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Commission staff has substituted this FWS plan for the previously evaluated Interior
<br />suggestion, and we call it the "Interior Plan" in this FEIS.
<br />Several of the parties to this proceeding no longer support the alternatives they originally
<br />proposed and that bear their name. Specifically, Central, NPPD, the State of Nebraska and
<br />NGPC now support the Interior Plan, along with the various agreements for a basin -wide
<br />endangered species recovery program of which the Interior Plan is a part (FWS, 1997; letter
<br />to Lois Cashell from Gary D. Bachman and Mary Jane Graham, Attorneys for Central, dated
<br />October 16, 1997; letter to Bob McCue, et al., from Rex Amock, Director, NGPC, dated
<br />August 29, 1997; letter to Lois D. Cashell from William J. Madden, Jr. And John A.
<br />Whittaker, IV, Attorneys for NPPD, dated August 29, 1997). Despite this development, we
<br />have retained the parties' original proposals (i.e., the Districts' Proposal, the Nebraska Plan,
<br />and the NGPC Plan) for continuity in the NEPA analysis and to assure assessment of a full
<br />range of reasonable alternatives.
<br />2.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECTS AND CURRENT OPERATIONS
<br />Project Nos. 1417 and 1835 are located along the North Platte, South Platte, and Platte
<br />rivers in Keith, Lincoln, Garden, Dawson, and Gosper counties, Nebraska (Figure 2 -1).
<br />2.1.1 Project Facilities
<br />Project No. 1417, the Kingsley Dam Project, consists of dams, reservoirs, canals, and
<br />powerplants (Figure 2 -2). At the upstream portion of the project is Kingsley Dam, a 3 -mile-
<br />long structure located on the North Platte River that impounds Lake McConaughy. Lake
<br />McConaughy is Nebraska's largest reservoir, with a maximum surface area of 30,500 acres
<br />and a maximum allowable storage capacity of 1,790,000 acre -feet of water. Kingsley
<br />hydroplant, a 50 -MW single - turbine hydroelectric plant, abuts Kingsley Dam. Located just
<br />below Kingsley Dam is Lake Ogallala, a reservoir with a surface area of 640 acres. With
<br />the exception of the eastern arm of the lake, Lake Ogallala is a part of Project No. 1417.
<br />Located 50 miles downstream from the Kingsley Dam, at the confluence of the North and
<br />South Platte rivers near North Platte, Nebraska, is an 874 - foot -long diversion dam known as
<br />the Tri- County or Central Diversion Dam. Platte River water is diverted at this location into
<br />a 75- mile -long supply canal, known as the Tri- County or Central Supply Canal, consisting
<br />of the Jeffrey and Johnson sections. Twenty -seven dams and impoundments are located
<br />along the supply canal, including the Jeffrey Regulating Reservoir Dam, with an 18 -MW
<br />powerhouse, and the Johnson Regulating Reservoir Dam, which supplies water to two 18-
<br />MW hydroelectric plants (Johnson Nos. 1 and 2). These facilities and impoundments are all
<br />part of Project No. 1417.
<br />Project No. 1835, the North Platte/Keystone Diversion Dam Project, is located between the
<br />upstream and downstream portions of Project No. 1417 and consists of diversion dams,
<br />impoundments, canals, and powerplants (Figure 2 -2). The 1,296- foot -long Keystone
<br />2 -2
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