Laserfiche WebLink
<br />e: <br />("Y) <br />t;:. <br />_. <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br /> <br />The Yampa River basin, encompassing approximately 9,530 square miles, lies <br />in the northwest corner of Colorado and southcentral part of Wyoming. The <br />basin covers parts of Moffat, Routt, Rio Blanco, Garfield, and Grand Counties <br />in Colorado and parts of Sweetwater and Carbon Counties in Wyoming. The <br />Yampa River is the largest tributary of the Green River which, in turn, is <br />the largest tributary of the Colorado River. A general map of the basin is <br />included as figure 1. <br /> <br />The major use of water in the Yampa River basin is irrigation. The munici- <br />pal systems derive their water from the nearby stream or, in one case, from <br />a ground water reservoir. The only significant industrial water use is for <br />steam-electric generation. As a part of the Colorado River system, Yampa <br />Ri~er flows are subject to requirements imposed by the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin Compact of 1948. The six major reservoirs in the basin (each with over <br />5,000 acre-feet of storage capacity) are used for irrigation, fishery, domestic <br />consumption, and recreation. Three of these, Elkhead Reservoir, Steamboat Lake, <br />and Yamcolo also provide cooling water for the two steam-electric powerplants <br />in the basin. Numerous small reservoirs provide water mostly for livestock <br />and irrigation purposes. There are no hydroelectric powerplants in the basin. <br /> <br />The Yampa River basin is undergoing substantial economic development, spurred <br />predominantly by the mining, transport and conversion of coal resources in the <br />basin. The impact of this development poses stress on the basin's limited <br />water resources. If the oil shale industry develops in the area, large amounts <br />of water would be needed both for industrial and domestic purposes. <br /> <br />One of the basin's major problems is the need for a dependable irrigation water <br />supply throughout the growing season. The loss of unstored excess water from <br />spring and early summer snowmelt contributes to late season water shortages. A <br />definite need exists for more and larger storage reservoirs to catch early run- <br />off for release when needed. <br /> <br />The electric power needs of the basin are minimal in comparison to the power <br />generated at the basin's Craig and Hayden steam-electric plants. Seven entities <br />own electric generation or transmission facilities in the Yampa River basin. <br />The two steam-electric generating plants, which are about 20 miles apart, <br />are jointly owned by four utilities. Colorado-Ute Electric Association, Inc. <br />is the operating agent for both plants. Retail electric service to customers <br />in the basin is provided by the Yampa Valley Electric Association. <br /> <br />The proposed Juniper-Cross Mountain project would be located on the Yampa River <br />in northwest Colorado. An application for license for this development, FERC <br />Project No. 2757, was filed on January 18, 1980, by the Colorado River Water <br />Conservation District (District) and the Colorado-Ute Electric Association, Inc. <br />(Colorado-Ute). The project, which is discussed in greater detail in chapter VI, <br />would consist of two separate hydroelectric developments, each having a dam, <br />reservoir, powerplant, and associated facilities. The Juniper Dam would be <br />located in the lower reach of Juniper Canyon in the vicinity of the town of <br /> <br />vii <br />