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Aspinall Unit Operations FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ASPINALL UNIT OPERATIONS ASPINALL UNIT—COLORADO RIVER STORAGE PROJECT GUNNISON RIVER, COLORADO VOLUME I U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado Region Western Colorado Area Office Grand Junction, Colorado January 2012 Mission Statement: The Mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American Public. ASPINALL UNIT OPERATIONS: ASPINALL UNIT— COLORADO RIVER STORAGE PROJECT GUNNISON RIVER, COLORADO Preliminary Final Environmental Impact Statement Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation (lead agency) Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service State of Colorado Colorado Department of Natural Resources Colorado Water Conservation Board Colorado Division of Water Resources Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife U.S. Department of Energy Western Area Power Administration Colorado River Water Conservation District Southwestern Water Conservation District Platte River Power Authority Abstract: The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, proposes to implement a plan to avoid jeopardy to four endangered fish in the Gunnison and Colorado rivers downstream from the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit, a Colorado River Storage Project facility in western Colorado. The plan focuses on modifying the operation of the Aspinall Unit to provide sufficient releases of water at times, quantities, and duration necessary to avoid jeopardy and adverse modification to designated critical habitat, while maintaining authorized purposes of the Aspinall Unit. Four action alternatives are presented to address Flow Recommendations developed by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program for downstream endangered fish and are compared to the No Action Alternative. A preferred alternative is identified. This final environmental impact statement has been prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. For Further Information Contact: Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office 2764 Compass Drive, Suite 106 Grand Junction, CO 81506 Telephone: 970-248-0600 Faxogram: 970-248-0601 File Number: ___FES-12-01__________ (Blank Page) (Blank Page) Acronyms A ACOE Army Corps of Engineers af acre foot Aspinall Unit Wayne N. Aspinall Unit B BA Biological Assessment Black Canyon NP Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park BLM Bureau of Land Management BO Biological Opinion C CDOW Colorado Division of Wildlife CDPHE Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment CDWR Colorado Division of Water Resources CFR Code of Federal Regulations cfs cubic feet per second CRSP Colorado River Storage Project Curecanti NRA Curecanti National Recreation Area D dB decibel db(A) daily average decibel level DEIS draft environmental impact statement E EIS environmental impact statement EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act F FEIS final environmental impact statement Flow Flow Recommendations to Benefit the Endangered Fishes in Recommendations the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers i ft feet I IMPLAN an economic computer-based modeling program Indian American Indian ITAs Indian Trust Assets K kW kilowatt kWh kilowatt-hour M M&I municipal and industrial mg/l milligrams per liter MOA memorandum of agreement MOU memorandum of understanding MW megawatt MWh megawatt-hour N NCA National Conservation Area NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NEV Net Economic Value NIWQP National Irrigation Water Quality Program NOA notice of availability NOI notice of intent NP National Park NPS National Park Service NRA National Recreation Area O O&M operation and maintenance P PFEIS preliminary final environmental impact statement P.L. Public Law PM particulate matter ppb parts per billion ppm parts per million ii R Reclamation U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Recovery Program Upper Colorado River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Program Redlands Redlands Water and Power Company RM river mile RV recreational vehicle S Secretary Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service SLCA/IP Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects SMP Selenium Management Program T TCWCD Tri-County Water Conservancy District U UGRWCD Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District USC United States Code USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture USGS U.S. Geological Survey UVWUA Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association W Western Western Area Power Administration Symbols µg/g micrograms per gram µg/l micrograms per liter iii (Blank Page) iv Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...………………………………………………………..………..ES-1 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE ACTION.......... 1-1 1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.1.1 General ................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.1.2 Proposed Action ................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1.3 Scope of the Proposed Action .............................................................................. 1-2 1.1.4 Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action ..................................................... 1-2 1.1.5 Authority .............................................................................................................. 1-2 1.2 Background .................................................................................................................. 1-4 1.2.1 Aspinall Unit ........................................................................................................ 1-4 1.2.2 Initial Operation ................................................................................................... 1-6 1.2.3 Previous ESA Consultations ................................................................................ 1-7 1.2.3.1 Dallas Creek Project .................................................................................... 1-8 1.2.3.2 Dolores Project............................................................................................. 1-8 1.2.3.3 Upper Gunnison Subordination Agreement............................................... 1-10 1.2.3.4 Redlands Diversion Dam Fish Ladder and Contract Consultation ............ 1-10 1.2.3.5 Redlands Canal Fish Screen Consultation ....................................................... 1-11 1.2.3.6 Other Reclamation Aspinall Unit Consultations.............................................. 1-12 1.2.4 Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program ............................. 1-12 1.2.5 Flow Recommendations..................................................................................... 1-13 1.2.6 Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP Water Right ............................................... 1-18 1.2.7 Programmatic Biological Opinion ............................................................................ 1-18 1.3 Issues of Concern ....................................................................................................... 1-21 1.4 Cooperating Agencies ................................................................................................ 1-21 1.5 Connected and Related Actions ................................................................................. 1-21 1.6 Responsibilities and Compliance ............................................................................... 1-22 1.6.1 Environmental .................................................................................................... 1-22 1.6.2 Cultural Preservation ......................................................................................... 1-23 1.6.3 American Indian................................................................................................. 1-23 1.6.4 Other .................................................................................................................. 1-23 1.7 Document Review ...................................................................................................... 1-23 1.8 Document Organization ............................................................................................. 1-24 CHAPTER 2. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ............................................ 2-1 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2-1 2.2 Alternative Formulation ............................................................................................... 2-1 2.2.1 Formulation and Evaluation Criteria ................................................................... 2-1 2.3 Selected Alternatives ................................................................................................... 2-2 2.3.1 No Action Alternative .......................................................................................... 2-3 2.3.1.1 Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP Water Right ................................................. 2-3 2.3.1.2 Other No Action Alternative Elements ................................................................ 2-4 2.3.2 Risk of Spill Alternative-Alternative A ............................................................... 2-5 2.3.2.1 May-June Time Frame ................................................................................... 2-5 2.3.2.2 Ramping Rates ..............................................................................................
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