WMOD00004

• Applicant: Lawrence M. Hjermstad, Western Weather Consultants
• Project Name: San Juan Project
• Date: 11/15/1985
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Application

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10. Describe the significant ecological impacts which may result from the
project such as how precipitation patterns might be changed and how
increased runoff would affect erosion.

Based upon the results of other similar wintertime programs that have operated

in Colorado and our own experience, this project does not involve any high

degree of risk of substantial harm to the land, people, safety, property,

health or the environment. The anticipated changes in the precipitation

amounts in the project area would fall within the natural annual variation

of precipitation except possibly during a very heavy winter snow season

when seeding operations would be suspended. The natural stream systems

would be expected to adequately handle any natural and augmented precipitation

resulting from this project.

Since essentially no effects are expected upon the environment by this program,

no evaluations will be made of environmental effects.

A comprehensive environmental research program accompanied the 5-year

Upper Colorado River Basin Pilot Project. The abstract and specific summaries

of the specific environmental reports for this program is attached as an

appendix. Underscored portions in the appendix verify that either no effect,

or no substantial effects are expected to the environme~t from seeding

programs of this design. Some minimal effects could result from very heavy

snowpack on some small mammals and erosion. Under these heavy snowpack

situations, seeding activities could have been suspended by environmental

concerns built into the program's operations and safety suspension criteria

presented in Section #7.

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