Draft Environmetnal Impact Statement (EIS)
For The Northern Integrated Supply Project

LARIMER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING
Northern Integrated Supply Project (Glade Reservoir)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
7:00 PM, Hearing Room

July 9, 2008 Public Meeting for development of Larimer County's comments

Staff Contacts:

Doug Ryan, Health and Environment
Rob Helmick, Planning Department

Discussion:

The proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project is a regional water supply project designed to serve the current and future water needs of 15 towns and water districts. The purpose of NISP is to provide the participants with approximately 40,000 acre-feet of new reliable municipal water supply annually through a regional project coordinated by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The draft EIS considers the impacts associated with four alternatives. Those alternatives include a no action alternative - under which the participants would develop their future water supplies in the absence of NISP. The proposed action alternative includes development of Glade Reservoir and the South Platte Water Conservation Project (Galeton Reservoir in Weld County). The third alternative would substitute Glade for Cactus Hill Reservoir in Weld County and also include the South Platte Water Conservation Project. The fourth alternative includes Glade Reservoir, a smaller South Platte Water Conservation Project, and the transfer of 12,000 acre-feet of water from agricultural to municipal uses. The action alternatives include diverting water from the Cache la Poudre River for storage in either Glade or Cactus Hill reservoir, and diverting water from the South Platte River for storage in Galeton Reservoir. Water stored in Galeton would be exchanged with irrigation companies for a portion of their supplies currently drawn from the Poudre River. The construction of Glade Reservoir would involve rerouting about 7 miles of US Highway 287. The draft EIS will describe the selected alternatives and the expected environmental impacts of each.

The Commissioners, board and commission members, and departments have each been provided a hard copy of the draft EIS executive summary, and a two-CD set containing the EIS and technical supporting documents. All of this information is also available on the Army Corps website at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis-info.htm.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the draft EIS for this project on April 30. Comments are due to the Army Corps no later than July 30. In order to develop their comments, the County Commissioners held a public information session on May 5. At that meeting the Army Corps discussed the draft EIS and presented the principle findings. The Commissioners asked a number of their boards and commissions to attend that meeting, review the draft EIS as part of their regular public processes, and submit written comments to assist the Commissioners in their review. Copies of those comments have been posted on the County's website, and provided directly to the Commissioners.

The public is invited to provide comments at the meeting to the County Commissioners about the draft EIS. At the conclusion of the public comment portion of the meeting, the Commissioners will discus the draft EIS and the input they have received and will direct staff to prepare a letter or resolution outlining their comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. The proposed comments will then be considered for final adoption at a regular Commissioners' Administrative Matters Meeting.

There are a number of themes presented in the internal comments that the Commissioners may wish to consider in their deliberations:

  • The purpose and need statement in the draft EIS, and whether the very specific definition restricts the consideration of practical alternatives.
  • The impacts associated with reduced Poudre River flows and the need for mitigation.
  • The adequacy of analyses in the draft EIS and recommendations concerning additional detail that may be needed.
  • The perspective of the County regarding the project alternatives presented and which alternative is preferred based on the internal comments received.
  • The applicability of the Open Lands Master Plan designation of the mouth of the Poudre Canyon and the Highway 287 corridor as Important Natural Resource Areas on the selection among project alternatives.
  • The perspective of the County regarding the routes for the Highway 287 realignment.
  • The practical issue of the need to obtain consent from ditch users for exchanges of Poudre river water for water from Galeton Reservoir that could substantially impact availability and cost of water for Glade Reservoir.
  • The importance of conservation for determining both the need and utility of the water project.
  • Consideration of specific recommendations prepared by the internal reviewers for the Commissioners' final comments.
  • The recommendations from several reviewers that the County adopt 1041 powers for water development projects in order to regulate NISP directly.

The process described above is intended to assist the Larimer County Commissioners in developing formal written comments on the draft EIS. The public is also encouraged to submit comments directly to the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army Corps of Engineers has made copies of the draft EIS are available at the following locations:

  • Colorado State University Morgan Library, 501 University Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80523
  • Fort Collins Regional Library District, 201 Peterson Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524
  • Fort Collins Regional Library District-Front Range Community College-Larimer Campus, 4616 S. Shields Street, Fort Collins, CO 80526
  • University of Northern Colorado James A. Michener Library, Greeley, CO 80639
  • Greeley City Manager's Office, 1000 10th Street, Greeley, CO 80631
  • Windsor Recreation Center, 250 11th Street, Windsor, CO 80550
  • Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, 220 Water Avenue, Berthoud, CO 80513
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Denver Regulatory Office, 9307 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, Littleton, CO 80128

Electronic copies of the Draft EIS may be obtained from the Corps' Denver Regulatory Office or its website at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis-info.htm

The Army Corps of Engineers has provided the following contact information for submission of formal written comments on the draft EIS

Mr. Chandler J. Peter
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Denver Regulatory Office
9307 South Wadsworth Blvd.
Littleton, CO 80128-6901
Fax: (303) 979-0602 / Email: chandler.j.peter@usace.army.mil

Date Comments Must Be Received: July 30, 2008

Current Comments

Written comments presented by the following county boards and commissions and departments: