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.,.. r-."'. . ~'\J ~ l- ~\1E.D8T<4~,p tal .,..,,,,,,,,"/ UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY . RE 1860 LI DENVER.C ~-- -- ..'.'---'- OLN'il'ft.Et~' FIe., CCPT LORADO ~0203' ~.'::.. Reglr.'"1 ~.~ UL 8 i974 Mr. James M. Ingles Regional Director, Lower Missouri Bureau of Reclamation Room #2725, Building 20 Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225 Dear Mr. Ingles: The Environmental Protection ed the draft environmental statement f~ the Frying Pan-Arkansas.Project in the State of Colorado. We commend you for preparing this over- view EIS. The following comments on the draft statement are pre- sented for your consideration in the preparation of' the-'rinal statement. egioAlULll1974 To . .. SUfflarnl 0Il1ll Wa ter Qual i ty A major effect of implementation and operation of the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project (FAP) is the impact upon salinity of the waters in the Colorado River Basin. EPA offers the following comments regarding the salinity increases as they affect economic and environ- mental factors due to the diversion of 70,000 acre-feet annually. The consumptive use of this amount of high quality water (50 mg!l dissolved solids) will result in a Bureau of Reclamation estimated increase of 4 mg!l of total dissolved solids at Hoover Dam, Arizona. Data and calculations made to arrive at this estimate should be inciuaeu, at. least in the ~ppendix of the T;n~l report. Recommenda- tions of the 1972 Colorado River Enforcement Conference and the pro- posed Colorado River System Control Policy and Standards Procedures published in the Federal Register June 13, 1974, both call for the establishment of a policy to maintain salinity at or below 1972 levels in the lower main stem of the Colorado River. Because this project will result in an increase in salinity, potential measures to offset these increases should be discussed in the final statement. Coordination with the Colorado State Water Pollution Control Commis- sion is essential to detail this aspect of degradation of the quality of water in the river. . , Calculations showing the available supply of Colorado River water for development use by the State of Colorado should be further explained. The draft statement contains an estimate of 3.01 million acre-feet (MAF) as the total amount of water depleted from the river from Colorado's share by the year 2020. A Bureau of Reclamation report based on 13.5 MAF virgin flow for the entire river, states that if Colorado is allowed its present share of 52 percent of the upper basin's half, then only 2.98 MAF would exist for development within . XI-270