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runoff conditions, which occurred in the spring of 1988 mentioned in the comment. Storage in Blue Mesa Reservoir does help to moderate the effects of variable runoff conditions. 45. MR. DWAIN MCCARTY: I think we need to learn a lot. I think we need to learn before we speak out and say things we know nothing about. I think agriculture is the number one industry. We need other industries--we need something in the area to keep the economy going. RESPONSE: None was necessary. 46. MR. MARK PAIGEN: The PElS is very biased toward .the development alternatives. The AB Lateral would generate 38 to 48 MW of power; we can't use it over here, because we already have a surplus. In fact, Colorado-Ute, our local utility, is in dire straits financially because it can't use all the power it has. Should the AB Lateral Project go through, the power would be transmitted to the Front Range where the Public Service Company would buy it. The irony is, they don't want it. Public Service Company requested a moratorium on the law that requires them to buy this expensive power, and received it, though not in time to cancel the in-progress negotiations with the AB sponsors. The contract between the Public Service Company and the AB sponsors lasts 15 years. What then? If Public Service Company can get cheaper power, 15 years from now, will a major environmental impact have been created that can't even pay its way? I have read the DEIS that says reduced flows in the Gunnison, yielding higher summertime temperatures, icing in the winter, and less than bank-to-bank streamflows would improve the trout fishery. I am not convinced. Such major changes in the ecology cannot be made without adversely affecting the fisheries, as well as the terrestrial wildlife. I have seen a rise in the number of sightings of bighorn sheep in the past 2 years, yet the DEIS states that any of the development alternatives would adversely affect wildlife like the bighorn. I am also concerned about diminished habitat of the river otter, due to reduced water volume and winter icing. The Uncompahgre, as the result of increased flows, would become more unstable as a result of the increased flows, with severe lateral erosion on the outside of river bends not now protected. The DEIS states that up to 70,000 linear feet of channel bank would be stabilized as part of the project. That amounts to one out of every four feet of stream bank between Montrose and Delta. And that probably wouldn't be the end of it. As I understand it, the more you channelize a river, the faster it goes, creating the need for more channelization. All that work to contain the water that should be flowing in the Gunnison. P-32