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I • 1997 -1999 More than 10 structural and non - structural alternatives to the project are considered, including proposals known as ALP Lite, and ALP Ultra Lite, and the Animas River Citizens' Coalition Conceptual Alternative. • 1996 -1997 Lawsuits erupt including the Colorado Ute Tribes/Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District vs. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging interference with the 1988 Indian Water Rights Settlement Act. The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund also sues the Bureau of Reclamation for allegedly conducting secret negotia- tions to get the project built. In a peace offering, Colorado Governor Romer and Lt. Governor Schoettler con- vene the opposing parties and attempt to find develop consensus as to a potential alternative. Active Capacity Inactive Capacity • 2002 Construction begins. Archeological studies for cultural resource mitigation begin. Re- routing three gas pipelines crossing the future reservoir site is initiated. Dam excavation starts, as well as construction of the pumping plant alongside the Animas River. These pumps will move water uphill to the reservoir. f Amount of water available for cyclic or seasonal water deliveries Water maintained in reservoir for the environment and recreation TOTAL 90,000 30,000 120,000 • 2004 First million yards of soil excavated from Ridges Basin Dam site. M iii • 2000 Bureau of Reclamation releases another final supple- ment to the final EIS. This identifies the preferred alter- native as a 120,000 acre -foot reservoir, with no agricultural irrigation water component and a focus on providing supplies to the Ute Tribes, as well as non - Indian Colorado and New Mexico interests. • 2000 Congress authorizes con- struction of the scaled -down project. Non - structural com- ponents include $40 million for the tribes to make up for the deficit of water owed to them under the 1988 Act. • 2003 Construction costs increased from $338 mil- lion to $500 million. Project completion date changes from 2009 to 2011. Plans continue for the routing of the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline. I_�ll. i a au The Animas River (left) originates high in the mining country north of Silverton. Development of the Animas -La Plata Project will involve construction of an intake structure and pumping facility (top left) along the Animas River near Durango. From there, river water will be pumped up to Ridges Basin Reservoir which will cover some 1,490 acres (above) when full. Excavation of the-damp te is now underway, with more than one million yards of rock and soil already removed. s$.y,.$ _ HEADWATERS - FALL 2004 9