[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: [email protected] 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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