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, 0J 00 :n ~ c... (:~.I . . SAN LUIS VALLEY PROJECT, COLORADO Closed Basin Division--Preconstruction activities continued toward a construc- tion this fiscal year on Stage 1-2 facilities. Advance planning work continued on the other stages. A construction start this year was made possible by passage of Public Law 96-375 in October 1980, which amended the 1972 project authorizing act for Closed Basin Division to increase the cost ceiling to $57,139,000 (October 1979 prices). Rights-of-way for well sites in Stage 1-2 area are being acquired and specification designs for the well fields are being completed. The Project Construction Engineer (Mr. Lindell.H. Elfrink) was selected in February 1981, and award of a drilling contract for salvage wells in Stage 1-2 area is scheduled for this spring. Meanwhile, work has continued on cooperative efforts with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) , Colorado Division of Wildlife and others to develop a revised mitigation and enhancement plan for the Division. Last spring, field data collected in 1979 were, sent to these agencies, our Engineering and Research Center in Denver, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board for comparative analyses toward resolving acreage of wetlands that would be affected by the project and impacts on wildlife associated with the wetlands. Results of the analyses and several coordinating meetings now indicate that total wetlands that would be impacted by the project would be less than 14,000 acres--probably 7,000 to 8,000 acres attributed to drawing down the water table plus 5,000 acres or so by conveyance channel interference. Other mitigation or enhancement measures addressed this year during our coopera- tive studies and consultations with other agencies include possible recreational