[Federal Register: September 8, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 173)]
[Notices]
[Page 52955-52957]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08se03-92]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Windy Gap Firming Project, Colorado-Big Thompson Project,
Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: On April 14, 2003, the Municipal Subdistrict of the Northern
Colorado Water Conservancy District, acting by and through the Windy
Gap Firming Project (Firming Project) Water Activity Enterprise
(Subdistrict), requested approval from the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) to connect the proposed Firming Project to Reclamation's
Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT). If connection to the C-BT is
approved, the Subdistrict would construct facilities that would be
required to meet the purpose and need of the project. This could
include construction of one or more new reservoirs. Because the
Subdistrict's proposal involves a physical connection to C-BT
facilities, it was determined that Reclamation should be the lead
Federal agency for NEPA compliance.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the issues and alternatives to
be evaluated in the EIS will be accepted and should be postmarked or e-
mailed by November 7, 2003, to be most effective.
Public scoping meetings, each beginning at 6:30 p.m., will be held
on the following dates:
[sbull] September 30, 2003--Granby, Colorado
[sbull] October 1, 2003--Loveland, Colorado
[sbull] Date to be determined--Lyons, Colorado
ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
[sbull] Granby--Inn at Silver Creek (2 miles south of Granby, east
side of highway), 62927 U.S. Highway 40, Granby, CO 80446.
[sbull] Loveland--McKee Conference Center, 2000 North Boise Avenue,
Loveland, CO 80538.
[sbull] Lyons--Location will be announced through mailings, paid
advertisements, and news releases to news media in the area.
Please send comments on the alternatives or other issues pertaining
to the proposed project to the attention of Will Tully, Windy Gap
Firming Project EIS, Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area
Office, 11056 W. County Road 18E, Loveland, CO 80537; or FAX to (970)
663-3212 or (970) 962-4216; or e-mail to wtully@gp.usbr.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anyone interested in more information
about the EIS or the project may contact Will Tully by telephone at
(970) 962-4368 or by e-mail at wtully@gp.usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended,
Reclamation will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to
identify the environmental effects of the proposed project. Cooperating
agencies will be identified at a later date.
Reclamation will use the NEPA compliance process to ensure that the
public has opportunities to review and comment on the direct and
indirect effects of the proposed action. Public comments are invited
regarding both the scope of environmental and socioeconomic issues and
alternatives that should be evaluated in the EIS.
Reclamation and the Subdistrict will hold at least three public
scoping meetings in which Federal, State, local and tribal government
agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public are invited to
participate in the open exchange of information and to submit comments
on the proposed scope of the EIS. Comments received will be considered
in preparation of the EIS.
During the 1960's, six entities (the cities of Boulder, Greeley,
Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins and the Town of Estes Park) in
northeastern Colorado determined that additional water supplies were
needed to meet their projected municipal demands. The Municipal
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District,
[[Page 52956]]
consisting of the incorporated areas of the six entities, was formed in
1970 to develop the Windy Gap Project. Subsequently, the Platte River
Power Authority acquired all of the City of Fort Collins allotment
contracts, as well as one-half of the City of Loveland and the Town of
Estes Park contracts. The Windy Gap Project water was proposed to be
stored by and conveyed through the C-BT Project facilities prior to
delivery to Windy Gap Project allotees for storage and ultimate use.
In 1981, Reclamation completed an environmental impact statement on
the effects of using C-BT project facilities for the ``storage,
carriage and delivery'' of Windy Gap Project water. That EIS addressed
the environmental and other effects of annually diverting an average of
56,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Colorado River Basin through
the Windy Gap Project and C-BT Project facilities. The Record of
Decision for that EIS allowed Reclamation to negotiate a contract with
the Municipal Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy
District for the conveyance, through C-BT Project facilities, of an
average of about 56,000 acre-feet of Windy Gap Project water annually
from the Colorado River, with maximum diversions limited to 93,300
acre-feet in any 1 year. Average annual deliveries to the allottees of
the Windy Gap Project were estimated to be about 48,000 acre-feet,
following conveyance and evaporation losses and allocations to the
Middle Park Water Conservancy District. Each unit of Windy Gap water is
1/480th of the annual yield of the Windy Gap Project and originally
estimated to be 100 acre-feet per unit. Reclamation, the Municipal
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and
the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy Distrct (District) then entered
into a contract for the ``storage, carriage and delivery'' of Windy Gap
Project water in C-BT facilities. Construction of the Windy Gap Project
reservoir, pipeline, and pumping facility was completed in 1985.
Average annual yield per unit since completion of construction has
been approximately 17 acre-feet/unit compared to the original estimated
100 acre-feet/unit. There are several reasons for this low yield.
During the early years after construction, not all of the Project
allotees needed their full allocation of water from the Project. They
had not grown into the full demand for which the Project was developed.
Also, the Windy Gap Project cannot divert water every year because more
senior water rights upstream and downstream have a higher priority to
divert water. Additionally, under the contract between the Municipal
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the
District, and Reclamation, water conveyed and stored for the C-BT
Project has priority over water conveyed and stored for the Windy Gap
Project. In years when the C-BT system is full, there is no conveyance
or storage capacity in the C-BT system for Windy Gap Project water. In
years when Windy Gap Project water is stored in the C-BT system, Windy
Gap Project water is sometimes spilled from the system to make room for
C-BT Project water.
Purpose of and Need for the Federal Action
The purpose of the proposed Firming Project is to maximize the use
of existing water rights associated with the Windy Gap Project by
improving the delivery and reliability of the existing Windy Gap
Project water supply. For some Firming Project participants, the
proposed project does not firm all of their Windy Gap Project units and
not all of the owners of Windy Gap Project water are seeking to firm
their units. Thus, only a portion of the 48,000 acre-feet of Windy Gap
Project water would be ``firmed'' by the proposed action.
The specific purpose of the project is to provide an annual
delivery of up to 30,000 acre-feet of water by 2008 depending on the
identified needs of the Firming Project participants. Each Firming
Project participant owns varying amounts of Windy Gap Project water and
each Firming Project participant has determined its firm water supply
needs from the Windy Gap Project and the timing of those needs. For
some of the Firming Project participants, an increased water supply is
needed immediately to meet current demands; other participants' needs
are expected to increase over the next several years creating a
foreseeable future need for their Windy Gap Project water.
The Firming Project is a non-Federal project. It is proposed to be
constructed and operated by the Subdistrict. Federal actions related to
the proposed project may include decisions on permitting the connection
of Firming Project facilities to C-BT facilities, granting of right-of-
way permits and/or easements across Federal lands, and issuance of a
Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 permit.
Proposed Alternatives
Over the past several years, the Subdistrict has investigated a
wide range of alternative actions with the potential to meet the needs
of the Firming Project participants. These investigations concluded
with an Alternative Plan Formulation Report that was finalized in 2003.
The primary goals in developing alternatives for the proposed
project were:
[sbull] To identify a cooperative regional project that could be
integrated with existing water delivery systems;
[sbull] To allow maximum use of the existing Windy Gap Project
diversion, pumping and pipeline facilities, and water rights.
To provide the Firming Project participants a consistent annual
yield of up to 30,000 acre-feet, approximately 110,000 acre-feet of new
storage is needed specifically for Windy Gap Project water. This is
approximately the size of the existing Carter Lake southwest of
Loveland, Colorado.
The alternatives study evaluated a variety of project elements
including non-structural and operational opportunities; new reservoir
sites; enlargement of existing reservoirs; and ground water aquifer
storage. Storage on both the East and West Slope of the Continental
Divide was evaluated. Technical, environmental, and economic screening
criteria were used to identify and compare alternatives capable of
meeting the project purpose and need. A combination of alternatives may
be necessary to meet the project purpose and need. In addition,
refinements in C-BT system operations may be used to enhance the yield
of new reservoir storage. These refinements might include options for
storage of C-BT Project water in a new Firming Project reservoir or
borrowing storage from the C-BT Project. The Firming Project
participants' varying needs and timing of those needs could allow the
proposed project to be constructed in stages depending on the
alternative configuration.
As required by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1502.2[e]), a full range of reasonable alternatives
will be evaluated in the EIS. These alternatives will include No Action
and others that will meet the stated purpose and need for the Firming
Project. The EIS will evaluate potential environmental impacts of
specific alternatives together with engineering and socioeconomic
considerations. A preferred alternative has not been identified at this
time. Reclamation, with input from Federal, State, and local government
agencies and the public, will evaluate the alternatives.
[[Page 52957]]
Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues
The following issues have been tentatively identified for analysis
in the EIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to facilitate
public comment on the scope of this EIS.
[sbull] What are the impacts to aquatic resources including
endangered Colorado River fish?
[sbull] How would water quality on the west and east slope be
affected?
[sbull] How would the proposed project affect operation of the C-BT
Project and the existing Windy Gap Project?
[sbull] How would streamflow in the Colorado River be affected?
[sbull] Would this project affect water levels in Lake Granby,
Carter Lake, and Horsetooth Reservoir?
[sbull] What would be the impact to streams and wetlands?
[sbull] How would wildlife habitat be affected?
[sbull] Would new reservoirs provide recreational opportunities?
[sbull] Would significant cultural resources be affected?
Timing
Issues raised at the scoping meetings will be documented and
summarized in a report that will be distributed to public libraries
near the meeting locations, posted on Reclamation's web site, and
mailed upon request. This report will summarize the comments received
and identify those issues that will be evaluated in the EIS.
Reclamation plans to issue the draft EIS in the fall of 2004.
Availability of the draft EIS will be publicized and Federal, State,
local and tribal government agencies, non-governmental organizations,
and the general public will have an opportunity to comment on the draft
EIS.
Public Disclosure Statement
Comments received in response to this notice will become part of
the administrative record for this project and are subject to public
inspection. Comments, including names and home addresses of
respondents, will be available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at
the beginning of your comment. Reclamation will make all submissions
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.
Dated: September 2, 2003.
Gerald W. Kelso,
Acting Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
[FR Doc. 03-22711 Filed 9-5-03; 8:45 am]