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FOREWORD <br />This report is one of a series of technical memorandums prepared to support an <br />environmental impact statement (EIS) on power marketing prepared by Argonne National <br />Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy's Western Area Power Administration <br />(Western). Western markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the <br />Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area <br />Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the <br />Colorado, Green, Gunnison, and Rio Grande rivers and on Plateau Creek in the states of <br />Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. <br />Western proposes to establish a level of commitment (sales) of long-term firm <br />electrical capacity and energy from the SLCA/IP hydroelectric power plants; the impacts of <br />this proposed action are evaluated in the EIS. Of the SLCA/IP facilities, only the Glen <br />Canyon Dam, Flaming Gorge Dam, and Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow <br />Point, and Crystal dams) are influenced by Western's power scheduling and transmission <br />decisions. For this reason, the impacts of hydropower operations at these three facilities were <br />examined in the EIS. <br />The technical memorandums present detailed findings of studies conducted by <br />Argonne National Laboratory specifically for the EIS. These studies are summarized in the <br />EIS, and the results were used to assess environmental impacts related to alternative <br />commitment levels. Technical memorandums were prepared on a number of socioeconomic <br />and natural resource topics. Staff members of Argonne National Laboratory's Decision and <br />Information Sciences Division and Environmental Assessment Division prepared these <br />technical memorandums and the EIS as part of a joint effort managed by the Environmental <br />Assessment Division. <br />iii