WSP00209

• File Number: 8460.500
• Description: Platte River Recovery Plan
• Basin: South Platte
• Date: 5/30/2000
• Author: CWCB
• Title: Draft Water Action Plan
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

I. Background Information

A. Purpose of the Proposed Program

The states of Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado and the U,S. Department of the Interior (DOl)
entered into a partnership to address endangered species issues affecting water use in the Platte River
Basin. This partnership is guided by the Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research (June
1997). The Proposed Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) builds upon the
Cooperative Agreement and lays out several activities and contributions from the three states and
federal government that are to be conducted in specified increments, A primary goal of the Program
is to assist in the recovery of the target species and their associated habitats through a basin-wide
cooperative approach, One of the objectives of the first phase of the Program is to develop a Water
Action Plan that identifies various projects in each state that can be applied to the overall water goals
of the Program.

The U,S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) developed recommendations for flows that it believes are
needed at different times of the year for endangered species and other wildlife. The water goals of
the Program are to reduce shortages to the FWS target flows by an average of 130,000 to 150,000
acre-feet per year (ac-ftlyr) over the next 10 to 13 years. A portion of the instream flow objectives
will be met through an Environmental Account (EA) in Lake McConaughy, the Pathfinder
Modification Project, and the Tamarack Plan. The remaining instream flow improvements will be
met through a program of incentive-based water conservation and water supply activities. The Water
Action Plan is intended to address the water conservation/supply component of the Program. The
primary purpose of the Water Action Plan with respect to the Program is to identify ways of
reducing shortages to target flows by 130,000 to 150,000 ac-ftlyr on average including the three
specific projects mentioned above.

B. Need for the Proposed Program

The driving force behind the Cooperative Agreement and the Program is that many water projects in
the Platte River Basin are subject to reviews of federal government permits. Under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), federal agencies must ensure that the water projects they authorize, fund, or
carry out do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered and threatened species or result in
the destruction or modification of habitat that has been determined to be critical. The Cooperative
Agreement is a comprehensive approach to address ESA requirements that will eliminate the need
for each individual water project to undergo a separate review of its impacts on endangered and
threatened species.

DOl and the states have proposed the Program to serve as the reasonable and prudent alternative for
existing and certain new water related activities, If implemented, the Program will provide
regulatory certainty under the ESA to existing water related activities and to certain new water
related activities that are subject to review under section seven of the ESA.

C:\Drat't Wnter Action Plan (Mny 30, 2000)\wapc report (Version 6 BND2)-.lloc

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