06d

• Board Meeting Date: 5/20/2008
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Xcel Energy's Shoshone Generating Station had been shut down since June because of a break in one of
two penstocks, the pipes that deliver the water.
The rupture flooded the station and switching yard with about 8 feet of water and many tons of rock and
soil.
The station produces 14 megawatts of power. One megawatt produces enough power for roughly 1,000
homes.
It's one of seven hydroelectric power plants owned and operated by Xcel in Colorado. (Source: Glenwood
Springs Post Independent)
FREMONT COUNTY PIPELINE PATH A REAL OPTION - An agreement signed this week
between Fremont County commissioners and Colorado Springs would clear the way for a water pipeline
from Fremont County, even though the route appears to be among the least desirable of alternatives.
The Fremont County route would add between $130 million and $240 million to the cost of building the
$ l , l billion Southern Delivery System without delivering any additional water, and would not benefit
from storage in Lake Pueblo.
John Fredell, SDS project director, insisted Thursday the Fremont County option is a viable route and is
not being developed to pressure Pueblo County into accepting its preferred alternative from Pueblo Dam.
Fremont County Commissioner Ed Norden said he was skeptical about Colorado Springs motives in the
agreement, which the commissioners approved Tuesday. The agreement gives Fremont County $50,000
to pay for staff or consultants to evaluate information for permits, as well as assuring the county Colorado
Springs will apply for all necessary permits. Fremont County has never adopted special land use
regulations for projects of statewide interest under the 1974 HB 1041.
Pueblo's revision of 1041 regulations in 2005 continues to be a source of contention for Colorado
Springs, which is appealing a decision by Pueblo District Court Chief Judge Dennis Maes.
There are about 30 properties along the route, and some of the owners of those parcels were unhappy with
the commissioners' approval of the agreement.
The Fremont County option, proposed in two of the seven alternatives Reclamation is studying, has
particularly negative impacts for the reach of river above Lake Pueblo and from Pueblo Dam to Fountain
Creek. Reclamation still deems it "reasonable." (Source: Pueblo Chieftain)
ARKANSAS RIVER COMPACT ADMINISTRATION (ARCA) -Jennifer Gimbel and Dick
Wolfe, representing Colorado on the Special Engineering Committee, reached agreement
("Recommendation G") with Kansas on repayment of several years of shortfalls on delivery of Kansas
account water from John Martin Reservoir, an issue outside the current Supreme Court litigation. This
significant agreement will allow approval by ARCA of over 10 years of disputed reservoir accounting.
Colorado will deliver approximately 3200 AF of purchased consumptive use water to Kansas' account at
John Martin in cooperation with the Lower Arkansas Valley WCD. Funding for the purchase has been
approved from the Board's Emergency Drought Assistance program since the bulk of the shortfall
occurred in 2002 - 2004. (Steve 1Vliller)
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