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<br />I .U...JU'::: <br /> <br />QCongreS's of t1Je <!fIniteb ~tate5 <br />~asf)ington, ;a~ 20515 <br /> <br />\.. <br />.. <br /> <br />1.i~:/ -: I <br /> <br />1999 <br /> <br />,\ \ <br />:S\ll <br /> <br />The Honorable Ron Packard, <br />Subcommittee on Energy and <br />2366 Rayburn <br />Washington, D.C. ~20 <br /> <br />Dear Chairman ~rd: . <br /> <br />The Omaha District of the U.S. Army Corps or Engineers has <br />requested FY :2 0 00 appropriations of $530,000 for operations and <br />maintenance at the Cherry Creek Lake dam near Denver, Colorado. We <br />ask that~ in your subcommittee report, you prohibit the Corps ~rom <br />using any of that money for a study of modifications to the dam <br />based Upon a 1995 National Weather Service study of site-specific <br />probable maximum preCipitation for the Cherry Creek drainage. <br /> <br />Chairman <br />Water Development <br /> <br />The stUdy concluded that the existing Cherry Creek dam was <br />inadequate to withstand a PMP of approxi~ately 25 inches of rain in <br />72 hours. But many longtime residents and more than a feW' <br />knowledgeable observers of Colorado weather rej ected this figure as <br />improbable in a state that receives little ~ore than 12 inches of <br />rain a year. Nevertheless, guided by its mission, the ~orps has <br />proceeded to hold more than a year of public hearings on the <br />matter. This process has 'resulted in proposals to raise the dam <br />nine to 15 feet and possibly relocate two state highways and all <br />lando~ners within a 400 square mile area, with estimated costs of <br />up to $200 million. <br /> <br />We believe the Weather Service PMP stUdy is fatally flaweq and <br />the SUbsequent Corps process ~isguided. Dr. William R. Cotton of <br />the Colorado State University Department of Atmospheric Resea'rch is <br />beginning a three-year. study to develop new methodologies for <br />deter~ining extreme precipitation in Colorado. He has intimated <br />that the third year of his study could include the Cherry Creek <br />basin. <br /> <br />J <br />....1 /' <br /> <br />The Corps, for its part, stands by the NWS projection but <br />suggests it Would be willing to join in an alternate precipitation <br />;' study, conducted by a trusted expert from a noted hydrological <br />progra~, such as that at Colorado State. ,That description could be <br />wri~ten for Dr. Cotton and therefore we ask for a susoension of the <br />Cherry Creek study until his three-year 'project is~completed and <br />its findings evaluated. <br /> <br />Thank you for your consideration. <br /> <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br />.-' .., <br /> <br />/~ I~~ <br /> <br />Rep. ThomasG. Tancredo <br /> <br />"""NTED OM AE: V'e"... 0 r^P'E'A <br />