HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/3/2019 - Information From Darin Atteberry Re: Halligan Water Supply Project Draft Eis ReleasedFrom: Aimee Housh <ahoush@fcgov.com>
Date: November 22, 2019 at 09:46:32 MST
To: Aimee Housh <ahoush@fcgov.com>
Subject: Halligan Water Supply Project Draft EIS Released
Good morning!
I’m excited to announce the release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Conceptual
Mitigation Plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today, Nov. 22. This is a huge milestone in this long-
time project!
The public can provide feedback directly to the Corps through Jan. 26. The official news release from the
Corps is below with details. Any questions can be directed to halligan@fcgov.com. For more
information, visit fcgov.com/halligan.
_____________________________________________________________
Halligan Water Supply Project draft
environmental impact statement
published
Published Nov. 22, 2019
OMAHA, Neb. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District has published in the federal
register the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and conceptual mitigation plan for the Halligan
Water Supply Project, a water supply project located in Larimer County, Colorado, proposed by the
City of Fort Collins Utilities.
The Corps is evaluating an application and conceptual mitigation plan from Fort Collins for a
Department of the Army permit for the Halligan Project and prepared the Draft EIS in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act to provide decision-makers and the public with
information pertaining to the Halligan Project and disclose environmental impacts of the
alternatives. It also provides information for local and state agencies having jurisdictional
responsibility for affected resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VIII, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Department of Natural Resources,
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and Larimer County participated as
cooperating agencies in the development of the Draft EIS. The Corps is neither a proponent nor an
opponent of the proposed project.
Fort Collins proposes to enlarge the existing Halligan Reservoir located about 25 miles northwest of
Fort Collins on the North Fork of the Poudre River in Larimer County, Colorado. Fort Collins
proposes to raise Halligan Dam by 25.4 feet to enlarge Halligan Reservoir from its current capacity
of 6,400 acre-feet to approximately 14,525 acre-feet to provide about 7,900 acre-feet of additional
annual firm yield to meet Fort Collins’ projected 2065 municipal and industrial water demands. The
November 27, 2019
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: Darin Atteberry
FYI /sek
existing reservoir surface area is approximately 253 acres; the proposed enlargement would result in
a surface area of approximately 386 acres.
Halligan Dam is a concrete arch dam built more than 100 years ago and will require rehabilitation in
the near future to address safety risks. These safety risks would be addressed by Fort Collins under
their proposed action during enlargement of the dam. Under the project alternatives, ownership of
the dam and responsibility for rehabilitation would revert to the North Poudre Irrigation Company.
Under Fort Collins’ proposed action, Halligan Reservoir would continue to be filled with direct flows
from the North Fork. Releases would be made to the North Fork downstream of the dam and would
flow through Seaman Reservoir to the confluence with the Cache la Poudre River. From there,
water would be exchanged up to Fort Collins’ intake or to the Monroe Canal intake and delivered to
Fort Collins’ water treatment facility through the Pleasant Valley Pipeline.
Under the proposed action, Fort Collins would maintain a minimum flow of five cubic feet per second
in the North Fork from May 1 to September 30, a minimum flow of three cubic feet per second the
remainder of the year, and forego all diversions to the enlarged Halligan Reservoir for the three days
that coincide with the forecasted peak runoff flow event for the North Fork.
The Draft EIS also evaluates the effects of several alternatives to Fort Collins’ proposed action,
including the No-Action Alternative, the Expanded Glade Alternative, the Gravel Pits Alternative, and
the Agricultural Reservoirs Alternative.
The Corps’ decision on whether or not to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the
probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed project and its alternatives on the
public interest. The decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and use of important
resources. The benefits that may reasonably be expected to accrue from the proposal must be
balanced against the reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors that may be relevant to the
proposal will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation,
economics, aesthetics, wetlands, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use,
navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, energy
needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and,
in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
The Draft EIS and conceptual mitigation plan are available for review on our website
at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory-Program/Colorado/EIS-Halligan
Printed copies of the Draft EIS are available for review at the following libraries and offices:
Colorado State University Morgan Library, 1201 Center Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado
80523
Poudre River Public Library District-Old Town Library, 201 Peterson Street, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80524
Poudre River Public Library-Harmony Library, 4616 South Shields Street, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80526
University of Northern Colorado, James A. Michener Library, 14th Avenue and 20th Street,
Greeley, Colorado 80639
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Denver Regulatory Office, 9307 South Wadsworth
Boulevard, Littleton, Colorado 80128
The Corps is soliciting written comments on the Draft EIS and conceptual mitigation plan from the
public; federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Native American Tribes; and other interested
parties.
On January 13, 2020, the Corps is holding a public hearing regarding the Department of the Army
Permit application and Draft EIS for the Halligan Project. The public hearing will be at the Drake
Centre at 802 West Drake Road in Fort Collins, Colorado. From 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., the public may
view various posters on the issues and ask questions of representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, their contractors, and Fort Collins. From 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., public officials or individuals
wishing to make a public statement to the Corps will be given three minutes each to speak.
All written comments on the Draft EIS and conceptual mitigation plan must be submitted to the
mailing address listed below or to email address NWO.HalliganEIS@usace.army.mil by January 26,
2020. Additional information about the application, Draft EIS, or conceptual mitigation plan may be
obtained by contacting Mr. Cody Wheeler, Regulatory Project Manager at the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Denver Regulatory Office, 9307 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Littleton, Colorado 80128;
at telephone 720-922-3846; or via email at cody.s.wheeler@usace.army.mil.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AIMEE HOUSH
Communications Specialist
Fort Collins Utilities
222 Laporte Ave.
970-224-6049 office
ahoush@fcgov.com