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<br />Or,,', J.. S 1 <br />lJ_ _, <br /> <br />certain periods during the year. With Crystal Dam there will <br />be a minimum flow of at least 200 second-feet in the river <br />below the diversion tunnel for maintenance of the fish habitat. <br /> <br />Slightly over 10 miles of transmission line to convey the power <br />generated at Crystal Power plant have already been constructed. <br />The line is of wood-pole type and extends from the Curecanti <br />Substation near Cimarron, Colorado, to the canyon rim. This <br />line cannot be seen from any public road nor the Black Canyon <br />of the Gunnison Na.tional Monument. <br /> <br />The section of ll5-kv transmission line from the canyon rim to <br />the powerplant has not been constructed. Alternative methods <br />of construction are being investigated at the present time, as <br />well as the location of a transmission route to the powerplant. <br />The first proposal is a wood pole line line running down a <br />draw upstream from the dam. The alinement would not be visi- <br />ble from the public area below the dam. The overhead line <br />would extend to the crest of the dam where the conductors <br />would be transferred to cable tunnels to the power plant at the <br />base of the dam. The second alternative is an armored cable <br />laid on the surface of the ground up the side of the canyon <br />to the rim and then on to wood pole structures to the exist- <br />ing line. The third possibility would require slant drilling <br />of a cable tunnel from the top of the canyon rim down to the <br />bottom of the canyon at the switchyard location and installing <br />a cable in the tunnel for transmission of power. This would <br />be the most costly alternative. When all details, economics, <br />and environmental impact have been analyzed, a selection will <br />be made. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />The following are considered the primary impacts of construc- <br />tion activity. In the diversion tunnel specifications, the <br />contractor will be required to pass all waste and drainage <br />water through a turbidity control plant or system to remove <br />all suspended sediments before it is discharged into the river. <br />The effectiveness of this procedure will be observed for pos- <br />sible application under later contracts. Even with these pre- <br />cautions it will be difficult to prevent additional sediment <br />from entering the stream from construction activities such as <br />aggregate processing, cofferdam construction, and excavation <br />for channelization. Under the specifications, turbidity in- <br />creases above the natural turbidities in the Gunnison River <br />that are caused by construction activities must not exceed the <br />limits of the Colorado Water Quality Standards and will be per- <br />mitted only for the shortest practicable period required to <br />complete such activities. Turbidity of the natural river has <br />been measured regularly during the summer of 1971, and will <br />continue to be measured in order to establish a base line upon <br />which to make these determinations. Particularly during river <br /> <br />13 <br />