Resolution of Endangered Species Act issues in permitting Tile Plateau Creek pipeline

This paper describes how a hydrologic model proved to be a valuable tool to help interested parties understand impacts to four threatened and endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado River. In 1994, the Ute Water Conservancy District initiated permitting and design of the Plateau Creek pipeline replacement. The project was considered a major Federal action and therefore subject to the National Environmental Policy Act. Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) entered the process to develop a Biological Opinion (BO) and determined that the project could potentially impact the endangered fish in the 15-mile reach of the Colorado River. The Section 7 consultation...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Endangered Species Act, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Section 7 Consultation, modeling/statistics, simulation, All tags... surface water hydrology, water development, water policy/regulation/decision making, water resources planning, Fewer tags