[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 173 (Monday, September 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52955-52957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22711]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Windy Gap Firming Project, Colorado-Big Thompson Project, 
Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: On April 14, 2003, the Municipal Subdistrict of the Northern 
Colorado Water Conservancy District, acting by and through the Windy 
Gap Firming Project (Firming Project) Water Activity Enterprise 
(Subdistrict), requested approval from the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) to connect the proposed Firming Project to Reclamation's 
Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT). If connection to the C-BT is 
approved, the Subdistrict would construct facilities that would be 
required to meet the purpose and need of the project. This could 
include construction of one or more new reservoirs. Because the 
Subdistrict's proposal involves a physical connection to C-BT 
facilities, it was determined that Reclamation should be the lead 
Federal agency for NEPA compliance.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the issues and alternatives to 
be evaluated in the EIS will be accepted and should be postmarked or e-
mailed by November 7, 2003, to be most effective.
    Public scoping meetings, each beginning at 6:30 p.m., will be held 
on the following dates:
    [sbull] September 30, 2003--Granby, Colorado
    [sbull] October 1, 2003--Loveland, Colorado
    [sbull] Date to be determined--Lyons, Colorado

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
    [sbull] Granby--Inn at Silver Creek (2 miles south of Granby, east 
side of highway), 62927 U.S. Highway 40, Granby, CO 80446.
    [sbull] Loveland--McKee Conference Center, 2000 North Boise Avenue, 
Loveland, CO 80538.
    [sbull] Lyons--Location will be announced through mailings, paid 
advertisements, and news releases to news media in the area.
    Please send comments on the alternatives or other issues pertaining 
to the proposed project to the attention of Will Tully, Windy Gap 
Firming Project EIS, Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area 
Office, 11056 W. County Road 18E, Loveland, CO 80537; or FAX to (970) 
663-3212 or (970) 962-4216; or e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anyone interested in more information 
about the EIS or the project may contact Will Tully by telephone at 
(970) 962-4368 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, 
Reclamation will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to 
identify the environmental effects of the proposed project. Cooperating 
agencies will be identified at a later date.
    Reclamation will use the NEPA compliance process to ensure that the 
public has opportunities to review and comment on the direct and 
indirect effects of the proposed action. Public comments are invited 
regarding both the scope of environmental and socioeconomic issues and 
alternatives that should be evaluated in the EIS.
    Reclamation and the Subdistrict will hold at least three public 
scoping meetings in which Federal, State, local and tribal government 
agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public are invited to 
participate in the open exchange of information and to submit comments 
on the proposed scope of the EIS. Comments received will be considered 
in preparation of the EIS.
    During the 1960's, six entities (the cities of Boulder, Greeley, 
Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins and the Town of Estes Park) in 
northeastern Colorado determined that additional water supplies were 
needed to meet their projected municipal demands. The Municipal 
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District,

[[Page 52956]]

consisting of the incorporated areas of the six entities, was formed in 
1970 to develop the Windy Gap Project. Subsequently, the Platte River 
Power Authority acquired all of the City of Fort Collins allotment 
contracts, as well as one-half of the City of Loveland and the Town of 
Estes Park contracts. The Windy Gap Project water was proposed to be 
stored by and conveyed through the C-BT Project facilities prior to 
delivery to Windy Gap Project allotees for storage and ultimate use.
    In 1981, Reclamation completed an environmental impact statement on 
the effects of using C-BT project facilities for the ``storage, 
carriage and delivery'' of Windy Gap Project water. That EIS addressed 
the environmental and other effects of annually diverting an average of 
56,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Colorado River Basin through 
the Windy Gap Project and C-BT Project facilities. The Record of 
Decision for that EIS allowed Reclamation to negotiate a contract with 
the Municipal Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy 
District for the conveyance, through C-BT Project facilities, of an 
average of about 56,000 acre-feet of Windy Gap Project water annually 
from the Colorado River, with maximum diversions limited to 93,300 
acre-feet in any 1 year. Average annual deliveries to the allottees of 
the Windy Gap Project were estimated to be about 48,000 acre-feet, 
following conveyance and evaporation losses and allocations to the 
Middle Park Water Conservancy District. Each unit of Windy Gap water is 
1/480th of the annual yield of the Windy Gap Project and originally 
estimated to be 100 acre-feet per unit. Reclamation, the Municipal 
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and 
the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy Distrct (District) then entered 
into a contract for the ``storage, carriage and delivery'' of Windy Gap 
Project water in C-BT facilities. Construction of the Windy Gap Project 
reservoir, pipeline, and pumping facility was completed in 1985.
    Average annual yield per unit since completion of construction has 
been approximately 17 acre-feet/unit compared to the original estimated 
100 acre-feet/unit. There are several reasons for this low yield. 
During the early years after construction, not all of the Project 
allotees needed their full allocation of water from the Project. They 
had not grown into the full demand for which the Project was developed. 
Also, the Windy Gap Project cannot divert water every year because more 
senior water rights upstream and downstream have a higher priority to 
divert water. Additionally, under the contract between the Municipal 
Subdistrict of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the 
District, and Reclamation, water conveyed and stored for the C-BT 
Project has priority over water conveyed and stored for the Windy Gap 
Project. In years when the C-BT system is full, there is no conveyance 
or storage capacity in the C-BT system for Windy Gap Project water. In 
years when Windy Gap Project water is stored in the C-BT system, Windy 
Gap Project water is sometimes spilled from the system to make room for 
C-BT Project water.

Purpose of and Need for the Federal Action

    The purpose of the proposed Firming Project is to maximize the use 
of existing water rights associated with the Windy Gap Project by 
improving the delivery and reliability of the existing Windy Gap 
Project water supply. For some Firming Project participants, the 
proposed project does not firm all of their Windy Gap Project units and 
not all of the owners of Windy Gap Project water are seeking to firm 
their units. Thus, only a portion of the 48,000 acre-feet of Windy Gap 
Project water would be ``firmed'' by the proposed action.
    The specific purpose of the project is to provide an annual 
delivery of up to 30,000 acre-feet of water by 2008 depending on the 
identified needs of the Firming Project participants. Each Firming 
Project participant owns varying amounts of Windy Gap Project water and 
each Firming Project participant has determined its firm water supply 
needs from the Windy Gap Project and the timing of those needs. For 
some of the Firming Project participants, an increased water supply is 
needed immediately to meet current demands; other participants' needs 
are expected to increase over the next several years creating a 
foreseeable future need for their Windy Gap Project water.
    The Firming Project is a non-Federal project. It is proposed to be 
constructed and operated by the Subdistrict. Federal actions related to 
the proposed project may include decisions on permitting the connection 
of Firming Project facilities to C-BT facilities, granting of right-of-
way permits and/or easements across Federal lands, and issuance of a 
Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 permit.

Proposed Alternatives

    Over the past several years, the Subdistrict has investigated a 
wide range of alternative actions with the potential to meet the needs 
of the Firming Project participants. These investigations concluded 
with an Alternative Plan Formulation Report that was finalized in 2003.
    The primary goals in developing alternatives for the proposed 
project were:
    [sbull] To identify a cooperative regional project that could be 
integrated with existing water delivery systems;
    [sbull] To allow maximum use of the existing Windy Gap Project 
diversion, pumping and pipeline facilities, and water rights.
    To provide the Firming Project participants a consistent annual 
yield of up to 30,000 acre-feet, approximately 110,000 acre-feet of new 
storage is needed specifically for Windy Gap Project water. This is 
approximately the size of the existing Carter Lake southwest of 
Loveland, Colorado.
    The alternatives study evaluated a variety of project elements 
including non-structural and operational opportunities; new reservoir 
sites; enlargement of existing reservoirs; and ground water aquifer 
storage. Storage on both the East and West Slope of the Continental 
Divide was evaluated. Technical, environmental, and economic screening 
criteria were used to identify and compare alternatives capable of 
meeting the project purpose and need. A combination of alternatives may 
be necessary to meet the project purpose and need. In addition, 
refinements in C-BT system operations may be used to enhance the yield 
of new reservoir storage. These refinements might include options for 
storage of C-BT Project water in a new Firming Project reservoir or 
borrowing storage from the C-BT Project. The Firming Project 
participants' varying needs and timing of those needs could allow the 
proposed project to be constructed in stages depending on the 
alternative configuration.
    As required by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing 
regulations (40 CFR 1502.2[e]), a full range of reasonable alternatives 
will be evaluated in the EIS. These alternatives will include No Action 
and others that will meet the stated purpose and need for the Firming 
Project. The EIS will evaluate potential environmental impacts of 
specific alternatives together with engineering and socioeconomic 
considerations. A preferred alternative has not been identified at this 
time. Reclamation, with input from Federal, State, and local government 
agencies and the public, will evaluate the alternatives.

[[Page 52957]]

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The following issues have been tentatively identified for analysis 
in the EIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to facilitate 
public comment on the scope of this EIS.
    [sbull] What are the impacts to aquatic resources including 
endangered Colorado River fish?
    [sbull] How would water quality on the west and east slope be 
affected?
    [sbull] How would the proposed project affect operation of the C-BT 
Project and the existing Windy Gap Project?
    [sbull] How would streamflow in the Colorado River be affected?
    [sbull] Would this project affect water levels in Lake Granby, 
Carter Lake, and Horsetooth Reservoir?
    [sbull] What would be the impact to streams and wetlands?
    [sbull] How would wildlife habitat be affected?
    [sbull] Would new reservoirs provide recreational opportunities?
    [sbull] Would significant cultural resources be affected?

Timing

    Issues raised at the scoping meetings will be documented and 
summarized in a report that will be distributed to public libraries 
near the meeting locations, posted on Reclamation's web site, and 
mailed upon request. This report will summarize the comments received 
and identify those issues that will be evaluated in the EIS.
    Reclamation plans to issue the draft EIS in the fall of 2004. 
Availability of the draft EIS will be publicized and Federal, State, 
local and tribal government agencies, non-governmental organizations, 
and the general public will have an opportunity to comment on the draft 
EIS.

Public Disclosure Statement

    Comments received in response to this notice will become part of 
the administrative record for this project and are subject to public 
inspection. Comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. Reclamation will make all submissions 
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: September 2, 2003.
Gerald W. Kelso,
Acting Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
[FR Doc. 03-22711 Filed 9-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P