The US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, (Corps) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental consequences of the proposed Moffat Collection System Project (Moffat Project), submitted by the Denver Water Department (Denver Water) Denver, Colorado.

To meet their projected future water needs, Denver Water proposes to develop 18,000 acre-feet per year of new, annual firm yield water delivered to the Moffat Treatment Plant and raw water customers upstream of the Moffat Treatment Plant pursuant to Denver Water Board’s commitment to its customers.  Denver Water's preferred project to meet this need is to raise Gross Reservoir in Boulder County to store an additional 72,000 acre-feet of water.

In addition to Denver Water's preferred project, the Corps' EIS will evaluate over 300 other options to meet Denver Water's need for water, including several other incremental raises to Gross Reservoir, a new reservoir on Leyden Creek in Jefferson County, additional water stored in local gravel pits and in local underground aquifers, advanced water treatment, and purchase of existing agricultural water rights.

The Draft EIS was released on October 30, 2009 to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the proposal, to provide decision-makers and the public with information pertaining to the Proposed Action and alternatives, and to disclose environmental impacts and identify mitigation measures to reduce impacts.   The Corps, Omaha District, Regulatory Branch is the lead federal agency responsible for the Draft EIS and information contained in it will serve as the basis for a decision regarding issuance of a Section 404 permit.  It also provides information for federal, state, and local agencies having jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission participated as cooperating agencies, and Grand County participated as a consulting agency in the formulation of the Draft EIS.

Public Comments on the Draft EIS

 The Draft EIS comment period is from October 30, 2009 to January 28, 2010.

All written comments on the Draft EIS and Public Notice for 404 Permit Application NWO-2002-80762-DEN should be sent to:

Scott Franklin, Moffat EIS Project Mgr
US Army Corps of Engineers
9307 South Wadsworth Blvd, Littleton, CO 80128
E-mail: moffat.eis@usace.army.mil    Fax: 303-979-0602

Hardcopies of the Draft EIS are available for review at the following locations:

Grand County
     Fraser Valley Library, 421 Norgren Road, Fraser, CO 80442
     Granby Library, 55 Zero St., Granby, CO 80446
     Kremmling Library, 300 S. 8th Street, Kremmling, CO  80459-1240
Adams County
     Thornton Branch Library, 8992 Washington Street, Thornton, CO 80229
Denver County
     Central Library, 10 W. Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204
Boulder County
     Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Jefferson County
     Arvada Library, 7525 W. 57th Ave., Arvada, CO 80002
     Golden Library, 1019 10th Street, Golden, CO 80401
Summit County
     Summit County Library South Branch, 504 Airport Road, Breckenridge, CO 80424
     Summit County Library North Branch, 651 Center Circle, Silverthorne, CO 80498
US Army Corps of Engineers
     Denver Regulatory Office, 9307 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton, CO 80128
Denver Water
     Main Office, 1600 W. 12^th Ave., Denver, CO 80204

Public Hearings 

Oral and/or written comments may also be presented at any or all of the public hearings to be held at the following times and locations:

Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009, 6pm, Boulder Country Club, 7350 Clubhouse Rd, Boulder, CO
Wednesday, Dec 2, 2009, 6pm, Inn at SilverCreek, 62927 US Highway 40, Granby, CO
Thursday, Dec 3, 2009, 6pm, Doubletree Hotel, 3203 Quebec St, Denver, CO

 

An open house will be held at each public hearing location at 4-6pm.  This will allow the public an opportunity to review information associated with the Draft EIS as well as ask questions of resource specialists concerning the document.  The open houses and public hearings will include a brief formal presentation of the Moffat Collection System Project. Individuals intending to provide oral comments must fill out a registration card at the door of the hearing rooms.  Speakers will be called to a podium to provide their comments.  Each speaker will be given a period of 3 minutes to present their comments on the Proposed Action and the Draft EIS as well as identify issues and concerns.  If comments cannot be completed in the 3-minute period, speakers will be encouraged to provide them in writing.