BOARD02620

• Board Meeting Date: 5/24/1999
• Description: Colorado River Basin Issues - Animas-La Plata Project - Status Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Federal Register/Vol. 64. No. 11 Monday. January 4. 1999/Notices

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designed to supply municipal and
industrial water to the Colorado Ute
Tribes. Navajo Nation, and non-Indian
entities in the local area. This modified
project deviates from those previously
evaluated for ALP, thus necessitating
the need for supplemental
environmental review. The proposal
also contains a non-structural element
as part of the settlement implementation
which has not been the subject of any
previous analysis under NEPA.
Reclamation invites other federal
agencies. states, Indian tribes, local
governments. and the general public to
submit written comments or suggestions
concerning the scope of the issues to be
assessed in the DSEIS. The public is
invited to participate in a series of
scoping meetings that will be held in
February in Colorado and New Mexico.
A schedule of the meetings is provided.
Those not desiring to submit comments
or suggestions at this time, but who
would like to receive a copy of the
DSEIS, should write to the address
below. When the DSElS is complete. its
availability will be announced in the
Federal Register, in the local news
media, and through direct contact with
interested parties. Comments will be
solicited on the document.
DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section for meeting dates.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for meeting
locations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Pat Schumacher, Manager, Southern
Division of the Western Colorado Area
Office. P.O. Box 640. Durango. Colorado
81302. Telephone: [phone].
FAX: [phone]. E-mail:
[e-mail].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Animas-La Plata Project (ALP)
was authorized by the Colorado River
Basin Project Act of September 30, 1968
(pub. L. 84-485). and would be located
in La Plata and Montezuma Counties in
southwestern Colorado and in San Juan
County in northwestern New Mexico.
Since its authorization, several studies
have been conducted regarding ALP.
The results of these studies are
summarized in the following documents
and their supporting appendices: the
1979 Bureau of Reclamation Definite
Plan Report. a 1980 Final
Environmental Statement, the 1992
Draft Supplement to the Final
Environmental Statement, and the 1996
Final Supplement to the Final
Environmental Statement (FSFES).
Much of the information compiled in
these documents focuses on addressing

NEP A. Endangered Species Act, and
Clean Water Act compliance,
identifying project impacts, and
developing an extensive environmental
commitment plan for the
implementation of mitigation measures.
Some of the issues that have received
consideration over this period include
impacts to aquatic resources (including
wetlands identification/mitigation),
water quality, recreation, wildlife
'habitat, endangered and threatened
species, alternative analysis, Indian
trust assets and cultural resources, and
economic/social impacts.
In the early 1980s, discussions were
initiated to achieve a negotiated
settlement of water right claims of the
Southern Ute Indian and Ute Mountain
Ute Tribes in southwest Colorado. The
Colorado Ute Tribes and other parties
subsequently signed the Final
Settlement Agreement on December la,
i986. The Colorado Ute Indian Water
Rights Settlement Ac' of 1988 (Pub. L.
100-585) (Settlement Act) provided
language to implement the Final
Settlement Agreement and
supplemented the authorization of the
ALP. A significant component of the
Final Settlement Agreement was
incorporation of the provisions of the
"Agreement in Principle Concerning the
Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights
Settlement and Binding Agreement for
Animas-La Plata Project Cost Sharing"
(Cost Sharing Agreement). The Cost
Sharing Agreement was executed by
representatives of the states of New
Mexico and Colorado, the two Colorado
Ute Tribes. the Animas-La Plata Water
Conservancy District, the San Juan
Water Commission. Montezuma County
in Colorado. and the Department of the
Interior.
Recognizing the potential of ALP to
affect endangered species (the Colorado
squawfish), Reclamation consulted with
the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
pursuant to the requirements of the
Endangered Species Act. A Biological
Opinion was issued by the Service on
October 25. 1991. containing a
Reasonable and Prudent Alternative that
would allow construction of several
ALP features (including Durango
Pumping Plan'. Ridges Basin Inlet
Conduit, Ridges Basin Dam and
Reservoir, and other features) and an
average annual initial water depletion
for ALP of 57.100 acre-feet from the San
Juan River.
After Reclamation was authorized to
initiate construction, several challenges
were made regarding the completeness
of the 1980 Final Environmental
Statement and Reclamation
subsequently rescinded the

authorization for construction pending
completion of a FSFES. .
Reclamation filed a Draft Suppleme
with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and released the Draft
Supplement for public review and
comment in October 1992. Based on
comments received on the Draft
Supplement. the FSFES was completed
and filed with EPA in April 1996. No
record of decision was issued.
In May 1995, reconsultation with the
Service addressed new information and
changes to the project. A Biological
Opinion was issued by the Service in
February 1996. This Biological Opinion
contained a Reasonable and Prudent
Alternative that would limit
construction to only those project
features which would initially result in
an average annual water depletion of
57.100 acre feet.
Following the completion ofthe
FSFES in 1996. Colorado Governor Roy
Romer and Lt. Governor Gail Schoettler
convened the Project supporters and
opponents in a process intended to seek
resolution of controversy involved in
the original ALP. and to attempt to gain
consensus on an alternative to the
original project. The Romer-Schoettler
process concluded with the sUggestion.
of two alternatives, a structural and
nonstructural proposal. The Animas-
La Plata Reconciliation Plan (Structural
Proposal) proposed to construct the
initial stage of the project as described
in the FSFES, with some modifications.
The Animas River Citizens' Coalition
Conceptual Alternative (Nonstructural
Proposal) proposed to purchase irrigated
lands and other associated water rights
near the existing Ute reservations in
southern Colorado and would use or
purchase water from existing projects or
from expanded projects/delivery
systems for the purpose of providing
Indian-only water.
On August 11. 1998. the Secretary of
the Interior presented an Administration
Proposal to build a down-sized version
of ALP to implement the Colorado Ute
water rights settlement which would
also include a nonstructural element as
part of the settlement implementation.

Purpose and Need for Action

The purpose and need of the
proposed federal action is to implement
the Settlement Act by providing the Ute
Tribes an assured long-term water
supply and water acquisition fund in
order to satisfy the Tribes' senior water
rights claims as quantified in the .
Settlement Act, and to provide for
identified municipal and industrial
water needs in the Project area.
Congress enacted the Settlement Act
to settle outstanding water rights claims