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<br />Final Draft - Preferred Storage Options Plan <br />Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District <br />June 8, 2000 <br /> <br />would be associated with each alternative. In each case, significant additional study would be <br />required to develop more accurate forecasts of potential water quality changes. Potentially costly <br />mitigation measures could be required to obtain the necessary environmental permits in light of <br />potential significant water quality impacts of certain alternatives. <br /> <br />4.3 Environmental Issues <br /> <br />The environmental studies supporting formulation of the PSOP address potential adverse impacts <br />and beneficial effects that may result from the alternative actions under consideration. Federal, <br />state, and local environmental regulations and permitting requirements affecting the feasibility <br />of water development projects were also evaluated. <br /> <br />Natural resource issues considered in the preliminary evaluation included: <br /> <br />. Wetlands <br />. Federally listed species <br />. Other State or Federal sensitive species <br />. Wildlife <br />. Aquatic life <br /> <br />Preliminary environmental evaluations are based primarily on existing information. <br />Reconnaissance field reviews were conducted for Pueblo Reservoir, Lake Meredith, Williams <br />Creek, and several gravel lake storage sites. The field reviews did not include detailed surveys <br />for species of concern or jurisdictional wetland delineations. Professional judgment, and <br />experience with other water resource developments, were used to identify the potential effects <br />associated with the.-alternatives. The environmental evaluation for each of the six storage <br />options focused on the project size that could potentially have the greatest effects (i.e., the <br />reservoir enlargement option with the largest expansion in storage). <br /> <br />Based on the preliminary review of environmental issues, the following conclusions have been <br />drawn: <br /> <br />. Fry-Ark Project re-operation impacts are not likely to be significant, unless there <br />are major changes to flows that potentially cause significant adverse effects to <br />aquatic resources and water quality. An issue that may need to be addressed is the <br />possible listing of the Colorado River cutthroat trout and West Slope flow <br />depletions. Re-operation will likely involve a major Federal action requiring an <br />EIS to be completed. <br /> <br />1'\PROJECTS\9906I\Repons\Preferred SOP Final wpd <br /> <br />4-5 <br /> <br />m GEl Consultants, Inc. <br />