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<br />o 0 1 "l .~; 9 <br /> <br />Revised Supplemental Draft Environmental Assessment-Chapter 3-Affected <br />Environment and Environmental Consequences <br /> <br />filings in June 1882. By November 1882, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad was <br />completed from the Gunnison River Valley to Grand Junction. In 1889, tracks were <br />extended along the Colorado River, past the current site at the Price-Stubb Diversion <br />Dam. The dam and associated pumping facilities were completed in 1911 to supply <br />irrigation water to the Price and Stubb Ditches for use by early settlers in the Palisade <br />area. <br /> <br />Reclamation's review of reports and historic preservation actions for various <br />undertakings in the affected area produced documentation of turn of the century irrigation <br />features of historical importance, including the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam. No <br />significant archaeological sites have been found. As a standard cultural resource <br />protection measure, all fish passage construction contracts would require work to be . <br />stopped if cultural resource sites were encountered. Work could not resume until <br />measures needed to avoid or minimize adverse impacts to significant resources are agreed <br />to by the Colorado State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). <br /> <br />Protect Historic Dam <br /> <br />Issue: The Price-Stubb Diversion Dam is eligible for listing on the National <br />Register of Historic Places, and Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that their <br />actions do not adversely affect historic qualities of eligible sites. <br /> <br />Existing Conditions: Since 1919, Palisade and Mesa County Irrigation Districts <br />have not used the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam and associated facilities to divert flows of <br />the Colorado River to irrigate their lands. The Price-Stubb Diversion Dam is in good <br />condition despite a long period of non-u~e. However, there is concern that the scour hole <br />below the dam may be undermining the foundation of the dam. The canal headworks <br />have deteriorated, and the associated pump canal and pump plant have been destroyed <br />over the years. <br /> <br />E.R. Jacobson first recorded features of the historic system in 1981 to obtain a <br />preliminary FERC permit to study its water power development potential. Reclamation <br />also recorded the site in 1982, under the name "Palisade Dam (5ME769). The Jacobson <br />Hydro No. 1 Project proposed to use each feature of the abandoned system in the <br />developing the hydropower project. The application for the license (Jacobson, 1983) <br />notes the stone lining of the diversion pool at the canal headworks is intact only on its <br />northwest side. <br /> <br />After its abandonment, the canal was filled in with earth. A stone wall or lining that is <br />evident on the east side of the canal and next to the river, may be original. Only the <br />foundation of the pump plant remains. Of all the features of the abandoned system, only <br />the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam has not undergone extensive change or obliteration. <br /> <br />In 1984, the SHPO determined that the dam was eligible for listing on the National <br />Register of Historic Places-as a classic example of an ogee crest dam built between <br /> <br />50 <br />