BOARD00683

• Board Meeting Date: 7/8/1980
• Description: Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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with the 404 Permit, it's a federal permit that is issued

by the Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act. It's

a permit that allows the discharge of dredged and fill materi 1
into navigable waters.
And for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, it's been

held that nonnavigable streams are navigable waters in the

United States for the purposes of the Clean Water Act. In

this particular situation it's the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service which has raised an objection to granting the 404

Permi t.

Their concern is not that there would be any impact on

a wildlife habitat from a discharge of dredge and fill

material. What they're concerned about is the impact from

the diversion of water once Riverside Reservoir is constructe

They are concerned that the diversion of water into

the structure would reduce the flood flows in the South

Platte River, which would interfere with the habitat of

the whooping crane, which is an endangered species and which

is located about 260 miles downstream from Wildcat Reservoir.

The United States doesn't own any water rights in the

South Platte River. They're simply asserting that they will

not grant a permit to discharge the dredge and fill

material because they fully believe that the construction

of the reservoir is going to have an adverse impact on the

endangered species.