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Bureau of Reclamation Peaking Power Investigation 1 _ . COLORADO W!\l'ER CO:'lSSRWc;nON BOARD The Bureau of Reclamation has organized a Plannf ng Team to conduct an investigation of the impacts of a pro- posed Peaking Power Plant in the area known as Dunham Point. The team consists of agencies and individuals interested in the social. economic, en- vironmental and engineering aspects of thi s proposed project. The ff rst Plan- ning Team meeting was held on July 9 at the COlllllunity Center in Dolores. Colorado. The team decided that only a Biological and a Power Subteam are needed at this time. Other issues will be handled by the whole Planning Team. Ken Wilson of the Western Area Power Ad- August, 1981 . . ministration (WAPA) leads an existing Power Team whf ch is studyf ng nllllerous peaking power investigations and will al so address the Dunham Point l.kIit. Don Moomaw of the Bureau of Reclamation will lead the Biological Subteam. The next Planning Team meeting will be held on September 1, 1981 at 7:00 pit in the Dolores Comunity Center, 400 Riverside Drive, Dolores, Colorado. Representatives from Western Area Power Mninistration (WAPA) will describe how the overall power generation system works. Preliminary alternatives will also be d1~11!':;C'{'(1. . . I The following is a consolidated, open-ended list of concerns that hav~ thus far been voiced regarding the Dunham Point Peaking Power Investigation. In the first Dunham Point newsletter. we discussed reservoir fluctuations and we will be providing further infonlltion on fluctuations in the future Two concerns - the impacts on wfldlife associated with access. and project alternatives - are discussed in detafl in this issue. The remaining issues are listed on page 3. We will continue to address othe,' concerns in future newsletters. If you have a concern that is not mentioned 1n the following list 01' has not been discussed previously please let us know. Contact Jack Generaux. Planning Team Leader, at the Bureau of Reclamation, P. O. Box 640. Durango, Colorado 81301. telephone (303) 247-0247. Wildlife Imp'acts The Biology Subteam will examine the effect of habitat losses (both during and after construction) associated with the forebay area. the penstock and generating unit, disposal sites for tunnel spofl material. and transmission lines, in addition to the problems associated with the access routes selected. Wildlife habitat losses associated with the Dunham Point forebay site are estimated to include approximately 400 acres of vegetati on. Si nce the penstock and generati ng plant would be located mostly underground. little habitat changes are expected for these items. The area will be surveyed and mapped to identify and assess impacts. Management plans and conservation measures will then be developed to reduce poten- tial impacts. In addition to the total planning team, the Biology subteam will address the impacts of reservoir fluctuations. These fluctuations could affect fisheries, shoreline stability. aesthetics, and recreational activities. The Biology Subtel8 intends to complete preliminarY evalua- tions of these various issues by the first of the year. Wildlife impacts would be a particular problem during those periods when the unit would be operating. Peaking power operations are presently planned for an average of 10 weeks during the sunmer and 10 weeks during the winter months. AdditionallY therl:! would be other t.imes during the year that the plant would be operated depending on the peaking demands. Du:'ing these times, personnel would be at the site daily to monitor the plant and perfom routine maintenance. Also, operation equipment would periodically be moved to and fro. the site. The actual power operations would be remotely controlled, pet'haps from Montrose. Colorado. A particular concel'n ]'afsed was the effect of constnlction and operation and maintenance access routes. New access routes could allow for inct~ased public access to big game ani..ls, thus adversely affecting the their populations. PreliMinary access routes have been identified and the Planning Team will be assessing the; r impacts. X -<:}