the production of hydroelectric power.

The Decree was originally granted in 1984. In 1986, NECO sought to expand the…