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Home My WebLink About20032603.tiff �N,ENT of 2, ast4' �v�xi i a nE un o�, z2,44 Wir A United States Department of the Interior � � a BUREAU OF RECLAMATION \' +u a TM"� M„AIL.• j -i-iseg Eastern Colorado Area Office 11056 West County RD 18E IN REPLY Loveland,Colorado 80537-9711 REFER TO: EC-1340 ENV-8.00 AUG2 9 2003 David Long, Chairman Weld County Commissioners 915 Tenth Street P. O. Box 758 Greeley Colorado 80632 Subject: Windy Gap Finning Project—Agency Scoping Meeting, September 17, 2003 Dear Mr. Long: The Municipal Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Subdistrict) has requested approval from the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)to connect facilities associated with the proposed Windy Gap Firming Project (Firming Project)to Reclamation's Colorado-Big Thompson Project(C-BT) facilities. The proposed Finning Project may also require changes in existing agreements between Reclamation and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit, and other Federal, State, and local land easements or right-of-way acquisitions. Reclamation, as the lead Federal agency, intends to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed Firming Project. The purpose of the proposed Firming Project is to maximize the use of existing Windy Gap Project water rights by improving the delivery and reliability of the Windy Gap Project water supply. The Windy Gap Project has not been able to deliver the quantity of water originally projected because of senior water right calls in dry years and insufficient conveyance and storage capacity in the C-BT system during wet years. For these reasons, nine of the Windy Gap Project allottees; the cities of Broomfield, Greeley, Longmont, Louisville, and Loveland,the towns of Erie and Superior,the Central Weld County Water District, and the Platte River Power Authority, have requested that the Subdistrict investigate measures to improve the reliability of (or to "firm") their Windy Gap water deliveries. Seven potential alternatives are being considered to meet the purpose and need for the proposed Firming Project; each alternative involves development of either one or two reservoirs. One of the potential reservoir sites is on the West Slope (between Willow Creek Reservoir and Lake Granby in Grand County), while four East Slope reservoir sites in Larimer and Weld Counties have been identified. A brief description of the proposed Firming Project and alternatives is included in the enclosed Executive Summary. The proposed Firming Project may include actions that affect threatened and endangered species, wildlife, wetlands, cultural resources, water quality, and other resources, as well as Federal lands administered by the Forest Service. 00 at mu 4)t ern-7 C7/0 S 2003-2603 0q-0 - a f, (VC' I fi, ftA. c4 f 2 Reclamation is inviting you to attend a scoping meeting intended specifically for agencies that have an interest in the proposed Firming Project. The scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2003, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Blue Mesa conference room, Building 56, Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, Colorado. If you are unable to attend this meeting, you are invited to attend any of the public scoping meetings, which we plan to hold in late September and early October in Granby, Loveland and Lyons. When the dates, times and locations of the meetings have been determined, you will receive an announcement. If you or a representative from your agency can attend the meeting,please RSVP by telephone 970- 962-4368 or e-mail (wtully@gp.usbr.gov). Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or need additional information. Sincerely, Brian Person Area Manager Enclosure -1 Identical Letter Sent To Persons on Next Page: cc: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Attn: Don Carlson), 220 Water Avenue, Berthoud, Colorado 80513 (wo/enclosure) Mark DeHaven, ERO Resources, 1842 Clarkson Street, Denver Colorado 80218 (wo/enclosure) Identical Letter Sent To: (All with enclosures) Cynthia Cody Vaughn Baker, Superintendent Environmental Protection Agency Rocky Mountain National Park 999 18th Street- One Denver Place, 1000 Highway 36 Suite 300, 8EPR-EP Estes Park, CO 80517-8397 Denver, CO 80202-2466 Dave Gaul, Director Tim Carey Western Area Power Administration U.S. Army Corps of Engineers P.O. Box 3700 9307 South Wadsworth Boulevard Loveland, CO 80539-3700 Littleton, CO 80128-6901 Mark Volt, Soil Conservationist Brooks Carter Natural Resource Conservation Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USDA Service Center 533 West 2600 South, Suite 150 PO Box 265 Bountiful, Utah 80401-7744 Kremmling, CO 80459-0265 Madeline Dzielak Todd Boldt, Soil Conservationist Bureau of Land Management Natural Resource Conservation Service P.O. Box 68 Fort Collins Service Center Kremmling, CO 80459 2150 Centre Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80526-1891 Allan Pfister, Acting Field Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dave Clarkson 764 Horizon Drive Bldg. B Fort Collins Area Wildlife Manager Grand Junction, CO 81506 Colorado Division of Wildlife 317 West Prospect Susan Linner, Colorado Field Supervisor Fort Collins, CO 80526 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Colorado Field Office Rob Firth,Area Wildlife Manager P.O. Box 25486 D Colorado Division of Wildlife Denver, CO 80225-0207 346 Grand County Road 362 Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451 Paula Peterson, District Ranger U.S. Forest Service Mark Leslie, Loveland Area Manager Sulphur Ranger District Colorado Division of Wildlife 9 Ten Mile Drive/P.O. Box 10 4207 W. County Road 16E Granby, CO 80446 Loveland, CO 80537 Steve Currey, District Ranger Douglass Benevito, Ex. Director U.S. Forest Service-Pawnee National Colorado Department of Health and Grasslands Environment 600 O Street 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Greeley, CO 80631 Denver, CO 80246-1530 t Agency Participants Address List Mark Pifher, Director Tom Bender, Chairman Water Quality Control Division Larimer County Commissioners 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South P.O Box 1190 Denver, CO 80246-1530 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Greg Walcher, Director Frank Lancaster Colorado Department of Natural Resources Larimer County Manager 1313 Sherman Street, Room 718 P.O Box 1190 Denver, CO 80203 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Hal Simpson, Director Duane Daily, Chairman Colorado Division of Water Resources Grand County Commissioners 1313 Sherman Street, Room 818 P.O. Box 264 Denver, CO 80203 Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451-264 Don Ament, Commissioner Colorado Department of Agriculture Lurline Curran, County Manager 700 Kipling Street, Suite 4000 P.O. Box 264 Denver, CO 80215 Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451-264 Jim Green Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation 1300 Broadway Denver, CO 80203 David Long, Chairman Weld County Commissioners 915 Tenth Street P. O. Box 758 Greeley CO 80632 Don Warden Director of Finance and Administration Weld County 915 Tenth Street P. O. Box 758 Greeley CO 80632 Paul Danish, Chairman Board of County Commissioners, Boulder Boulder County Courthouse P.O. Box 471 Boulder, CO 80306 Executive Summary OS o ,ERTaadratq Windy Gap Firming Project —= BUREAU Of RELL�Mp��N Background 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, 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 11480[h 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 District (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. 1 WINDY GAP FIRMING PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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. • 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. For these reasons, nine of the Windy Gap Project allotees, referred to collectively as the Firming Project Participants (the cities of Broomfield, Greeley, Longmont, Louisville, and Loveland, the Towns of Erie and Superior, the Central Weld County Water District, and the Platte River Power Authority) have requested that the Subdistrict investigate and implement measures to cooperatively enhance or improve the reliability of(or to "firm") their Windy Gap Project units. Purpose and Need for the Project 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 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 2 WINDY GAP FIRMING PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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. Alternatives under Consideration 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: • to identify a cooperative regional project that could be integrated with existing water delivery systems; • 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' 3 WINDY GAP FIRMING PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY varying needs and timing of those needs could allow the proposed project to be constructed in stages depending on the alternative configuration. Alternatives identified to have the potential to meet the project purpose and the needs of the Firming Project Participants include several new reservoir sites listed below and shown in the Alternative Locations Map below. '` Reservoir Site Storage{acre-feet)'` ' Chimney Hollow 44,500— 110,000 Little Thompson 110,000 Cactus Hill 112,000 Rawhide 13,000 Jasper 36,500—79,000 Existing Windy Gap Facilities 1 Ear Rawhide North ump Plant lakeCran MIwwCNek Alternative Locations Peserwir Meow Creek Pump Plant Map WPunaGm a+...• ,, Cactus Hill Pen9 e.. • •"' p •.� � Horsetooth Reservoir ZArt_Conma a P\ - ' Fuse, Rob %yea eland Gree Estes Perk ALVA B. slyer ADAMS tt0 TUNNEL Carter Lake pie , Chimney Hollow i Jtr yo Jasper North Little Thompson Willow Fti' 6ngmont Creek ` Continents! Reserve it ,r Divide Boulder Reservoir baranby Lake Windy Gap Granby Reservoir s Boulder 4 Hello