The following is a description of the role and duties of the Compact Administration, the three Compact Commissioners, and the RRCA’s Engineering Committee.
What is the Republican River Compact Administration (RRCA)? The RRCA was created to administer the Compact. The RRCA was specifically established pursuant to Article IX of the Republican River Compact, stating that the States of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska manage the Compact through the officials charged with the duty of administering the public water supplies in the three states. The three states’ officials are referred to as Members or Commissioners. Many specifics of the how the RRCA carries out its responsibilities are provided in the Final Settlement Stipulation (FSS), dated December 15, 2002, which was filed in the case of Kansas v Nebraska and Colorado, No. 126, Original, in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Who are the RRCA Members/Commissioners? Each state has one commissioner on the RRCA, designated in the Compact as that state’s official charged with administering the public water supplies in their State. Specifically, those commissioners are: the State Engineer of the Division of Water Resources of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources; the Director of Natural Resources for the State of Nebraska; and, the Chief Engineer of the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
The Chair of the RRCA is one of the members of the RRCA. The Chair serves a term encompassing two annual meetings of the RRCA. The Chairperson is responsible for presiding over all meetings of the RRCA during their two-year term. For more information, see the RRCA Rules and Regulations (revised August 21, 2020).
The current members of the RRCA are:
- Tom Riley, Director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Commissioner since 2020
- Earl Lewis, Chief Engineer, Division of Water Resources, Commissioner since 2020
- Jason Ullmann, Colorado State Engineer, Commissioner since 2024
What is the RRCA Engineering Committee? The Engineering Committee is currently the only standing committee of the RRCA. The committee is lead by one representative from each State appointed by the RRCA Member of that State. The responsibilities of the Engineering Committee focus on developing the annual accounting required by the Compact but also include other tasks assigned to the committee by the RRCA.
The lead engineering committee members for each state are:
- Colorado – Ivan Franco
- Kansas – Chris Beightel
- Nebraska – Kari Burgert
Find the most recent RRCA Engineering Committee Report below:
RRCA Engineering Committee Report August 31, 2023
What are the products of the RRCA? The RRCA is responsible for creating, tracking, maintaining and sharing many reports and documents. Below is a partial list of such documents.