ALP Transfer Inspection Report

Animas -La Plata Project
Feb 13, 2013 Draft Transfer Inspection Report
II. General Project History
The Animas -La Plata (ALP) Project was constructed in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New
Mexico for the purpose of implementing the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988
(P. L. 100 -585).
In 1968, Congress authorized the construction of the ALP Project as a multi - purpose Project with a
projected water supply of nearly 191,200 acre- feet for irrigation, municipal and industrial use purposes
in Colorado and New Mexico. However, in 1980, the Carter Administration suspended the initiation of
new public works water projects.
In 1986, The Department of the Interior accepted a cost- sharing arrangement that called for state and
local entities to provide 38% of the up -front funding for the Project, resulting in phasing the Project.
In 1988, Congress passed the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to resolve the senior
water rights claims of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes. The Act allowed future
development of the region and protected existing water uses.
In 1990, based on new biological information, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a draft biological
opinion concluding that the Project would jeopardize the existence of the Colorado Pikeminnow. No
reasonable prudent Project alternatives were identified at the time.
In 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Final Biological Opinion that contained a reasonable
and prudent alternative that limited Project water depletions from the Animas River to an average of
57,100 acre feet per year and included an endangered fish recovery program. The Biological Opinion
lifted impediments to construction of the Project.
In 1992, legal actions brought forward by environmental organizations halted Project construction.
In 1996, Reclamation released a Final Supplement to the Animas- La Plata Environmental Impact
Statement. Colorado Governor Romer and Lt. Governor Schoettler held meetings with supporters and
opponents of the Project to address unresolved concerns associated with the original ALP Project
specifications and to gain consensus on future Project alternatives. The meeting resulted in proposals
for structural and non structural alternatives.
In 1998, The Department of Interior recommended construction of a substantially scaled- down Project.
The scaled -down alternative was recommended as a means to address the Colorado Ute Tribes long-
standing water right claims and to provide a solution for municipal and industrial water needs in the
Project area. The proposal downsized the Project to comply with Endangered Species Act and Clean
Water Act requirements.
ENT of THE NI
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U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation