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Questions were raised on how the proposed contract would affect the proposed AB Lateral Hydropower Project and vice versa in terms of water supply and water rights. At the Delta public meetings, it was asked how changed flows under the contract would affect water quality and discharge (Section 402) penn its, For example, lower winter flows could affect discharge parameters for the Town of Delta and this would cost money to upgrade plants. The EPA suggested that alternatives in the NEPA document fully assess the ability of various operations to meet the water quality standards on the Gunnison River pursuant to Section 313 of the Clean Water Act.. Also related to water quality, an individual wrote and asked whether higher spring flows under the contract would increase bank scouring, or increase salinity or heavy metal concentrations in the rivers. B. Resources of the Black Canyon, Gunnison Gorge and Curecanti Item 14. Recreational, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic River, and Fishery Resources - The analysis should address impacts to the nationally significant recreational, wilderness, wild and scenic river, and fishery resources of the Black Canyon, Gunnison Gorge and Curecanti. Refer to: Gunnison, Montrose and Delta meetings; Mr. Butterfield; the Colorado Mountain Club; the City of Colorado Springs; CREDA; CRWCD; Commissioner Corey; the NPCA; Mr. Jorgenson; Mr. Kiefer; the Montrose County Commissioners; the Non-Federal Parties to the 1975 Exchange Agreement; Mr. Robinson; UGRWCD. (90 comments) a. Recreational, Visual and Cultural Resources (48 comments) The BLM and NPS need to develop comparable data for river and flatwater recreational use needs in the Gunnison Gorge, Black Canyon, and Curecanti. Changes in recreational use patterns caused by a new river flow regime and associate Blue Mesa Reservoir storage levels need to be determined for each area. The major recreational uses which need to be studied are the Gold Medal Trout fishing and boating/rafting on whitewater areas of the Gunnison River, and the flatwater fishery and boating uses at Curecanti. The analysis should include economic results. For the Curecanti, the analysis should consider reviewing alternatives to the current July 31 and December 31 target storage levels for Blue Mesa Reservoir, and the impacts of those changes. Those reviews should determine impacts of changing reservoir levels on visitor use (camping, fishing, boating, etc.). The impacts of fluctuating levels should be addressed on known archeological sites in and near the shoreline of the reservoir, and visual and air quality deterioration due to changes in the timing and amount of shoreline exposure. Other concerns related to water level fluctuation mentioned elsewhere are for the fishery, upstream icing/flooding problems, agricultural water uses, and economic impacts. 29 001766