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Environmental Account Update <br />Sharon B. Whitmore <br />Environmental Account Manager <br />Date: April 7, 2003 <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />Grand Island, Nebraska <br />308-382-6468x18 <br />What is the Environmental Account (EA)? <br />• The EA was established in Lake McConaughy on October 1, 1999, to supplement flows in the Platte River to benefit <br />federally-listed threatened and endangered fish and wildlife species. <br />• The EA is a requirement of Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's (CNPPID) and Nebraska Public <br />Power District's (NPPD) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses for five hydropower plants on the <br />Platte River. <br />• Although important to the Three-State Cooperative Agreement (CA) effort, the EA will exist with or without the CA or <br />basin-wide Program because of the FERC license requirements. <br />How Much Water is in the Environmental Account? <br />• The amount of water in the EA will vary from year to year depending on the amount of water added, the amount of <br />water lost to evaporation and seepage, and the amount of water used. <br />• Each year during the non-irrigation season (Oct. through April), 10 percent of the storable inflows into Lake <br />McConaughy will be contributed to the EA. This contribution may never exceed 100,000 acre-feet. <br />• EA water may be carried-over from one Water Year (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30) to the next. <br />• If Lake McConaughy fills to capacity, the EA will be automatically set to 100,000 acre-feet. <br />• The total amount of EA water may never exceed 200,000 acre-feet. <br />• The EA is subject to evaporation and seepage losses in Lake McConaughy in proportion to the total amount of water in <br />storage. <br />How Is the Environmental Account Operated? <br />• An EA Manager, an employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is responsible for requesting releases of <br />water from the EA. <br />• The EA Manager coordinates daily operations with CNPPID, NPPD, and NE Dept. of Natural Resources. <br />• The EA Manager may not request releases that will cause or add to flooding along the river. <br />• EA water can be diverted through hydropower facilities, as long as the appropriate amount of water is returned to the <br />river. <br />• EA water gets assessed the same conveyance gainsilosses that irrigation water does as it travels down the river. <br />• NE Dept. of Natural Resources is responsible for tracking and accounting for EA water in Lake McConaughy and as it <br />travels down the river to Grand Island. <br />EA Annual Operating Plan <br />• The EA Manager is required to develop an annual operating plan (AOP) for the EA each year, in coordination with an <br />EA Committee made up of representatives from various water-user entities, environmental groups, and state and federal <br />agencies. <br />• In October of each year, the Districts' predict the "Type-of-Year" based on projected inflows into Lake McConaughy <br />and provide the EA Manager with river flow predictions for AOP development. <br />• USFWS-recommended in-stream flow targets are used as a reference point for determining flow shortages throughout <br />the water year. The flow target periods are then prioritized based on estimated projected flows and shortages, EA <br />volume, hydrologic conditions, and species needs. <br />• A new target period, Carry-Over, was added to the AOP prioritization table in WY2001.