2021-02-26_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M2014071

Home Browse Search

Mr. Dale Case February 19, 2021 Page 2 deadlines in the July 2020 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order for the GRE Project; and Exhibit 22 is a FERC Plans Submittal Schedule that anticipates timeframes to prepare the plans required by the FERC Order, including milestones for stakeholder review, which we have advanced to the earliest possible dates in an effort to be responsive to Boulder County's comments on our 1041 Permit Application. We also have attached documentation in support of several comment responses, as listed in the index of exhibits following this letter. In the comments on our application, there are some specific requests for new studies or additional analyses that Denver Water must respectfully decline because they seek reconsideration of determinations that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and FERC have already made, and to which Denver Water must adhere. For example, some comments seek updated information on Denver Water's projected future water demands and other system information to reassess the purpose and need for the GRE Project. The Corps as lead agency, together with FERC as a cooperating agency, already has appropriately identified the purpose and need for the GRE Project: to develop 18,000 acre-feet per year of new, firm yield to address system-wide vulnerability issues, increase operational flexibility of the treated water system, increase reliability of the water supply and address projected future demand. That statement of purpose and need is the foundation for the federal agencies' determinations, permits and orders, with which Denver Water must comply. Similarly, some comments ask Denver Water to undertake a new analysis of alternatives to the GRE Project. The November 13, 2020, memo from Community Planning & Permitting staff, for example, states: "The alternatives analysis provided in the EIS is unacceptable for the purposes of this 1041 application." While Denver Water appreciates the County's interest in exploring other options, the Corps and FERC already spent more than a decade performing a comprehensive alternatives analysis and responding to public comments on that analysis, including from Boulder County. The Corps selected the GRE Project as the environmentally preferable and least environmentally damaging practicable alternative. FERC has similarly directed Denver Water to implement the GRE Project and specifically to begin construction by July 2022 and complete it by July 2027. Because Denver Water cannot implement alternatives that the Corps and FERC did not select, there is no opportunity to revisit the GRE Project's purpose and need or alternatives to the Project at this time. The attached comment and response tables (Exhibits 19 and 20) note other instances in which commenters have sought additional analyses inconsistent with decisions already made by the federal agencies with jurisdiction over the GRE Project. Otherwise, Denver Water has responded to specific questions and requests to the best of our ability, and within the timeframes set by the FERC Order. Denver Water remains available to clarify issues or provide information not inconsistent with the FERC Order or the Corps' Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit.