[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53407-53408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25475]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement on the Operations of the Navajo Unit, Colorado River Storage
Project, New Mexico and Colorado and Announcement of Public Scoping
Meetings
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement on the operations of the Navajo Unit, Colorado River Storage
Project, New Mexico and Colorado and announcement of public scoping
meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), announces its intent to prepare a draft environmental
impact statement (DEIS), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, on the Navajo Unit (Unit). The DEIS
will describe the effects of operating the Unit to implement the flow
recommendations provided by the San Juan River Basin Recovery
Implementation Program (Program). The purpose of the proposed action is
to mimic the natural hydrograph of the San Juan River to create and
maintain habitat and a healthy biological community in order to
conserve populations of two endangered fishes, the razorback sucker and
the Colorado pikeminnow (formerly Colorado squawfish), while
maintaining the other authorized purposes of the Unit, Colorado River
Storage Project (CRSP). Such conservation is consistent with the
recovery goals established under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.
Reclamation invites other federal agencies, states, Indian Tribes,
local governments, and the general public to submit written comments or
suggestions concerning the scope of the issues to be addressed in the
DEIS. The public is invited to participate in a series of scoping
meetings that will be held in November in Colorado and New Mexico (see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section). Those not desiring to submit
comments or suggestions at this time, but who would like to receive a
copy of the DEIS, should write to the addresses below. When the DEIS is
complete, its availability will be announced in the Federal Register,
local news media, and through direct contact with interested parties so
that comments can be solicited.
DATES AND LOCATIONS: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting
dates and locations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jone Wright, Bureau of Reclamation,
Western Colorado Area Office, Northern Division, 2764 Compass Drive,
Suite 106, Grand Junction, Colorado 81506, telephone: (970) 248-0636.
FAX: (970) 248-0601. E-Mail: jwright@uc.usbr.gov or refer to
Reclamation's web site at www.uc.usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Unit was authorized by Congress in 1956 as one of four key
features of the CRSP intended to develop the water resources of the
Upper Colorado River Basin for the purposes of:
* * * regulating the flow of the Colorado River, storing water
for beneficial consumptive use, making it possible for the States of
the Upper Basin to utilize, consistently with the provisions of the
Colorado River Compact, the apportionments made to and among them in
the Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin
Compact, respectively, providing for the reclamation of arid and
semiarid lands, for the control of floods, and for the generation of
hydroelectric power, as an incident to the foregoing purposes . * *
*
Other project purposes include a municipal and industrial water
supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife.
Operations
After completion of the Unit in December 1963, the focus of the
criteria for releasing water from the dam was primarily on meeting
irrigation needs, providing flood control, maintaining stable flows,
and providing a recreation pool in Navajo Reservoir. Over the last
decade, however, the focus of the criteria and associated pattern for
releasing water from the Unit has changed. The effects that Unit
operations have had on endangered fishes and trout have resulted in
various
[[Page 53408]]
commitments by Reclamation to evaluate those effects and consider
implementing the flow recommendations.
Formal consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on the
Unit was requested by Reclamation in a July 30, 1991, memorandum to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Reclamation committed at that
time to, among other things, operate Navajo Dam in the manner most
consistent with endangered fish recovery, including mimicking a natural
hydrograph if that is the recommended course, for the life of Navajo
Dam. In an August 19, 1991, response to Reclamation, the Service
concurred that the consultation process should be initiated, and that
the consultation period for the operations of the Unit be extended
while research on the San Juan River was conducted.
Flow Recommendations
Under the direction of the Program's Biology Committee, test
releases were conducted and evaluated during the 1992-1998 research
period. At the completion of the research period, the Biology Committee
completed a report, entitled Flow Recommendations for the San Juan
River (1999), which provides recommended flows for the endangered
fishes in the San Juan River below Farmington, New Mexico. The
recommendations define the conditions for mimicking a natural
hydrograph in terms of magnitude, duration, and frequency of flows in
the San Juan River.
If the Service follows these recommendations in future biological
opinions, then the flow criteria or a reasonable alternative would have
to be met to avoid jeopardy. These recommendations have been accepted
by the Program's Coordination Committee and have been provided to the
Service for their use in future Section 7 consultations.
Related Projects
Subsequent consultations with the Service on other San Juan Basin
projects and associated federal actions included the operation of the
Unit as an element of the proposed plan or the resulting reasonable and
prudent alternative. These related projects include conversion of
irrigation water to municipal and industrial water on the Mancos
Project, Florida Project water sale contracts, the Animas La-Plata
Project, and completion of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP)
and related water service contracts.
The Proposed Federal Action
Reclamation proposes to prepare a DEIS which will describe the
effects of operating the Unit to implement the flow recommendations, or
reasonable alternatives, as contained in the recommendation from the
Program's Biology Committee resulting from consultation under the ESA.
Reclamation would implement the proposed action by modifying the
operations decision criteria of the Unit. Modifying the operations
would provide sufficient releases of water at times, quantities, and
durations necessary to mimic the natural hydrograph of the river to
create and maintain habitat and to maintain a healthy biological
community in order to conserve populations of two endangered fishes,
while maintaining the other authorized purposes of the Unit.
Public Scoping
Scoping meetings will be held in Farmington, New Mexico;
Albuquerque, New Mexico; Durango, Colorado; and Pagosa Springs,
Colorado in early November 1999 for the purpose of obtaining public
input on the significant issues related to the proposed action. The
schedule and locations for the meetings are shown below. The public is
asked to provide input on the following:
1. Identification of relevant issues related to the proposed action.
2. Whether the overall range of alternatives is appropriate.
Schedule of Scoping Meetings
The following scoping meetings will be conducted in New Mexico and
Colorado.
November 3, 1999, from 6-9 p.m., Farmington Civic Center,
200 W. Arrington, Farmington, New Mexico.
November 4, 1999, from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel,
501 Camino Del Rio, Durango, Colorado.
November 9, 1999, from 6-9 p.m., Crown Plaza Pyramid, 5151
San Francisco Road, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
November 10, 1999, from 6-9 p.m., Pagosa Inn, 3565 Highway
160, Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Dated: September 24, 1999.
Charles A. Calhoun,
Regional Director, Upper Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 99-25475 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]
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