Summit County Citizens Voice

A rendering of what the Over the River project might look like. Click on the image to see a gallery.

Colorado Trout Unlimited says initial draft study on art project is lacking mitigation and remediation details

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A proposal to drape fabric over several miles of the Arkansas River could result in land disturbance along the shoreline with the risk of increased sediments in the trout-rich waters, and potentially even increase the risk of a chemical or fuel spill, Colorado Trout Unlimited director Dave Nickum wrote in a Sept. 14 comment letter to the Bureau of Land Management.

The fishery conservation group outlined a series of concerns in the letter, asking the BLM to address all the issues in its final environmental impact statement for the proposal. The agency is taking public comment on the project and will issue a final environmental impact statement next year.

The Over the River Project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude involves covering several miles of the Arkansas River Canyon between Canon City and Salida with translucent fabric. The artists are known for large-scale projects that blend human elements into the natural landscape at a sometimes alarming scale.

The Colorado installation has been in a planning process for several years, as various jurisdictions consider whether it’s appropriate. Right now, the Bureau of Land Management is nearing the end of a public comment phase on a draft environmental study for the project.  The agency expects to release a final environmental impact statement in February 2011, with a final decision expected a couple of months later. Read the draft EIS here.

Like similar comments from other conservation groups, Trout Unlimited points out that the installation would effectively create a temporary industrial zone along the river, requiring the drilling of more that 9,100 anchor holes.

The proposed action would effectively create an industrial site along nearly six miles of the Arkansas River. The DEIS notes that 9100 anchor holes would be required for the installation of panels. In addition to the direct disturbance from the holes, movement of workers and construction equipment in building the Over the River infrastructure will disturb vegetation and soils.

Here’s what Colorado Trout Unlimited had to say about the risk of catastrophic failure:

“We are also concerned about the potential impacts should there be a catastrophic failure associated with the project. There are two dimensions of particular concern. First, while the DEIS speaks to the potential human safety risks associated with a panel collapse, it does not examine the risks such a failure would pose to aquatic and riparian habitats – nor does it describe how impacts from such a failure would be addressed.

“Like most of Colorado, the Arkansas River canyon periodically experiences high wind conditions which will put the panel design to a severe test – and given the history of how a similar installation fared in the face of wind at Rifle Gap this is more than a speculative concern. Similarly, severe thunderstorms and the potential associated movement of significant volumes of sediment could also pose risks to the installment and cause failure and impacts beyond the baseline expected.

It seems prudent to plan and prepare for potential failure both in terms of human safety and environmental protection, and an adequate contingency plan – including bonding sufficient to deal with restoration from a catastrophic failure, not just anticipated baseline reclamation – should be in place before any activity is authorized.”

The group also wants the BLM to take a Leave No Trace approach to the project, ensuring that there are no permanent impacts to the landscape and the habitat in the riparian corridor.

Finally, Colorado Trout Unlimited said the BLM’s draft study underestimates the potential impacts to recreational fishing. Read the entire comment letter here.

Filed under: BLM, Environment, Summit County Colorado Tagged: | Arkansas River, Christo, Over the River, Summit County Colorado, Summit County News