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PROJECT PLA!'l e Curecanti unit The Curecanti unit will develop storage and power possibilities along part or all of a 4o-mile stretch of a deep canyon section of the Gunnison River above the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and below the town of Gunnison, Colo. In order to prevent the inundation of land near the town, the authorizing legislation provides that ". . . the Cure- canti Dam (now called Blue r.fesa Dam) shall be constructed to a height which "Till impound not less than 940,000 acre-feet of water or will cre- ate a reservoir of such greater capacity as can be obtained by a high waterline located at 7,520 feet above mean sea level. . ." The act also requires that construction shall not be undertaken until further engineer- ing and economic investigations have been made and until the Secretary of the Interior has certified to the Congress and the President that in his judgment the benefits 01' the un! t will exceed its costs. . Bureau of Reclamation reconnaissance studies indicate that a favor- able plan, consistent with the authorizing act, would include a series of four dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and s\o11 tchyards . The developments in order moving downstream would be !maim as the Blue Mesa, Narrow Gauge, r.10rrow Point, and Crystal. Collectively the reservoirs would have a capac- ity of about one million acre-feet. The powerplants, with an installed generating capacity of about 159,000 kilowatts, would develop a maximum of about 940 feet of static povTer head. The Blue Mesa Dam, located 30 miles downstream from Gunnison, would be the largest of the series in the Curecanti unit. It ,{ould be an earth- fill structure about 350 feet high above its foundation and about 820 beet long at its crest. The reservoir ,",ould have a capacity of about 940,000 acre-feet at a high water elevation of 7,520 feet. About 200,000 acre- feet of the reservoir capacity would be inactive. The active capacity would provide the principal seasonal river regulation for the unit power- plants. Recreational facilities would be provided at the reservoir. Investigation and planning of the Curecanti unit are continuing in more detailed scope as required by the authorizing act. Transmission division The authorizing act of April 11, 1956, provides that project power- plants and transmission facilities shall be operated in oonjunction with other Federal powerplants, present and potential, so as to produce the greatest practicable amount of power and energy that can be sold at firm power and energy rates. To carry out the provisions of the law, a high voltage transmission grid will be constructed to interconnect the plants of the authorized units of the storage project and to effect interconnection with other existing Federal. powerpJ.ants and utility systems in the area.. e 6