Reservoir Drawdown Plan. The licensee shall file, within 60 days of the date of this order and prior to any construction-related drawdown of the reservoir, for Commission approval, a Drawdown, Refill and Flow Release Plan. The plan shall include: (1) identification of water level reductions and durations that are expected to be necessary for the proposed work (2) a summary of recent information on the construction water year, with predicted inflows, water extractions, and outflows, and predicted reservoir levels during the proposed work period; (3) a plan describing how any reservoir level reductions and flow release modifying actions necessary to conduct the proposed work would be accomplished; and (4) identification of maximum rates of change in reservoir levels and flow releases that would be observed to protect aquatic resources. The plan shall identify how flows would be released during the proposed work, and how additional releases, if necessary to achieve or maintain reservoir levels necessary for the proposed work, would be made. Finally, the plan shall describe how the reservoir would be refilled after construction is complete, identifying any maximum reservoir refill rates and maximum rates of change in flow releases that would be observed to protect aquatic resources. The licensee shall develop the plan in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The plan shall include copies of comments from these agencies, or evidence that these agencies were provided 30 days in which to provide comments and did not do so. The plan shall indicate how agency comments that are received are addressed in the plan. The Commission reserves the authority to require changes to the plan to protect area resources.
