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<br /> <br />DE,af1' <br /> <br /> <br />JJ <br />~pi.ORADO WATER <br />CO,'Sr.r-:II"-IIO^,180 <br />---" d' /, ARD <br /> <br />r INTERIOR <br />Dews release <br />, r;-~ rPJ}- <br />Kallman (202) 343-3171 I~~::-~ <br />;)- ') {j--~ <br /> <br />OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY <br /> <br />For Release October 29, 1981 <br /> <br />WATT DIRECTS GLEN CANYON PEAKING POWER STUD E DROPPED; <br />CITES E 0 EFFECTS AND COSTS <br /> <br />Secretary of the Interior James Watt said today he wholeheartedly endorsed <br />stopping a study of new hydroelectric peaking power at Glen Canyon Dam on the <br />Colorado River because "it's the wrong idea in the wrong place at the wrong <br /> <br />t-i-me-.-H- <br /> <br />As a result, Interior's Bureau of Reclamation has discontinued a study <br />ordered by the former administration, and will look instead at other possible <br />sites for peaking power in the Colorado River Basin Project's power marketing <br />area--a vast region covering large portions of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, <br />Wyomin~, Nevada, Arizona and southern California. <br /> <br />"After consulting with Commissioner of Reclamation Bob Broadbent, I became <br />convinced ,that continuing the Glen Canyon study would serve no useful purpose," <br />Watt said. <br /> <br />"At issue is a key environmental concern--the integrity of the Colorado <br />River downstream from the dam as it flows through Grand Canyon National Park," <br />Watt said. "Peaking power depends on large releases of water during brief <br />periods. It therefore means sharp rises and drops i~ the level of the Colorado <br />River below the dam. <br /> <br />"The Nat ional Park Service was worried about 'wh'at that would do to the <br />streambed, the natural sandbars, ve~etation, and fi~h and wildlife habitat. In <br />addition, thousands of people run the river within the park in boats and rafts, <br />and many of them find it a matchless experience. Raising and lowering the level <br />of the-ri.ver at periods when power demand is high would inevitably -mean fewer <br />float trips because we simply could not allow human lives to be put in such <br />jeopardy," Watt said. ' <br /> <br />"If there are other good locations we can investigate for hydroelectric <br />peaking power, as Commissioner Broadbent says, we should be concentrating on <br />them. Funds for studies are limited in this period' of budget austerity. Let's <br />put our dollars to better use by looking for sites where the tradeoff is more <br />nearly acceptable. That's just good hardheaded eco,;omics," Watt concluded. <br /> <br />The Glen Canyon investigation, under way since late 1977, was to determine <br />feasibility of boosting the capacity at Glen Canyon powerplant by 250 megawatts, <br />a venture which would require two additional generators to be installed at the <br />out let works. <br /> <br />Broadbent said several other sites may prove more acceptable than Glen <br />Canyon, and have the potential to produce more power. <br /> <br />x <br /> <br />x <br /> <br />x <br />