Colorado Open Records Act request to James Eklund

Dec. 13, 2017
Mr. James Eklund,

Pursuant to Colorado Open Records Act, C.R. S. 24-72-201, please send me (via email) the list of your clients at your law firm, “Squire Patton Boggs”, that have any business in the state of Colorado pertaining to Colorado water law, water transfers, water pipelines, dams or diversions, or the current or potential efforts and work of the Upper Colorado River Commission.

The 1948 Compact states:

Article VIII (a)

• “The Commission shall be composed of one Commissioner, representing each of the States of the Upper Division, namely, the States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, designated or appointed in accordance with the laws of each such State…”

Article VIII (b)

• “The salaries and personal expenses of each Commissioner shall be paid by the Government which he represents.”
• “On or before December 1 of each year, the Commission shall adopt and transmit to the Governors of the four States and to the President a budget covering an estimate of its expenses for the following year, and of the amount payable by each State. Each State shall pay the amount due by it to the Commission on or before April 1 of the year following.”

As Colorado’s Commissioner on the Upper Colorado River Commission, you are serving on the Commission to represent the people of Colorado, you also obtain some financial remuneration from the people of Colorado, and therefore the people of Colorado have a right to know what clients you represent in private practice if those clients’ needs intersect with the needs of the people of Colorado that you represent.

For example, through other Colorado Open Records Act requests, it has come to our attention that you represent the City of Thornton in their quest to construct the “Thornton Pipeline” from the Cache la Poudre River to Thornton (see this email). The needs of this private client intersect with the needs of the people of Colorado that you serve on the Upper Colorado River Commission. Other such clients’ names must be made available to the public.

Thank you for responding to this request. Please contact me with any questions.

Gary Wockner
Director, Save The Colorado
Gary@SaveTheColorado.org