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CHAPTER 5 <br />PURPOSE AND NEED, RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS <br />level of impact. The mitigation measures for each resource impact were discussed in Chapter 3. In <br />addition to the specific mitigation measures identified in Chapter 3, other management practices will be <br />employed during construction activities to minimize environmental effects and will be included in <br />construction specifications: Many of these measures are required in order to comply with federal, state, <br />or local laws and regulations, regardless of whether they are specifically identified in the report. <br />Reclamation will comply with all relevant federal, state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and <br />standards during the implementation of the Preferred Alternative. Reclamation will prepare and <br />implement an Environmental Commitment Plan for the project to document and track the completion of <br />the environmental commitments. <br />5.4.2 Water Resources and Hydrology Commitments <br />Reclamation will develop an operations plan for the Ridges Basin Pumping Plant that will schedule <br />pumping from the Animas River in a manner to limit impacts to non-Colorado Ute Tribal entities' ability <br />to obtain water from the San Juan River as described under Mitigation for the Refined Alternative 4 <br />Hydrology Impact 2 in Section 3.2. <br />Reclamation will work with all appropriate state and federal agencies to pursue a method to protect ALP <br />Project water return flows in the La Plata River drainage as a water supply for endangered fish as <br />described under Mitigation for Refined Alternative 4 Hydrology Impact 3 in Section 3.2. <br />Reclamation will design and develop Ridges Basin Reservoir with a minimum pool of 30,000 af. <br />5.4.3 Water Quality Commitments <br />Reclamation will develop and implement a program to reduce, minimize or eliminate temporary, short- <br />term increases in suspended sediment loading or other water quality constituents, potentially caused by <br />project construction, through the incorporation of permits, Best Management Practices (BMPs), and <br />sediment control structures as described under Mitigation for Refined Alternative 4 Water Quality <br />Impacts 1-3 in Section 3.3. <br />Reclamation will develop and implement a program designed to reduce, minimize or eliminate the <br />temporary, short-term increases in suspended sediment loading that may potentially occur during <br />construction of the non-binding end uses and water conveyance systems through requiring developers <br />and construction contractors to incorporate BMPs and sediment control devices as described under <br />Mitigation for Refined Alternative 4 Water Quality Impact 6 in Section 3.3. <br />Reclamation will develop, with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the States of Colorado and New <br />Mexico, and implement a program to monitor water quality in the Animas River from the Durango <br />Pumping Plant to the confluence with the San Juan River for five years after the Durango Pumping Plant <br />begins operation. The program will be developed to monitor compliance with Tribal and state water <br />quality standards and criteria. The plan should include: objectives, quality assurance and control plans, <br />and noncompliance measures. <br />5.4.4 Vegetation Commitments <br />a, Reclamation will ensure that construction contractors limit ground disturbance to the smallest feasible I <br />are unsure thats construction contractors implement BMPs, along with the planting or re- <br />L or <br />ar?,rnAS c? 1.AA62Cw eA Q6 <br />O. Boy, AA Towaoc, (;® 81334 A - Pn4c-., c-. t-l - ?y. <br />5-11 5.4 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS