WSP01810

• File Number: 8220.106
• Description: Animas-La Plata
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 1/1/2000
• Author: BOR
• Title: Animas-La Plata Project
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

~..........,....... Animas-La Plata
., Project

... ............................. ..........................

Project Background

The Animas-La Plata Project (ALP), located in southwestern
Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, has been the
subject of substantial public interest and environmental review
since it was authorized. The following is a short history of
some of the project.

.

1968 - Congress authorized construction of the
Animas-La Plata Project as a multi-purpose project
providing a water supply averaging nearly 191,200
acre-feet for irrigation and municipal and industrial use
in Colorado and New Mexico.

.

1980 - The Bureau of Reclamation released a Final
Environmental Statement on the mu~i-purpose
project.

.

1980-81- Construction of the project was scheduled
to begin, but President Carter called for no new water
projects.

.

1988 - Congress passed the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement Act to resolve the senior
water rights claims of the Southern Ute and Ute
Mountain Ute Indian Tribes whose reservations were
established in southwest Colorado in the 19" century.
The Settlement Act allowed future development of the
region and protected existing water uses.

.

1990 - Based on new biological information, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service issued a draft biological
opinion concluding that the project would jeopardize
the continued existence of the Colorado pikeminnow.
No reasonable and prudent a~ernatives were
identified at this time.

.

1991 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Final
Biological Opinion that contained a reasonable and
prudent a~ernative that limited the project depletions
to 57,100 acre-feet per year while an endangered fish
recovery program was conducted. This opinion
allowed construction of the project to begin.

.

1992 - A lawsuit filed by environmental organizations
ha~ed construction of the project.

.

1996 - Reclamation released a Final Supplement to
the Final Environmental Statement.

.

1996-97 - Colorado Governor Romer and Lt.
Governor Schoettler convened both supporters and
opponents of the project to address unresolved
issues associated with the original ALP and to gain
consensus on an a~ernative to the project.

.

This process resu~ed in the suggestion of two
a~ernatives, a structural and a non-structural
proposal.

.

1998 - The Department of the Interior recommended
construction of a substantially scaled-down project
that was designed to satisfy the Colorado Ute Tribes'
water rights claims and provide for identified municipal
and industrial needs in the project area. The proposal
down-sized the project to comply with Endangered
Species Act and Clean Water Act requirements. It
excluded non-Indian irrigation systems because of
water quality concerns.

.

2000 - Reclamation released a Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement and Record of
Decision that identified the selected a~ernative as a
down-sized project that focuses on providing the
Colorado Ute Tribes an assured water supply. The
selected a~ernative contained both structural and
nonstructural components. Because this alternative
would provide benefits to the Colorado Ute Tribes
which are not identical to those envisioned in the 1988
Settlement, it was recognized that Congressional
authorization was needed to achieve final
implementation of the 1988 Settlement.

.

2000 - Congress authorized the scaled-down project
with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of
2000. These Amendments authorized construction of
a reservoir, pumping plant and inlet conduit with an
average annual depletion of 57,1 00 acre-feet (an acre-
foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre 1
foot deep). The Amendments also establish a
Colorado Ute Settlement Fund and appropriations to
occur over a 5-year period to allow construction of the
project features within 7 years. In addition, the '
Amendments established a $40 million Resource Fund
for the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern ute Indian
Tribes for municipal or rural water development, and
resource acquisition and enhancement.

Project Plan

The project consists of both structural and nonstructural
components. The structural components consist of:

. An off-stream reservoir at Ridges Basin, southwest of
Durango, Colorado, to store about 120,000 acre-feet
(total capacity) of water pumped from the Animas
River.

.

A 280 cubic feet per second capacity pumping plant
located south of the center of Durango on the west
side of the Animas River across from the downstream
end of Durango's Santa Rita Park.

.

A buried pipeline that will carry project water from the
pumping plant to Ridges Basin Reservoir.

.

A buried pipeline to carry water from the Farmington,
New Mexico area to the Shiprock, New Mexico area