9609

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9609
• Author: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• Title: Ruedi Reservoir 2012 Agreement Final Environmental Assessment Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.
• USFW Year: 2002.
• USFW - Doc Type: Loveland, CO.
• Copyright Material: NO

1

1

t
t
11

1
1

Ruedi 2012 Agreement Final EA Page 2-5
2.2 Alternatives Considered But Dropped from Further Consideration
2.2.1 Continuation Of Only The 5,000 of Annually and 5,000 of in 4 Out Of 5 Years
Contract With No Additional Releases From Ruedi Reservoir For Endangered Fish
On several occasions during this process, requests were made to consider an alternative that
included only releases for Round I contracts (7,850 af), Round II contracts already executed
(4,469 af), and the existing contract to make 5,000 of annually and 5,000 of in 4 out of 5 years of
Ruedi water available to the 15 Mile Reach as the No Action Alternative. However, this
alternative does not consider stipulations in both the PBO and BO, which must be implemented
should the 2012 Agreement not be executed, such as PBO re-initiation criteria and interim water
releases required in the BO. Furthermore, such an alternative does not reflect actions that will be
triggered if the 2012 agreement is not executed, which may also affect the quantity of releases
made from Ruedi Reservoir (see Section 4.1 for a further description of effects). For this reason,
it is not accurate or appropriate to use this alternative as the No Action Alternative.
However, because such strong interest was displayed in seeing such an alternative presented in
this document, limited information is being provided in this section to describe this scenario.
Hydrologic model runs were performed using the releases associated with such a scenario.
Parameters identical to those used for modeling the alternatives were used (see Attachment A)
including the 5,412 of commitment from each of Wolford and Williams Fork reservoirs. The
results of the model runs for this scenario are displayed in Figures 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. So that
modeling runs would more closely reflect likely operations, a 350 cfs modeling constraint was
placed on flows in the Fryingpan River downstream of Rocky Fork Creek. The 350 cfs is not an
actual limit or target. It is merely a constraint incorporated into the model to try and reflect the
actual human decision making process used to determine Ruedi releases. It is hereafter referred
to as the "Fryingpan River modeling constraint".
2.2.2 Release Restriction Alternative
Under a program administered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the City
of Aspen was granted a license to build a hydropower plant at the base of Ruedi Reservoir.
Aspen's power plant utilizes the head generated by and the flows released by Ruedi Reservoir
for the reservoir's authorized purposes to generate power for the City. Ruedi Water and Power
Authority (RWPA) and the City of Aspen (Aspen) have expressed concern regarding releases of
more than 250 cfs from Ruedi Reservoir. The plant has a maximum flow capacity of
approximately 300 cfs, but is functionally limited to around 250 cfs; flows greater than this must
bypass the plant's turbines. RWPA and Aspen feel that flows in excess of 250 cfs are a lost
opportunity for power generation and revenue, and potentially cause less water to be available in
the winter for power generation.
The FERC program under which the plant was built allows private entities to build power plants
on federal facilities without having to incur the costs of reservoir development including design,
construction, water rights acquisition and environmental compliance. Generally, private entities
may build a power plant on a federal facility with the understanding that they are allowed to
benefit from the releases made by the federal facility to serve that facility's authorized purposes
but that the federal facility's operation will not be changed in response to the private entity's
benefit. The Memorandum of Agreement between Reclamation and the City of Aspen for
operation of the power plant states that Reclamation has "sole discretion" over release rates from
1