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However, even for those activities that go forward on the basis of a reasonable and prudent <br /> alternative, if at any point the FWS becomes aware of new information that affects its original <br /> determination, it may reinitiate the original consultation. In this case, the FWS may add new <br /> terms and conditions to its reasonable and prudent alternative, or may issue a jeopardy <br /> opinion. <br /> The operation of the ESA has enormous consequences on whether significant water and power <br /> resource development activities can occur, and how they can operate. The program <br /> contemplated by the Program Agreement can be relied on to serve as the reasonable and <br /> prudent alternative for all water development and use activities in the Platte River Basin that <br /> could affect the habitat of the listed species. Therefore, it will serve as an umbrella program, <br /> and avoid the litigation, confrontation and disruption that sometimes have resulted from the <br /> imposition of the ESA's regulatory force on individual private parties. <br /> The Colorado Permits. Many significant water facilities are located in Colorado's national <br /> forests. These include reservoirs and diversion works that serve many of the cities and farms <br /> located in the Colorado's South Platte and North Platte basins. In its consultation on the <br /> issuance or renewal of land use authorization permits by the Forest Service for many of these <br /> facilities, the FWS has issued jeopardy opinions, because of asserted impacts of water <br /> development and use to the habitat in Central Nebraska. The FWS has allowed these permits <br /> to continue as valid, by virtue of interim conditions pending the fmalization of the Platte River <br /> program negotiations. If the program is not developed or implemented,these permits will need <br /> to go through individual,permit-by-permit consultation, each entity potentially having to bear <br /> onerous reasonable and prudent alternatives. The permittees dispute that their activities have <br /> an adverse impact on the listed species or their habitat so extended and expensive litigation <br /> with the FWS may also be a likely result if the permit-by-permit approach were to be followed. <br /> Colorado's interest in negotiating the program has been to develop as much regulatory <br /> certainty for these and other existing water users as possible, while providing defined and <br /> measurable contribution to the recovery of the listed species. Colorado has also sought a <br /> framework which will allow new water use and development activities to move forward, <br /> without the costly and time-consuming compliance that the ESA would otherwise require. <br /> The Kingsley Relicensing Process. Kingsley Dam, located on the North Platte River in <br /> Nebraska, forms Lake McConaughy, a 1 million acre-foot reservoir that provides irrigation <br /> water and electricity to central Nebraska. For the last 15 years or so, the FERC has <br /> undertaken a process for the relicensing of the hydroelectric power-generating features of the <br /> dam. One of the major issues in the relicensing is the impact that Kingsley operations have on <br /> the listed species and their habitat. In its consultation on the FERC relicensing process, the <br /> FWS has proposed two reasonable and prudent alternatives, one with, and one without a <br /> basin-wide program. The "without a program" alternative would impose much more onerous <br /> 3 <br />