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<br />ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
<br />
<br />Gunnison diversion
<br />held up for review
<br />
<br />By ,JOE GARNER
<br />Ro~y Mountain Naws Staff Writer
<br />
<br />A $60 million plan to generate electricity
<br />with water diverted from the Gunnison Riv-
<br />er to the Uncompahgre River must receive a
<br />'closer environmental review before tile
<br />project can be bulit, the federal Bureau of '
<br />Reclamation has ordered. -
<br />"We're not necessarily opposed to the
<br />project," said Mark Pearson, chairman of
<br />the Grand Junction-based Uncompahgre
<br />Group of the Sierra Club. "But we wanted
<br />the environmental impact statement be-
<br />cause our concern was that the project was'
<br />on a fast.track to be licensed without assur-
<br />ing adequate stream' flows in the Gunnison
<br />River for recreation u.sers." . .
<br />,The initial draft of the environmentai
<br />study should be completed early In 1989,
<br />with a period for more publiC comment be-
<br />fore the final draft becomes available a year
<br />later, said Steve McCall, environmental spe-
<br />cialist with the Bureau of Reclamation.'
<br />The developers have contracted with Pub-
<br />lic Service' ,Co. of Colorado to deliver elec-
<br />tricity from the proposed southwestern Col-
<br />orado plant by April 1992, with a grace
<br />period until the end of 1993.
<br />Almost, a decade In the planning, the hy-
<br />dr,oelectric pllint Is proposed by the Uncom-
<br />pahgre Va1\ey Water, Users Association and
<br />Montrose Partners, an investment group led
<br />by M1tex Inc. of Boston. The project Is called
<br />the AB Lateral ijydropower :Faclllty be-
<br />ca'llse water Is diverted through the AB Lat-
<br />eral Canal.
<br />
<br />The power station would general.l\ 250,000
<br />megawatt-hours of electricity valued at $9
<br />, million annua1\y, said Bill Fowler, project
<br />manager for Mitex, which specializes in such
<br />small plants. ,
<br />"If anyone had known the project was
<br />going to take so long, we max not have
<br />pursued It,''.Fowler said. "We're hopeful it's
<br />gotng to be built."
<br />Ted Hermanns, president of the engineer' .
<br />Ing firm working for the developers, ex-
<br />plained the project this way: Water now is
<br />diverted from the Gunnison River through a
<br />five-mile tunnel built in 1909 into a system
<br />of canals to irrigate fields in the Uncompah-
<br />gre Basin, The, plan calls for enlarging the
<br />AB Lateral Canal and building a seven-mile
<br />pipeline to supply the power plant before the
<br />water returns to the Uncompahgre River
<br />north of Montrose.
<br />Water flow through the generating plant
<br />will vary with farmers' demand for hTiga-
<br />tion, Hermanns said.
<br />Fred Wetlaufer, president of the Uncom-
<br />pahgreValley AsSociation, a citizens lobby;
<br />said wildlife habitat, water flows and river
<br />temperatures must be monitored carefully,
<br />in the study . "The earlier environmental
<br />assesBJI)ent 'was not complete enough from
<br />several viewpoints," he said.
<br />Construction of dams and reservoirs on
<br />the Gunnison have resulted iit warmer wa-
<br />ter, so It no longer freezes, McCall said. The
<br />river also has', bel:ome a premier trout
<br />stream, sO people who fish the river are
<br />concerned that lowering the water level will
<br />cause the river to freeze again in winter and
<br />become too hot for trout In summer.
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