BOARD00949

• Board Meeting Date: 5/21/2001
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

At the conclusion of the study, a formal project presehtation will be made to the Board. At that
presentation, it is expected that a spokesperson for th~ T AC will describe the anticipated plans for
implementation of any of the study recommendation~.

San Juan and Dolores River Issues .

Draft EA for Proposed Endangered Fish Passage Project: Reclamation has released a Draft
Enviromnental Assessment (EA) for a proposed endangered fish passage at the Public Service
Company of New Mexico's (PNM) Diversion Dam. The diversion dam, built in 1971, is located
about 12 miles west of Fanning ton, New Mexico. Tl\e dam creates a barrier to the endangered
Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker moving ~pstream to their historical habitat.

The proposed action would be implemented by Recl~ation on behalf of the San Juan River Basin
Recovery Implementation Program (SJRBRIP). .

Three passage alternatives are being analyzed in the pA. To receive a copy, contact Jone Wright at
the Bureau of Reclamation, 2764 Compass Drive, Grand Junction, Colorado 81506, or telephone'
[phone]. Written comments on the draft EA should be sent to Terry Stroh, Bureau of
Reclamation, 2764 Compass Drive, Grand Junction, :Colorado 81506, or e-mailed to
[e-mail] on or before May 25,2001. :

Yampa River Basin Issues

Yampa Basin Plan: On May 9 Ray Alv<!!,ado attend,ed a meeting in Steamboat Springs regarding the
direction of the draft Yampa Management Plan and to discuss the regulatory process that will be
followed to enlarge Elkhead Reservoir. The federal ~gencies involved in the planning process are
working to determine whether an HIS is needed and ~hich federal agency may the most appropriate
"lead" agency. In addition, the Colorado River wate~ Conservation District is holding a special
meeting in Craig on May 31 to discuss the managerrient plan and the enlargement proposals with
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Agency

Personnel Update: Joe Busto was selected to fill the position vacated by Carolyn Fritz. Joe has a
Natural Resources degree from CSU and has worked for the Student Conservation Association,
Denver Urban Resources Partnership, EDO- DNR, tWo temporary terms with the CWCB perfonning
a number of special projects for the Board. He should quickly feel at home and has gladly accepted
e challenge of working with Larry and the rest odhe flood gang!

We ha~e also hired a new Board Administrator,~ to replace Rebecca Padilla.
(Regina started as a Youth in Natural Resources Cre'W leader in 1993 and worked her way up to the
YNR program administrator before coming to the CWCB. She is a mother of two children and is
working on finishing up a Bachelor's degree from N,1etropolitan State College of Denver.
. .

We have hired a new Accountant Technician to replace Diana Wilson. Steven Shull started May 14th
2001 and has lived in Colorado for 14 years and wo~ked for the State of Colorado for 2 years. He is
originally from upstate New York. He is in his final year of school at Metropolitan State College of
Denver for an Accounting degree. Outside ofworkihe enjoys biking, hiking 14ers and weightlifting.
!
Engineers Pre-qualified: Each year the state allows consultants and engineers to submit
qualifications to become pre-qualified for professiohal services during the following year. The Flood
Protection Section's Mark Matulik lead an effort th~t solicited Statement of Qualifications from
approximately thirty water engineering finns in Co~orado. This pre-qualification process on the front
end should speed up the selection and contracting ~d make it easier for staff to attain consulting
services for small projects on quick notice. Firms tl)at applied and are pre-qualified this coming year .
(July 2001 to June 30, 2002) are: Anderson Consulting Engineers, Brown and Caldwell, EDA WIne.,
Farnsworth Group Inc., HDR Engineering Inc., ICON Engineering Inc., JR Engineering LLC,
Leonard Rice Consulting Water Engineers Inc., Mdtrix Design Group Inc., Montgomery Watson,

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