Water Conservation / Supply Reconnaissance Study Part 1

• Description: Part 1 of Final Report for the Platte River Research Cooperative Agreement ‎(aka Platte River Recovery Implementation Program or PRRIP)‎
• State: CO
• State: NE
• State: WY
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 12/1/1999
• Author: Boyle Engineering Corporation
• Title: Water Conservation/Supply Reconnaissance Study for the Platte River Research Cooperative Agreement - Part 1
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

•
2. INTRODUCTION
A. Background and Perspective
The states of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado and the U.S.
Department of the Interior have entered into a partnership to address
endangered species issues affecting the Platte River Basin. This
partnership is guided by the Cooperative Agreement (June 1997). The
driving force behind the Cooperative Agreement is that many water
projects in the Platte River Basin are in the process or will soon be
going through a review of their impacts on endangered species. Under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA), federal agencies must ensure that
the water projects they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize
the continued existence of endangered and threatened species or result
in the destruction or modification of habitat which has been
determined to be critical. The Cooperative Agreement is considered to
be the best approach to address ESA issues and requirements, as
opposed to each individual water project having to undergo an
independent review of their impacts on endangered species.
The Cooperative Agreement is a three -year agreement signed by the
governors of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska and by the Secretary
of the Interior to address the needs of four threatened and endangered
species using the central Platte River region. The two main objectives
of the Cooperative Agreement are as follows:
• Develop and implement a "recovery implementation program"
(Recovery Program) to improve and conserve habitat for four
threatened and endangered species that use the Platte River in
Nebraska, which include the whooping crane, piping plover, least
tern, and the pallid sturgeon.
• Enable existing and new water uses in the Platte River Basin to
proceed without additional actions required (beyond the Recovery
Program) for the four species under the Endangered Species Act.
The Cooperative Agreement is a basinwide, cooperative effort to
improve and maintain habitat for the four endangered species listed
above. The Recovery Program builds upon the Cooperative Agreement
and lays out several activities and contributions from the three states
and federal government that are to be conducted in specified
increments. The objectives of the first phase of the proposed Recovery
Program (10 -13 years) are as follows:
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