Final Minutes
Water Management Committee Workshop
The Water Management Committee (WMC) Workshop began at 9 a.m. in Denver, Colorado. The minutes of the July 12, 2001, WMC meeting were approved with corrections.
Mark Butler reviewed the comments received regarding the process flowchart being drafted to satisfy the May 1 subtasks identified in milestones W1-EXT, W2-EXT, and W4-EXT. Comments were provided by Mike Purcell and Brian Barels. It was noted that the Venn diagram included in the draft flowchart distributed by the Chair's letter of July 27, 2001, is not part of the process flowchart. Mark will revise the flowchart and accompanying text to incorporate the comments. The revised information will be provided to the WMC Chair for distribution to the WMC. The process flowchart and accompanying text are anticipated to satisfy the May 1 subtasks of milestones W1-EXT, W2-EXT, and W4-EXT needed for the preparation of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and draft Biological Opinion. The WMC will complete their review of this product per milestone W12-EXT at the September meeting and the WMC Chair will report the Governance Committee.
Daily operating criteria for Tamarack Phase 1 was discussed. Jon Altenhofen provided a handout and accompanying draft spreadsheet entitled, "Daily Tracking and Accounting of Tamarack Phase 1 Flows" and reviewed it with the WMC. Several issues/questions were raised with regard to the operation of Phase 1, which included the following.
• Will Phase 1 divert if target flows are being met at Grand Island (GI) with Environmental Account (EA) water and an excess condition results?
• Will Phase 1 operate when there is excess flow at GI and senior rights in Nebraska are not fully satisfied?
• A reliable method to forecast excess flows at GI needs to be developed to determine when to operate Phase 1.
• When and how will Phase 1 be operated for purposes in Colorado other than reductions to target flow shortages.
• The potential of integrating the tracking and account spreadsheet with Nebraska's accounting system was identified.
• The operation of Phase 1 needs to ensure the requirements of the South Platte Compact are satisfied.
In an effort to avoid potential conflicts during the irrigation season, Jon anticipates Phase 1 will provide water to the maximum extent possible during the target flow shortage months of February/March. Tamarack operations will also focus on providing water during the shoulder months in the spring and fall outside the irrigation season when the river is "live" (flowing) all the way to Grand Island. To address these and other issues, a Tamarack Subgroup was formed. Jon Altenhofen will chair the subgroup. Others wanting to participate on the subgroup should contact the WMC Chair for inclusion on the subgroup.
Tamarack Subgroup Membership: Jon Altenhofen, Chair; Mike Drain, Mark Butler, Frank Kwapnioski, Kent Miller, Dick Stenzel, Ann Bleed (tentative).
The Tamarack Subgroup was asked to create a list of items to address and provide this list to the WMC at the September meeting. The list will be used track and resolve the issues relating to Tamarack. Mark will work with Tamarack Subgroup to get the information needed for draft EIS. Jon will revise the Tamarack accounting and tracking spreadsheet with the WMC input received, preliminary gain/loss values from Nebraska, and begin entering gauged data into the spreadsheet. He anticipates providing the revised spreadsheet to the WMC Chair on September 10 for distribution prior to the next meeting. Jon asked that any additional suggestions regarding the spreadsheet be provided directly to him. The WMC will address this topic further at their next meeting.
Following a lunch break from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the workshop continued with a discussion of W7-EXT - Tamarack Phase 1 / Lake McConaughy Environmental Account Exchange. Section C of the spreadsheet identifies three options for Phase 1 flows at Korty: 1) bypassed; 2) diverted for exchange to Lake McConaughy EA; or 3) diverted for return at North Platte Hydro. Mr. Barels suggested the potential of putting Phase 1 water into Sutherland Reservoir for later release as another option. The Tamarack Subgroup was asked to explore this option.
For purpose of completing the draft EIS, the EIS Team will evaluate Phase 1 with and without the exchange and display the results of both in the draft EIS document to satisfy the September 1, 2001, subtask under milestone W7-EXT. The Tamarack Subgroup will report monthly to the WMC on exchange issues separately from daily operation issues and assist in the development of the information needed to obtain the permits required for the Tamarack/Lake McConaughy EA exchange.
Next, Mark Butler reviewed with WMC the discussion draft document entitled, "Future Federal Depletion Policy for Platte River Water-Related Activities". This document is being developed to satisfy the milestone W10-EXT. The focus of the document is on future federal depletions as all existing depletions as of July 1, 1997, or earlier are to be covered under the Program.
The "minor depletion" Biological Opinion (BO) for depletions of 25 acre-feet or less was discussed. It was noted that the minor depletion BO contains a sunset clause of December 2001 and the need to extend it through the remaining period of the Cooperative Agreement period was identified. There was also discussion regarding if the minor depletions component should be part of the Program. Concern was expressed that including a minor depletion component would accumulate small depletions over time and potentially increase the burden to offset future depletions among the states. If the minor depletions BO is extended, the states want input into determining the length of the extension and the formula for calculating habitat restoration and maintenance costs.
The Federal Depletion Policy document suggests the federal depletions be offset by retiring an equivalent existing federal use, providing funding to the appropriate State Depletion Plans (with that state's concurrence) to cover the depletions, or replacing the depletions "outside" of the Program. The EIS team anticipates using existing state tools to quantify depletions (ie, Colorado's depletions plan spreadsheet, Nebraska's COHYST models, etc.). Mark asked that additional comments regarding the draft document be provided to him for consideration and incorporation.
W9-EXT regarding future depletions associated with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands was discussed next. Polly Hays led the discussion and indicated the USFS will handle future depletions using the minor depletions BO for depletions 25 acre-feet or less and consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) on individual projects with future depletions greater than 25 acre-feet.
She also reviewed the forest planning process: discussing that forest plans address the issue of water yield, forest planning is a public process, and the USFS manages to restore or maintain healthy and sustainable ecosystems. The USFS identified two forest management plans completed in 1997, which showed potential increased water yield from timber harvest and fuels treatment. Additional potential increases may result from the 2000 National Fire Plan initiative, which call for significant increases in fuels treatment on forest land utilizing prescribed fire and mechanical treatment. The position of the USFS is that vegetation management activities such as timber harvest and fuels treatment do not result in depletions. The states want a commitment by the USFS that if future plans cause depletions, the depletions will be dealt with appropriately. The USFS confirmed they consult with the Service on all activities.
Concerns regarding how the Service would address future consultations outside of the Program were raised. The Service will address how future individual consultations, not relying on the Program as the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative, will be handled. The WMC will discuss this topic further at the upcoming meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
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