Final Minutes
Water Action Plan Committee Meeting
Cheyenne, Wyoming
The Water Action Plan Committee (WAPC) meeting began at 9:20 a.m. in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The minutes of the October 14, 1999, WAPC meeting were approved.
Jim Cook reported on the conference call that was held November 15, 1999, between the states of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Dan Luecke was unable to participate due to phone trouble. The potential of creating an initial list of projects based on the information available was discussed. There remains disagreement regarding the concept of fair share/proportionality.
The WAPC further discussed the potential of creating an initial list of projects from which an initial draft Water Action Plan could be formulated. Colorado expressed concerns regarding how Nebraska will determine what constitutes "new water" with respect to potential expansion of the Tamarack project. Nebraska expressed the need to know what type of projects may be considered in Colorado and Wyoming to determine how contributions from those projects could be protected within Nebraska. Wyoming expressed concerns regarding setting quotas of water that will be provided by each state, but was willing to develop a list of potential projects. Colorado also expressed that they will not consider projects that will reduce existing consumptive use within Colorado, but would be willing to develop a potential list of projects identified in the draft Water Conservation/Supply Reconnaissance Study Report (Report) not associated with reducing consumptive use.
The states expressed their willingness to create a list of potential projects from their respective states as a starting point to develop an initial draft of the Water Action Plan, recognizing the list is subject to modification as the process continues and more information is known. Mr. Luecke, representing the environmental community, offered to review the list of potential projects from each state and if there was less than 60,000 to 80,000 acre-feet of water identified, he would develop a list of additional projects that would makeup the shortfall. It was agreed that each state would provide to the WAPC Chair a list of potential projects for inclusion on an initial draft Water Action Plan the morning of December 14, 1999, with a copy to Mr. Luecke. The list prepared by each state should include information regarding location; estimates of yield and cost from the draft Report or as provided by the state; and identify projects in the draft Report that are not acceptable to the state. No cost restrictions were set for the initial list. Mr. Luecke will develop a potential list of projects as needed to meet any remaining portion of the goal of 60,000 to 80,000 acre-feet and provide his list to the WAPC Chair early on December 15, 1999. It is anticipated these lists will be used to formulate an initial draft Water Action Plan at the upcoming December meeting.
Jim Lutey of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) presented information regarding the level of detail needed for the "programmatic" Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation purposes in the Water Action Plan. It was identified that ESA consultation requirements will drive the level of detail needed in the Water Action Plan. The FWS has some discretion on the level of detail required, but needs sufficient information to evaluate the potential effects of a proposed program. The modeling tools used for the evaluation will require estimates of the potential water contribution from each project and assumptions regarding how the water will move through the system to the critical habitat. It was recognized that as the program develops and projects are put online, additional information will be available and further evaluations for environmental compliance will be done.
The EIS Team anticipates evaluating several specific projects with a range of yields to identify the potential effects. The question was raised regarding how the EIS Team would handle an alternative such as dry year leasing of natural flow rights. The EIS Team has not addressed this situation, but anticipates targeting water rights that have a storage component that could be potentially converted to environmental use assuming implementation of conservation or some other measure. It was identified the initial draft Water Action Plan formulated at the December meeting would be provided to the EIS Team to begin their evaluation.
After a lunch break from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., the WAPC discussed the meaning of "incentive based". All agreed that incentive based requires willing participants, but there was disagreement on how to establish incentives to attract the willing participants.
Blaine Dwyer of Boyle Engineering provided a brief status of the Water Conservation/Supply Study. Comments regarding the draft Report have been received and are being considered. The power interference and forest management alternatives received a number of comments. Mr. Dwyer identified a meeting between Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, Nebraska Public Power District, and EIS Staff to discuss power interference is being arranged and believes it would be beneficial for a member of the Boyle Team to attend, given the number of comments received on the power interference alternative. The WAPC authorized attendance of a Boyle Team member at this meeting.
Agenda items for the December meeting were discussed. The agenda item identified included formulation of an initial draft Water Action Plan and discussion of the resources/tools that will be used to evaluate the initial draft Water Action Plan.
Future meetings of the WAPC will be held December 16, 1999, and January 20, 2000. The December 16, 1999, meeting will be held in Lakewood, Colorado, in the FWS Building 3rd floor conference room from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The January 20, 2000, meeting will be held at the Quality Inn, in North Platte, Nebraska, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
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