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Final Draft - Preferred Storage Options Plan Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District June 8, 2000 Winter Water in the current Project spill priority, is believed by agricultural interests to be essential for maintaining the economic well-being of the Lower Basin. Visual and aesthetic impacts associated with re-operation, reservoir enlargements, and new reservoirs primarily relate to periods of reservoir drawdown, during which shorelines would be exposed. Raising Lake Meredith would reduce or eliminate views of the lake from the adjacent road. Raising Turquoise Lake with a parapet wall would change the visual character of the area. During construction, visual and aesthetic impacts are expected due to construction equipment and activities. Construction-related impacts are expected to be the most significant at Pueblo Reservoir because of the heavy recreational use of the State park facilities. During construction, use of facilities may decline, thereby adversely affecting businesses operating at the park as well as the local economy. Similar though smaller magnitude construction impacts are expected with the Turquoise Lake enlargement. Also, local interests have expressed concern about air and water quality during construction of the Turquoise Lake dam raise. Each alternative involving construction will provide a short-term increase in local employment and economic activity during the construction period. 4.6 Permitting and Regulatory Issues The primary Federal regulatory requirements for water projects are those administered under the general requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEP A). Under NEP A, either an EIS or EA is required to study the impacts of the proposed developments. The USBR and other agencies contacted have indicated that the USBR will be the most likely agency to lead this effort. Pennits will be required from both Federal and local agencies. A list of the preliminary regulatory issues and permitting requirements is shown in Table 4.2. During 1999, meetings were held with eight Federal and state agencies that have regulatory or operational responsibilities that will have significant input to the pennitting of the storage alternatives: . U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) . U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) . U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . U.S. Forest Service (USFS) . U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) . Colorado Division of Parks (CDOP) . Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) m GEl Consultants, Inc. 4-10 J \PROJECTS\9906I\Reporu\Prefm'Cd SOP FinaJ.wpd.