BOARD01934 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Animas-La Plata Project: Staff has begun participating with Reclamation and others on the "Operations Committee" formed to oversee the long-term operation, maintenance and replacement . activitie.s ofthe project. The last meeting was held in Durango on October 30th and was devoted entirely to what was required to operate a dam and reservoir. Also, the CWCB has been cooperating with the Attorney General and others as necessary in the modifications to the proj ect water rights necessitated by the passage of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act Amendments of 2000, . San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program: The Coordination Committee on Sept. 25 ir Farmington to review FY 2003 Scopes of Work, discuss Long-Range Plan revisions and to clarify flow recommendation baseflows that were lower to 350 cfs during this severe drought year, The '-Hydrology Committee also met on Oct. 22 to address the modeling and flow recommendation issues -0fparticular note is the stocking of200,000 Colorado Pikeminnow fingerlings this fall to go with tlv. .. '148 adults and 800,000 larval fish previously stocked, Also, 6,800 Razorbacks have been stocked '(, date and are spawning and surviving. .;Na.vajo Dam and Reservoir Re-operations EIS:!In response to the flow recommendations from 1) . San Juan River Recovery Implementation Pro gran), Reclamation is preparing an EIS on the re- operations of Navajo Dam to satisfy those flow recommendations. CWCB have been participating. a cooperating agency. The April 15 draft of the EtS was revised by Reclamation and released for tl. . 60-day public review and comment period on Sept. 4. Public meetings were held on October 1-3 ire Farmingt?n, Durango, and Bluff, UT respectively.: The public comment period has been extended 'through December 4, 2002. Given the extraordina,rily drought conditions that occurred this year, maintaining the 500 cfs base-flow recommendation through the critical habitat was impossible and the minimum was temporarily reduced to 350 cfs. . Navajo Nation Request for a Shortage Declaration at Navajo Reservoir: On September 5th, the Navajo Nation requested that Reclamation declare a shortage condition at Navajo Reservoir. Reclamation denied the request suggesting that the San Juan Recovery Implementation Program should reduce the base-flow target, the stipulation with the San Juan Fly Fishing Federation must be ,modified, the State of New Mexico must administer water rights on the San Juan River first and shortage criteria need to be established. Assistant Secretary Watson Visits Durango: On Oct. 17 Assistant Secretary of the Interior Rebecca Watson visited Durango to give a presentation and discuss President Bush's Healthy Forest Initiative. Watson has administrative and managerial responsibility for the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, Minerals Management Service, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. She also serves on a work group for the Health Forest Initiative. State Helping Rebuild Water Systems Hit By Drought, Wildfires: On Nov. 7 Governor Owens armounced that three communities would receive state financial and technical assistance to help repair damaged water delivery systems adversely ~ffected by record drought and a severe wildfire season. Receiving the assistance, in what is expected to be a series of such grants from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, are the towns of Alma and Bayfield and the Freeman Creek Pipeline Association in southwestern Colorado, which serves residential water users in the Vallecito Reservoir area. The two communities and the water system recei~ing the technical and financial assistance are: . 19