Ongoing Permitting Activities#

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
Work continued for preparation of a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

401 Water Quality Certification
Development and approval of approach for water quality and temperature analyses.

Fish & Wildlife Mitigation & Enhancement Plan (FWMEP)
Development of measures regarding enlarged reservoir operations, wildlife, fish passage, stream restoration and instream flow protection.

Supplemental Activities#

Endangered Species Act: Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse

• Evaluated potential mitigation sites.
• Developed draft mitigation plan.

National Historic Preservation Act
Conducted work toward compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with Class III Cultural Resources surveys of areas that will be disturbed.

Risk Planning#

Risk planning was conducted to identify uncertainties that could impact the project cost in categories such as:

• Design & construction
• Operations & maintenance
• Real estate acquisition
• Permitting
• Environmental mitigation

Each identified risk was assigned a cost impact and probability of occurrence to guide future cost planning.

Outreach and Communications#

In 2022, there were more than 5,500 customer ‘touchpoints’ via website visits, video views, newsletters, stakeholder communications, tours, events and presentations.

Real Property and Access Acquisition#

• Fort Collins Utilities is working with landowners to acquire easements for three phases of the project. Staff completed a comprehensive settlement agreement with the Landowners’ Association for Phantom Canyon Ranches related to lands near Halligan Reservoir and Halligan Dam.
• Staff completed an additional comprehensive settlement agreement with a key landowner along the main access road to Halligan Dam and lands northeast of the reservoir.

Design and Construction#

• Completed 30% design and the Technical Advisory Committee completed its comprehensive review.
• Updated the project risk registry.
• Planned the 2023 field investigation.
• Submitted a U.S. Highway 287 traffic study to Colorado Department of Transportation.
• The Independent Cost Estimator completed a cost estimation and incorporated it into the overall project estimate.
• Additionally, cost estimating and design took place for the final EIS and the FWMEP.

Looking Forward: What's Happening in 2023#

FWMEP
The FWMEP is expected to be finalized with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Cost Update
A formal cost update will be developed.

Continued Work

• 401 Water Quality Certification
• Preparation and release of the final EIS
• Endangered Species Act
• National Historic Preservation Act
• Ongoing data collection and analyses
• Review the FWMEP and present at future CPW Commission meetings

Project Timeline#

Click the button below to view the project's detailed status and timeline.

Project Status