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<br />" <br /> <br />Report to LUC <br />Na.rrows Project <br />Jim Ohi <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />(\U02 <br /> <br />2. Location--the proposed dam site is located approximately <br />7 miles northwest of Fort Morgan (refer to map) near the <br />place that SH 144 crosses the South Platte River. <br /> <br />3. Size--the total storage capacity is 973,000 acre-feet; <br />the right of way acquisition will be 42,465 acres with <br />another 2,315 acres withdrawn from the public domain for <br />a total of 44,815 acres. <br /> <br />4. Major impacts--the major impacts of the proposed project <br />are: <br /> <br />(a) <br /> <br />the displacement of some 750 people from their homes, <br />including approximately 150 farm families; <br /> <br />(b) <br /> <br />the innundation of 3 communities (Weldona, Orchard, <br />Goodrich) ; <br /> <br />(c) <br /> <br />the innundation of 15 miles of the South Platte River <br />Channel; <br /> <br />(d) <br /> <br />the removal of about 14,000 acres of irrigated cropland <br />from production. <br /> <br />I will now describe briefly the status of the project. <br /> <br />1. The project has a 30 year history of controversy. It was <br />originally authorized by Congress in 1940, but work on the <br />project was halted by "local opposition", according to the <br />Denver Post, by "lack of interest on the part of the <br />State of Colorado", according to the LSPWCD. <br /> <br />2. The project was reauthorized by Congress in 1970 under <br />PI 91-389, including an appropriation of $68,050,000 <br />(based on January 1969 prices). <br /> <br />3. The LSPWCD was formed in 1964 to be the primary contracting <br />agency for water provided by the project. As contracting <br />agencies, the LSPWCD and the Central Colorado Water Conservancy <br />District (CCWCD) will be responsible for the sale of water <br />to the irrigation districts and ditch companies within the <br />water conservation districts. The repayment obligation of each <br />district is based on 104,400 acre-feet for the LSPWCD and <br />15,000 acre-feet for the CCWCD, based on the Bureau's <br />estimate of _ 119,400 acre-feet per year of salable project <br />water supply. <br /> <br />4. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by <br />the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) for the project was <br />submitted to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on <br />December 10, 1975. <br />