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tp;ldurango .r:. .L.~ ~~ eg~~ apt 11 . .,..,'I~ - -:-- ~- . ..... . , ,.. .. . ... ",;;:' '': r :,-:.'. . _ I .. ~ .. . " - - '-,,# "'"'" "'"'" I LL pStory CO) C> C> '" '" C> C> a... r- an an I I- Reservoir I. proposal Iraws heat Long Hollow Reservoir :ched to satisfy compact II 'sands ~storm Is currently building over a new propos- allo build a local reselvolr. PlOponents charge that the Long Hollow Reservoir In western La Jounty ""auld fulfill pillt or Colorado's wafer com- ~nt to New M~Klco. Opponents counler that the olr wlll negatively Impact La Plata River water qual- leat ColOlado taxpayers Ollt of millions of dollars HO-1' ~e II backdoor to resurrect ~he full scope or the 3.. Plata project. 19 I, the La Plata River Compact was drawn up en Colorado and New Mexlco. Accordlng to the nent, half the flow of the La Plata Rlver as meas- It Hesperus must be dellvered across the state Illle l!W Mt:!xlco's ust:!. Sometimes the compact Is efCec. )flen It Is not, particularly during summer months b agricultural use and temperalures are both at Ihelr ~ ' highs. The La Plata Water Conservanc.y District LL CD), an organization (ormed In 1944, has worked tbat lime without success to build a reservoir to fulfill Cclorado's end of the baTgat~. The slle ~ ed approprlale for the reservoir was and '5 Long U; '1\; a lrlbutary of the La Plata River located just. - . or the. town of Re.d Mesa llnd 4 miles notth of the i Mex.lco border. ~ e reselvolr that 15 currently being proposed wO\Jld J.' late roughly 160 acrl!S and be II relallvely meager <f acre-feel. The LrWCD would llke to have 11 opera- ~ ; in lwo to three years. ..., nary, (Joe ana MilYlIiHU 4U'!I"'U ,"'''- another concern Is that once a Long Hollmv Reservolr Is buill, the original and said that by catching irrigatIon returns, lalger Animas-la Plata project will be res~ water tainled wllh chemicals and rertlllz- urrect:ed. Last summer, the CPA defeated a ers wlll be delivered I~ New .Mexico,- vio- 2000 appllcation that ttley said the latlng the slate's water-quality standards. LPWCD was Irying to sneak through. The "They are trying to catch irrigation district had proposed diverting Animas return Oow to satisfy the La Illata River River water Ihrough Rldges E1asin into a Compact, and there all~ severe water. Long Hollow Reservoir. quaUty problems with Ihat," she said. "I sttll.~e lh'at's been their intention Rather than building reservoirs, all along," Maynard sald. "'Bverythlng Maynard suggested tbat La Plata Rlver shows that all the l1ype th.ey did abollt users should honor their commitment to downsWng Animas-La Plata was justlhat ....(....... .........:11...,.. ....... _.... :_~_..j~_..., ........ __ .A.L.. .._.. L..__>> oI.'1loon ~r......~."-u ~J u'U'''" ."'....6'*'UI6 ""'~LI I.Ulo.L'- - I"'Jt''t:'. .. . At one point In Long Hollow's Incarnation it WilS tied Is no water av~i1able. "We need to SlOp. Maynard concluded by asking why a 10 the larger AnImas-la Plaia project and would have uU- those irri.gatol~ (rom making diversions l( small water dlslIlct in rural La Plata Ilzed Animas River water piped Into Rldges Basln and we're nol meellng our commitments," County Is doing the work of Ihe Stale of then diverted to a similar reser\'olr to satIsfy the com- she saId. _ Colorado engineer - fulfilling the com- pact. Lee stressed Ihat A-LP is no longer tLed to Long One of the worst rip-offs pact. "The bottom line is, what's the state Hollow Resen'olr. . . The CPA's Phil Doe added that one o( engineer dolng and why \s he permLulng "This has nolhlng to do wUIt the Anlmas-ta Plata the most significant impacts or the lAlng this?" she said. prolect." he said. "I want to make that very clear." H 0 I low Downstream concems Without Ridges Ilasln as a water SOUlce, the "Dry Side" Reservoir is a h CrUlcism of the Long reservolr would rely on groundwater collected from nat. soclal one. II AU. the ype Hollow Reselvolr Is also sur- ural preclpJlatlon as welt as IrrlgatJon retUrn flows. "The "This is one of h CacIng from an unlikely primary source ls groundwater that ames In the La Plata the worst rip- t ey did a bout source - the beneficiary. drainage," Lee said. "We would more than anything else offs I've eve, downsl.zl.ng Dutlng the Army Corps' change Ihe liming on when the waler Is dellveled." seen," he said. scoping period, the New . The proceu beghu Doe ooled A L PI t Mexico Interstate Stream Currently the Long Hollow Reservoir Is goIng through that in 1986, ,n.iTas a a a Commission was among the the! Army Corps o( Engineers' Water Quality Cettlf1catlon the ~tate of was Just tha t groups and citizens that sub- process. The Corps took publlc comments through Dec. Colorado set' - mUted concerns. PhLl Mulz, 8,2003, and received 17 letters or concern. On Dec. 29, aslde $30 mil. hype. II Upper - Colorado River Ihose letters as well as the Corps' concerns were sent lion 10 cover lis Commissioner for' New back to the LPWCD. share of A-Lr.. _ Sunny Maynard, Mexico, said t1:1i1t chler "I forwarded the comments to the applicant," said However, In aLtornev fur Citizerrs' among those concerns was Kara Helllge, chief of Ihe Co.rp.s' Durango offfce.. "They 1999, an lnltla- Progressive AI/lance -: that thele would not be sulU- need to address those and the Army Carps' concerns. .. live spearhead- clent supply In Long Hollow We have similar concerns 10 most of the publlc that ed by Sen. Ben Campbell transferred all Reservoir to s.atisfy the compact. commented." the costs of A-1ft to federal talCpayers. "The comf.Ulsslon dId not aglee with r nwHeclllDgeloexprmulallanteeda~~lp~~:t~C:Sp~~~,I~J~~ltfyo s:pep~~ That SJ9 milllon (omenUy 342-plus mil. I the hydrologic analysIS that was done for .....- . Uon wlth accrued Interest) was never Ihat reservolr," he said. prlate flows to support native and endangered down- Ie paid to Colorado and $15 million. of Mull. also said that the State of New slream fisheries, develop a waler quality program and, that sum was awarded outright 10 the Mex.lco Is serious about seeing the La ensure that the compact is actuaUy met. As the pro~ss LPWCD lor tbe Long Hollow PIOJect: Plata River Compact satisfied_ goes forward, Hellige sald that the C~rps will determine "Iilgh.ty-nine landowners are gelling a "Somedmes we get It, and sometimes we whether 10 do the standard EnvIronmental Assessment $IS milllon gift, and they're getting It get It a bit shOlt,'" he said. "But that's or a more rigorous EnvllOnmenlallmpact Statement. surrepttllously," Doe_ said. "Those what the compact's there for, and we "If we determlne tbal the prolect would cause s1gnlfi- landownets have managed to rob the expect Colorado to denver." cant lmpact, we would review the project wlth an illS state lreasury of S 15 mUllon." Lee said that the Ll'WCD is doing il.\ and figure out whallhose IrnpaClS are and If they can be A-lP 'Large' relurrected1 besl to fulfilllhat obligation. He also said addressed and minimized," she said. In splle of Lee's stalement to the con. that the district wants to be as open with Severe wltllr-quallty problem. the ,public as possible as the process One group that Is sure slgnlficant Impacts will arlse moves 100ward from Long Hollow Remvolr Is the Citizens' Progressive "We'ls hopl~ that this will help with Alliance. a iongl:lme opponent of A.LP. Sunny Maynard, some of lhe problems thai have been cre- attorney for the CPA, said that a chief concern Is dlmin- ated between the two states," he said. "It's Ished water quallty because of Ihe reservoir. She ~ not going to be a tOO percent fUe, but U will help. Thls'U be going on through the process and as rime goes on, Ihere'n be plenty of opportunities for people to ,.t'l~""on" II . Jan. 8, 2004 Delivering on a promise "The purpose prlmarlly is to help resolve some of the problems with the La ['lata River Compact..... sald BrIce Lee, LrWCD plesldent. "The compact was ratified in 1922, and there's been problems wIth LI since then. We want to get water to New Mexico without harming rA'lk:'f;;i1.-. Ii"~,,, ,., c::: o N c.> CO -.]