2008-04-04_PERMIT FILE - C1981038A

Home Browse Search

PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Cyprus Orchard Valley Coal Company is going through a permit renewal process for its Orchard Valley Mine located about 4 miles north of Paonia, Colorado, in Delta County. Through this process it was determined that water usage for coal mining operations have increased since the Service issued a biological opinion for 26.7 acre-feet of water on September 19, 1985. The Orchard Valley Mine uses water for dust control, facilities maintenance, and equipment washdown. Additional water usage results from water evaporation from a sediment pond. Water depletion from these uses totals 64.2 acre-feet per year, which is a 37.5 acre-foot increase since the Service last issued a biological opinion for water usage at the Orchard Valley Mine. The coal mine uses water from two sources which are tributaries to the North Fork of the Gunnison River. One source is the Pitkin Mesa Pipeline System which withdraws water from a spring in the Gunnison National Forest north of the mine lease area. The other source is from an alluvial well, known as the Orchard Valley Well No. 3, located in T. 13 S., R. 92 W., section 13. BASIS FOR BIOLOGICAL OPINION This biological opinion addresses an average annual depletion of approximately 37.5 acre-feet from the Upper Colorado River Basin (Upper Basin). Water depletions in the Upper Basin have been recognized as a major source of impact to endangered fish species. Continued water withdrawal has restricted the ability of the Colorado River system to produce flow conditions required by various life stages of the fishes. Critical habitat has been designated for the Colorado squawfish, humpback chub, bonytail, and razorback sucker within the 100-year floodplain in portions of their historic range (59 F.R. 13374). Destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat is defined in 50 CFR 402.02 as a direct or indirect alteration that appreciably diminishes the value of critical habitat for both the survival and recovery of a listed species. In considering the biological basis for designating critical habitat, the Service focused on the primary physical and biological elements that are essential to the conservation of the species without consideration of land or water ownership or management. The Service has identified water, physical habitat, and biological environment as the primary constituent elements. This includes a quantity of water of sufficient quality that is delivered to a specific location in accordance with a hydrologic regime that is required for the particular life stage for each species. Water depletions reduce the ability of the river system to provide the required water quantity and hydrologic regime necessary for recovery of the fishes. The physical habitat includes areas of the Colorado River system that are inhabited or potentially habitable for use in spawning and feeding, as a nursery, or serve as corridors between these areas. In addition, oxbows, backwaters, and other areas in the 100-year floodplain, when inundated, provide access to spawning, nursery, feeding, and rearing habitats.