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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />It was immediately evident in listening to stakeliolders around the basin that the <br />issues of the Colorado River go beyond simply allocating its waters. Comments rep- <br />resented a vast diversity of concerns. Once collected they were organized into 5 gen- <br />eral categories for analysis: <br /> <br />II issues involving hydropower prices, marketing and revenues, <br />. issues of water allocations; reconciling supply with demand, <br />II issues that involve the institutional framework of basin management, <br />II issues involving protection of environmental, recreation, and cultural resources, and <br />II issues involving roles of federal, state, tribal, and local governments. <br /> <br />From the rolling plains of Wyoming to the dry, desert farmland of Arizona and California, <br />from the rural farms of Colorado's West Slope to the thirsty metropolitan areas of <br />Phoenix, Las Vegas and southern California; a common concern for "quality of life" was <br />voiced. The comments seem to indicate that <br />quality of life depends on a complex, suswinable <br />mix of economic prosperity, social stability, and <br />environmental health. The challenge lies in <br />achieving a suitable balance of that mix. <br /> <br />Following are summaries of the critical man- <br />agement issues as described by stakeholders. <br />For the full text of comments, see Appendix I. <br /> <br />. Economic/environmental impacts of market-based <br />pricing of hydropower resources. <br />. Expansion, reconstruction and/or construction of <br />new hydropower facilities. <br />. Hydropower's role in funding project repayment <br />and resource protection rrograms. <br />. Economic/ environmenta impacts of sale of <br />federal generation and market entiHes. <br />-Impacts to hydropower resources due- to industry <br />deregulation and changing efficiencies. <br />-impacts to hydropower resources due-to cultural <br />and natural resource protection. . <br />. Hydropower's effect on growth and <br />environmental issues <br />- Long-term power contracts remove flexibility from <br />the system. <br />-Impacts of hydropower on recreation, cultural, <br />natural, and other resources. <br />-Identification of hydropower as a critical issue. <br />-Impact on flood control from maximizing power <br />resource <br /> <br />ISSUES INVOLVING <br />HYOROPOWER PRICES, <br />MARKETING, AND REVENUES <br /> <br />Although not generally identified as the prin- <br />cipal justification for reclamation projects on <br />the Colorado River, the generation of hydro- <br />electric power has played a critical role by pro- <br />viding funding for construction and operation <br />of these projects. These concerns reflect both <br />hydropower's historic role as the funding <br />source for water delivery projects and as a <br />provider of relatively inexpensive, clean ener- <br />gy, Recently it has also provided funding for natural and cultural resource protection. <br />The overriding issue is how to reconcile calls for maximizing the production and min- <br />imizing the cost of the hydropower resource with attempts to reduce the social and <br />environmental impacts of power generation throughout the basin. <br /> <br />Total comments: 75 <br /> <br />The future of the basin's hydropower is filled with uncertainties. Deregulation is cre- <br />ating tremendous changes within the utility industry while natural resource protec- <br />tion measures increase costs. These uncertainties create unparalleled stresses to those <br />who depend on the resource. <br />