Public Notice: Water Quality Certification for the Hess Lateral Improvement on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation

Summary

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the Florida Consolidated Ditch Company for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) for the above project. Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate. 

EPA acts as the certifying authority in areas of Indian country[1] on behalf of those Tribes that have not received treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for Section 401. In this case the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has authority to provide CWA Section 401 certification for discharges occurring within any lands on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation that are held in trust by the United States for that Tribe. In this case the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has authority to provide CWA Section 401 certification for discharges occurring within any lands on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation that are held in trust by the United States for that Tribe. However, neither the State of Colorado nor the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has the authority to provide CWA Section 401 certification for discharges occurring within any lands on the Reservation that are not held in trust by the United States for that Tribe. Because the project is entirely within fee lands within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, and will not run through trust land, the EPA is the certifying authority.

EPA will act on this certification request by either: 

1. granting certification;
2. granting certification with conditions; 
3. denying certification; or 
4. expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.

Project Description

The proposed project would be covered under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) CWA Section 404 Regional General Permit (RGP) 5. RGP 5 authorizes activities that result in discharges of dredged and/or fill material into jurisdictional irrigation and drainage ditches within the state of Colorado. To the extent that a USACE CWA Section 404 permit is required, activities authorized by this RGP include: construction of irrigation ditches, relocation/realignment of existing irrigation ditches, converting existing ditches into pipes, filling of existing ditches, and lining or armoring existing ditches. This RGP also authorizes temporary structures, fills, and work, including the use of temporary mats, necessary to conduct the ditch related activity.

Applicant’s Name

Florida Consolidated Ditch Company

Location 

37.140128, -107.848058 to 37.096492, -107.862403 on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation

Waterways

Wetlands in the Florida River Watershed

The proposed project will convert 3.3. miles of the earthen Hess Lateral Ditch and 1.2 miles of private irrigation ditch to a buried, pressurized pipeline. The project area starts approximately 9 miles south of Durango, Colorado and proceeds south along Highway 550.

Standard trenching practices will be used to install the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline. Twenty-four turnouts will be incorporated into the pipeline to provide water access for irrigation. Stretches of decommissioned ditch either will be abandoned in place or will be backfilled and stabilized following proper engineering procedures. Revegetation of all disturbed areas will occur after completion of the project.

The project will temporarily impact 0.12 acres of wetlands and permanently impact 2.14 acres of wetlands within the ditch corridor.

Public Comments

Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. Comments must be submitted by 11:59 pm on January 30, 2026.

All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Jeffrey Ullman (R8CWA401@epa.gov ; 303-312-6329) to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification.

At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request.

Notification and details of any public comment period extension will be posted to this page only. Interested parties on our email list will also be notified by email.  

Public Hearings

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage. 

Project Applicant 

Jason Cole (fcdcorporations@gmail.com)
Florida Consolidated Ditch Company

Authorized Agent

Noah Greenberg (ngreenberg@wrightwater.com)
Wright Water Engineers, Inc.