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<br />-~ <br /> <br />OOJ716 <br /> <br />Indian Trust Assets <br /> <br />Indian trust assets are legal interests in property held by the United State for Indian Tribes or <br />individuals. Reclamation and other Federal agencies share the responsibility to protect these <br />assets, There have been no trust assets identified in the project area. and therefore no impact on <br />these assets is predicted, <br /> <br />Environmental Justice <br /> <br />Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice provides that Federal agencies analyze <br />programs to assure that they do not disproportionately adversely affect minority or low income <br />populations or Indian Tribes. There are no potentially affected minority or low income <br />populations in the project area and no adverse effects related to environmental justice are <br />predicted. <br /> <br />Socioeconomic <br /> <br />Socioeconomic resources related to the proposed action can be broken into two general <br />GItegories: I) Hydropower Production ['rom the Aspinall Unit and 2) Commerical Guiding <br />Services for fishing and Iloat guides, <br /> <br />Hvdropower Production <br /> <br />The Aspinall Unit is operated to meet base demand and daily peak power demands and reserve <br />criteria. and the Western Area Power Administration (W APA) markets the power. Peaking <br />power means that higher releases are made at those times during the day when energy demands <br />are highest. Part of Blue Mesa and Morrow Point Dam releases are made to meet peak power <br />demands, This results. at times, in more frequent tlow changes Blue Mesa and Morrow Point. <br />and between Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir. <br /> <br />Crystal Reservoir is operated differently than the other two reservoirs, Crystal Reservoir <br />provides storage space for smoothing peaking power releases from Morrow Point Reservoir to <br />meet the relatively uniform river Ilows required to provide the existing Uncompaghre Project <br />diversions through the downstream Gunnison Tunnel in the summer months, Within a 24 hour <br />period. releases for power production from Blue Mesa Dam can tluctuate between 0 and 3.400 <br />cfs, Morrow Point Dam between 0 and 5.000 cfs, while Crystal's releases typically fluctuate in <br />the 50 cfs range, When the Aspinall Unit is at maximum power production. daily fluctuations in <br />releases from Crystal Dam may increase to the 200 cfs range. <br /> <br />The Morrow Point Power Plant is able to generate electricity with a water surface elevation <br />range of 7.160 ft. to 7,100 ft. As Morrow Point Reservoir" s water surface elevation drops, <br />generation efficiency would be lost and fewer megawatts of power would be generated per acre- <br />feet released. To replace generation lost at both Blue Mesa and Morrow Point power plants. <br />during the periods of Morrow Point Reservoir draw down, WAPA would purchase surplus power <br />18 <br />