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Chapter I — Purpose of and Need for Action <br />Examples of the latter are the Nebraska water projects operated by Central Nebraska Public Power and <br />Irrigation District and Nebraska Public Power District (Kingsley Dam, Keystone Diversion Dam, Tri- <br />County Diversion Dam, and associated water delivery canals and powerplants in the Central Platte), <br />which have received operating licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) <br />(Projects No. 1417 and 1835). The RPA proposed by the Service during Section 7 consultation on these <br />projects relied on the implementation of a Program; therefore, the Service anticipates seeking to reinitiate <br />consultation with FERC on those licenses if the Program fails or is not initiated. <br />A list of many of these projects appears in the attachment, History of ESA Consultations on Platte River <br />Target Species. <br />For discussion of the ESA consultation process where a Program provides ESA compliance measures for <br />existing and new water - related activities, see attachment, The No Action Alternative. <br />For NEPA purposes, operations of these projects are also part of the Present Condition against which the <br />impacts of a Program are measured. <br />Activities Outside the Program That May Affect Benefits Produced <br />by the Program for the Target Species <br />There are activities occurring in the Platte River basin independent of the Program that may reduce or <br />increase the value of the Program by affecting habitat for the target species. Such activities and their <br />effects, when considered individually, may be minor. However, when considered together, these <br />activities and their effects may produce significant adverse or beneficial effects on the Program, the target <br />species, and /or their habitat. The effect of these activities is addressed in detail in Chapter 5, Cumulative <br />Impacts and include: <br />➢ Growth in agricultural, municipal, and industrial water use - while the State and Federal <br />Depletion Management Plans are designed to offset adverse effects on the target species and <br />annual pulse flows, the possibility that some increases in water use may not be addressed, and <br />they may diminish habitat value or other Program benefits. <br />➢ Changes in intensity of land use in the habitat area - increased residential and other land <br />development in the habitat areas may diminish habitat value or other Program benefits or may <br />lead to further constriction of the river channel or flood plain. <br />December 2003 <br />