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~ECORO OF DEcrSlON Wolfofli M-..IM,*" Cn:cll.lllc.rvGlr >~g" ~ A. Alternative ~ - No Action This alternative would not require a substitution agreement. No new water storage reservoi~ would be developed. The USFS would not issue a Special Use Permit for reservoir construction at the Rock Creek site, and ELM would not issue the necessary right-of-way for reservoir constrJction at the Wolford Mountain site. There would be no change in the operation of Green Mountain Reservoir or the volume of flow in the Blue River below Dillon Dam or Green Mountain Dam. No action is the environmentally preferred alternative. B. Alternative 2 - Rock Creek Reservoir This alternative requires a substitution agreement. A roller compacted concrete gravity dam would be constructed at the Rock Creek site. The dam would be 172 feet high and would impound 50,700 acre-feet of water. The proposed reservoir would inundate ~,070 acres of land and extend about 3 miles upstream. Construction of the reservoir could potentially reduce the annual flow of the Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir up to 30,000 acre-feet when water is substituted. According to the substitution agreement, annual flow reductions in Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir may not exceed 30,000 acre-feet in a single year or 45,000 acre-feet in any 3 consecutive years. IV. BASIS OF DECISION AND ISSUES EVALUATED The preferred alternative enables the District to fulfill its need to compensate for the Windy Gap project and provides for the development of additional water supply for Colorado while effectively minimizing and mitigating impacts to the environment. While the no action alternative is the environmentally preferred alternative, it would neither address the District's need to compensate for the Windy Gap project nor enhance Colorado's present and future water needs. The environmental commitments required of Reclamation and BLM as presented in section VI of this record of decision, provide assurance that all practicable means will be taken to avoid or minimize harm to the.environment when implementing the preferred alternative. Many factors and much data were considered in the decision making process that resulted in selection of alternative 3, Wolford Mountain Reservoir, as the preferred alternative. The following elements represent the primary management considerations used in selection of the preferred alternative. A. Based on the environmental impact analysis, it was determined that no significant environmental impacts would result from implementation of the preferred alternative with appropriate mitigation.