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<br />G. AQUATIC BIOLOGY <br />Description of Proposed Action <br />Deseret Generation and Transmission Cooperative, Inc., is proposing a <br />coal-fired electrical generating station near Bonanza, Utah. Coal for <br />the plant will be mined by Western Fuels, Inc., from adjacent Rio Blanco <br />County, Colorado. Water needed for the coal washing operation will be <br />drawn from the White River through a 0.3 cfa water filing with the <br />Colorado State Engineer. The water will most probably be withdrawn from <br />below the river's bed vie a pump or series of pumps approximately 100 <br />• meters upstream from the Rio Blanco County highway bridge crossing, <br />about 8 miles east of Rangely, Colorado (Figure II.G-1). No direct <br />withdrawal from the river is presently planned. <br />Purpose <br />This report is submitted as part of the biological baseline information <br />needed for governmental permits and for completion of an Environmental <br />Impact Statement on the Moon Lake Project. The major objective of this <br />report is to present information on the aquatic flora and fauna of the <br />White River in the proposed Western Fuels coal mine area and to assess <br />potential impscte of mining on those organisms. Major emphasis is <br />placed on Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), a species listed as <br />endangered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, as well as the State <br />of Colorado and xhich is known to inhabit the White River. <br />• <br />II.G-1 <br />