Organizing for Endangered and Threatened Species Habitat Draft

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CHAPTER EIGHT: WYOMING-THE STRUGGLE OVER GRAYROCKS-BIltDS GET A VOICE! The Grayrocks Project began in the 1970s, when a a coal-fired electrical generating plant was proposed for construction on the outskirts of Wheatland, Wyoming. Grayrocks Dam and reservoir--to be built on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, a tributary of the North Platte--was needed to provide 104,110 acre feet of cooling water.(Simons and Associates Inc. 2000). The Rural Electric Administration granted a loan guarantee, and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a construction permit to Basin Electric Power Cooperative. The state of Nebraska and National Wildlife Federation countered with a lawsuit alleging that the two federal agencies has failed to comply with ESA and NEPA and also claimed that diversion of Laramie river water would jeopardize irrigation and wildlife habitat in Nebraska (Gaul 1993). Grayrocks threatened some local Wyoming water users, Nebraska irrigators and hydropower producers, and environmentalists rising to the defense of critical whooping crane habitat. It also brought federal agents into the North Platte basin as environmental benefactors for the first time. When the powerplant was in the early planning and permit stage, members of several local Wyoming interests, Nebraska water organizations, and environmentalists gathered together and, for the first time in history, instead of fighting each other, found themselves on the same side opposing Basin Electric (Bethell 1986). Opponents argued that Basin Electric Power Cooperative had failed to consider the downstream effects and ignored everything beyond the Nebraska state line, including the needs of whooping crane habitat. The intent of local Wyoming opponents was to limit the size of the power plant in order to hold down the draw on local water supplies, and to constrain Basin Electric from letting any more water go downstream than necessary, as well as limiting the impact of the project on local schools, streets, taxes and the local environment (Bethell 1986). The intent of environmentalists and the state of Nebraska was to see that North Platte flows were not further diminished. The situation came to a head when the state of Nebraska filed suit against the project, although the plant was already under construction. That lawsuit was joined by people concerned about wildlife, arguing that the project would further degrade crane habitat. For the first time, the weight of the ESA was applied to North Platte river water management. Because the ESA was still new at the time of the Grayrocks discussion, and the 1978 amendments of ESA had not yet clarified Section 7 procedures regarding takings, there was still a great deal of murkiness about the implementation of ESA. The Corps of Engineers argued that it did not have to consult under Section 7 because potential effects of Grayrocks Dam on endangered species were too far downstream. The federal court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and issued an injunction against construction of Grayrocks. Negotiations between the parties resulted in an out-of-court settlement that earned court approval. Basin Electric agreed to limit its water use, provide seasonal water releases from Grayrocks for downstream habitat, and establish a$7.5 million trust fund for enhancement of whooping crane habitat to offset consequences of the power plant project (Gaul 1993). These funds provided the core asset of a new entity to speak for the birds and riverine habitat in central Nebraska-the Platte River Whooping Crane Habitat Maintenance Trust. 42