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. . 3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3.1 Location and Background Flaming Gorge Dam is located on the Green River in northeastern Utah about 6 miles south of the Wyoming-Utah border and about 20 miles west of the Colorado-Utah border. Flaming Gorge helps provide storage water to satisfy the requirements of the Colorado River Compact. This responsibility is also shared with the Aspinall Unit, Navajo Reservoir, and Lake Powell. Construction of the dam and power plant started in 1956 and was completed in 1964. The dam rises to a height of 455 feet above streambed and contains 987,000 cubic yards of concrete. Water storage in the reservoir began in 1962 and the reservoir began full operation in 1967. 3.2 Project Authorization The Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 (Public Law 84-485) authorized the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam along with the Glen Canyon, Aspinall, and Navajo Units and 11 participating projects. The primary purpose of the Act was to regulate the flow of the Colorado River, making possible the Upper Basin consumptive use of its entitled share'of Colorado River Compact water. The construction of these facilities allows the Upper Basin to meet its Compact water commitments to the Lower Basin during dry hydrologic periods without curtailing the use of water in the Upper Basin. Other benefits of the project include fish and wildlife, hydroelectric power, municipal and industrial water supply, recreation and flood control [1]. Since the primary purpose of the CRSP unit is to allow the Upper Basin States to develop water entitled to them under the Compact, the authorization and operation of CRSP reservoirs to satisfy Upper and Lower Basin demands is also closely linked to previous laws and compacts on the Colorado River. This group of documents, collectively known as the Law of the River, includes the Colorado River Compact (1922), the Boulder Canyon Project Act (1928), the Mexican Water Treaty (1944), the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact (1948), the Colorado River Storage Project Act (1956), the Colorado River Basin Project Act (1968), and the Criteria for the Coordinated Long-Range Operation of Colorado River Reservoirs (1969) (Operating Criteria). Each of these documents addresses the apportionment and use of Colorado River water. Beginning with the Colorado River Compact, the estimated long-term natural water supply of the Colorado River Basin was divided between the Upper and Lower Basins; Lee Ferry, Arizona being the demarcation line. Originally both basins were allowed to consumptively use 7.5 million acre-feet annually (MAF) later the Lower Basin was granted an additional 1 MAF annually. In terms of meeting its commitments to the Lower Basin, the Compact required only that the flow at Lee Ferry not be depleted below an aggregate of 75 MAF during each 10- year period. Upper Basin storage facilities provided the means for developing the Upper Basin use of its apportionment while making these Lower Basin deliveries. Under the compact the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are allocated 51.75%, 11.25%, 23% and 14% respectively of the Upper Basin's share of Colorado River water [2]. 3-1