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<br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Purpose and Authorization <br /> <br />The Dolores Pumped-Storage Unit--origina11y named the Dunham Point <br />Unit--was authorized for investigation by Public Law 89-561 in September <br />1966 and was funded in 1981 in response to the rising costs of fossil <br />fuel energy. The Dolores Pumped-Storage Unit location was one of several <br />recommended for additional study in a 1978 Reclamation report on poten- <br />tial sites for peaking powerp1ants in the Upper Colorado Region,l/ <br /> <br />The purpose of the study--known officially as the Colorado River <br />Storage Project Power Peaking Capacity Studies, Dolores Pumped-Storage <br />Unit, Colorado--was to examine the feasibility of several structural <br />alternatives for meeting projected peaking power needs in the Colorado <br />River Storage Project (CRSP) service area with a pumped-storage hydro- <br />electric facility in the vicinity of the McPhee Reservoir site. McPhee <br />Reservoir is a major feature of the Dolores project,~/ a separate multi- <br />purpose water resources project now under construction, <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) issued a preliminary report <br />on peaking power investigations in the Upper Colorado Region in March <br />1964.1.1 Results of the investigations led to the 1966 authorization <br />(Public Law 89-561, dated September 7, 1966) of a study to determine the <br />feasibility of developing peaking power in the Upper Colorado Region, <br />Though authorized, the investigations were not funded until fiscal year <br />1975, A planning team for the peaking power investigations was formed <br />in April 1975, and several subteams were created to aid in the study. <br /> <br />During the study, peaking power capacity needs for the Colorado <br />River Storage Project marketing area were estimated for the target <br />years, 1986 to 2000. The planning team identified and analyzed over 150 <br />potential sites and recommended a number of sites for feasibility study <br />on an individual basis as future needs were projected, The Dunham Point <br />site was identified as a promising location for a pumped-storage plant, <br />and feasibility studies were authorized and funded for fiscal year 1981, <br />When the Dunham Point Alternative was found to be infeasible, the name <br />of the study was changed to the Dolores Unit, <br /> <br />1/ U.S. Department of <br />Colorado Region. September <br />Lake City, Utah, <br />~/ Located in Montezuma and Dolores Counties of southwestern Colo- <br />rado approximately 10 miles north of the city of Cortez. <br />3/ U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper <br />Colorado Region. Pumped Storage Investigations, Preliminary Reconnais- <br />sance Report. Salt Lake City, Utah. <br /> <br />the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, <br />1978, Peaking Power Status Report, <br /> <br />Upper <br />Salt <br />