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<br />The Bureau of Reclamation in <br />Denver .lI.nd a citizens' environ. <br />mental t'ommittee are nearing <br />agreement on an outline [or a <br />comprehensive study of the <br />proposed T"io Forks Dam and <br />Reservoir, <br />The Two Forks project- <br />called vital 10 Denver's future <br />by the Denver Water Board- <br />would dam 1.098,000 acre-feel of <br />water along 21 miles of the <br />South Platte River and its <br />North Fork :is miles southwest <br />of Denver, lIccording 10 federal <br />plans. <br />However, the Denver Waler <br />Board is looking at a somewhat <br />smaller project in the same <br />location if the federal project <br />isn't approved. <br />Attl:'ntion was callf'd 10 a lack <br />of em'ironmentill plannmg in <br />December by the Rocky "toun" <br />tain Center on Envirorunent <br />(RO"tCOE), <br />n..'i'\D1~G ~F.XT <br />Larry l\el~on, ehid of field <br />investigations for the Reclamll- <br />tion Bureau in [)em'er, said <br />when the environmental study <br />outline is comrl..'ted r'md,n~ <br />and approval Will be soullht to <br />hire an outside l'Ontractor to <br />compile a report on the envi- <br />ronmental impact of the pro- <br /> <br />poseoproJt.... <br />Nelson estimated the indepen- <br />dent study will take at least a <br />)'ear. <br />RO\ICOE's objections 10 the <br />$198 million proprn;ed federal <br />project were contained in a <br />22-page reporl expressing fears <br />that the reservoir, if conslruct. <br />ed. would attract land develop- <br />ers who ,,';ould sprawl suburban <br />de 'Ie 10 pm en ts around JlS <br />1GB-mile shoreline. <br />"The entire character of the <br />area of the central portion of <br />the Front Range of the Rockies <br />woold be altered. . The proj- <br />ect hasn't bt>'~n proper!} treated <br />on an ecological sys\.(>ms baSIS <br />or on a regional planning umt <br />basis," the report stated, <br />Two Forks, as envisioned by <br />the Reclamation Bureau, would <br />Include a dam, po.....er plant, <br />reservior and recreation area <br />and would back up water 19 <br />miles along the South Plaue to <br />Deckers and eight miles up the <br />North Fork. <br />$IOOMILLlO:o.; <br />It federal sponsorshop i.<;n'l <br />forthcoming, the Denn'r Water <br />Board is weighing a project of <br />Its own in the $100 million <br />range. <br />The dam, which has been dis- <br />cussed since 1ll96, would be <br />used bv the Denn>r Water <br />Board to hold water which is <br />brought into the ~orth Fork of <br />the South Plat\.(> from Dillon <br />Resen'oir via the Robtorts Tun- <br />nel. <br />A congression~l green liRht <br />for a feasibility study was <br />~iven in 1965 and early es. <br />timates were that it would be <br />complett'd by 1968. <br />Completion of that study, <br />which will be forwarded 10 the <br />Interior Deparlmefll in Ws:o.h- <br />ington, now appears to be. more <br />than 8 year away. ",ccordmg 1.0 <br />Nelson. <br /> <br />Two Forks <br />Study Plan <br />Advances <br /> <br />0978 <br />