[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56580-56582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22542]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Navajo Unit, Colorado River Storage Project, New Mexico and 
Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public hearings for the 
Navajo Reservoir Operations Draft Environmental Impact Statement, 
INTDES0235.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 (as amended), the Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Reclamation (Reclamation), has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) on the operations of the Navajo Unit (Navajo Dam and 
Reservoir) of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP).
    The DEIS describes the environmental impacts of alternatives to 
operate Navajo Dam and Reservoir to implement the flow recommendations 
provided by the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program 
(Recovery Program). The purpose of the proposed federal action is to 
provide sufficient releases of water at times, quantities, and 
durations necessary to conserve the two endangered fish species, the 
razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow (formerly Colorado squawfish), 
and their designated critical habitat in the San Juan River downstream 
from Farmington, New Mexico. Reclamation would maintain the authorized 
purposes of the Navajo Unit which include enabling future water 
development to proceed in the San Juan River Basin in compliance with 
applicable laws, compacts, court decrees, and Indian trust 
responsibilities.
    The DEIS describes and analyzes three alternatives. Under the first 
alternative (No Action Alternative), which describes historical 
operations of Navajo Reservoir from 1973 to 1991, the flow 
recommendations would not be met. Under the second alternative (250/
5000 Alternative) (Flow Recommendations), Reclamation would implement 
the flow recommendations by modifying the operations of Navajo 
Reservoir to provide sufficient releases of water to conserve the 
endangered fish and their designated critical habitat. The

[[Page 56581]]

third alternative (500/5000 Alternative) considered in the DEIS would 
not fully meet the flow recommendations.

DATES: A 60-day public review period commences with the publication of 
this notice. Written comments on the DEIS are due by November 4, 2002, 
and should be submitted to Ken Beck at the address given below. Public 
hearings will be held during the month of October in New Mexico, 
Colorado, and Utah. The public hearings schedule is as follows:
    [sbull] October 1, 2002, 6 to 9 p.m., Farmington Civic Center, 200 
West Arrington, Farmington, New Mexico.
    [sbull] October 2, 2002, 6 to 9 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, 501 Camino 
Del Rio, Durango, Colorado.
    [sbull] October 3, 2002, 6 to 9 p.m., Community Center, 190 North 
Third East, Bluff, Utah.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS and requests for copies should 
be addressed to Ken Beck, Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area 
Office, 835 East Second Avenue, Suite 400, Durango, Colorado 81301; 
telephone (970) 3856558; faxogram (970) 3856539; e-mail: 
[email protected]. The DEIS is also available on Reclamation's 
Web site at http://www.uc.usbr.gov (click on Environmental Documents).
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. If you 
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.
    Copies of the DEIS are also available for public review and 
inspection at the following locations:
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Main Interior, Room 7060MIB, 1849 C 
Street, NW, Washington, DC 202400001
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Denver 
Federal Center, Building 67, Room 167, Denver, Colorado 802250007
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Regional Office, 125 
South State Street, Room 6107, Salt Lake City, Utah 841381102
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office, 835 
East Second Avenue, Suite 400, Durango, Colorado 81301
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Western Colorado Area Office, 2764 
Compass Drive, Suite 106, Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
    [sbull] New Mexico State, Local Government Division, Attention: Ken 
Hughes, Bataan Memorial Building, Room 201, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503

Libraries

Cortez Public Library, Cortez, Colorado
Denver Public Library, Denver, Colorado
Durango Public Library, Durango, Colorado
Fort Lewis College Library, Durango, Colorado
Albuquerque Public Library, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bloomfield Library, Bloomfield, New Mexico
Farmington Public Library, Farmington, New Mexico
San Juan College Library, Farmington, New Mexico
Dine' College Library, Shiprock, New Mexico

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Beck, Bureau of Reclamation, 835 
East Second Avenue, Suite 400, Durango, Colorado 81301, telephone (970) 
3856558.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Navajo 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 and is operated in 
accordance with the CRSP Act and applicable Reclamation and other 
federal laws.
    After completion of the Navajo Unit in December 1962, the focus of 
the criteria for releasing water from Navajo Dam was primarily on 
meeting irrigation needs, providing flood control, maintaining stable 
river flows, and providing a recreation pool in Navajo Reservoir. Over 
the last decade, however, the focus of the criteria and associated 
patterns for releasing water from the Navajo Unit was modified to 
accommodate endangered fish research and recovery efforts in the San 
Juan River due to Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations.
    Formal consultation under the ESA on the Navajo Unit was requested 
by Reclamation in 1991. At that time, Reclamation committed to operate 
Navajo Dam in concert with ongoing research to determine hydrologic 
conditions beneficial to endangered fish and in a manner most 
consistent with endangered fish recovery. In a 1991 response to 
Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service concurred that the 
consultation process should be initiated and that the consultation 
period for the operations of the Navajo Unit be extended while research 
on the San Juan River was conducted.
    Under the direction of the Recovery Program, Navajo Dam releases 
were evaluated from 1992 to 1998. At the completion of the research 
period, the Recovery Program completed the Flow Recommendations for the 
San Juan River (Holden, 1999). The recommendations included suggested 
Navajo Dam operating rules for various hydrologic conditions and levels 
of water development in the San Juan River Basin. Applying these rules 
would allow the flow recommendations to be met and water development to 
proceed consistent with the ESA and other applicable laws.

Proposed Federal Action

    Reclamation proposes to operate Navajo Dam and Reservoir to 
implement ESA-related flow recommendations on the San Juan River in a 
manner which allows for both current and certain future water 
depletions, which have obtained appropriate environmental compliance 
but are not yet exercised, to proceed.
    This change in reservoir operation would assist in conserving 
endangered fish in the San Juan River downstream from Farmington, New 
Mexico, and in enabling water development to proceed in the San Juan 
River Basin in compliance with applicable laws, compacts, court 
decrees, and American Indian trust responsibilities. To accomplish this 
action, Reclamation would operate Navajo Dam to meet the authorized 
project purposes while modifying reservoir release patterns to meet 
flow recommendations designed to maintain or improve habitat for the 
razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow.

Hearing Process Information

    Oral comments at the hearings will be limited to five minutes. The 
hearing officer may allow any speaker to provide additional oral 
comments after all persons wishing to comment have been heard. All 
comments will be formally recorded. Speakers not present when called 
will lose their privilege in the scheduled order and will be recalled 
at the end of the scheduled speakers. Speakers are encouraged to 
provide written versions of their oral comments, and any other 
additional written materials, for the hearing/administrative record.
    Written comments from those unable to attend or those wishing to 
supplement their oral presentations at the hearings should be received 
by Reclamation's Western Colorado Area Office in Durango at the address 
given

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above no later than November 4, 2002, for inclusion in the hearing/
administrative record. Under the NEPA process, written and oral 
comments, received by the due date, are given the same consideration.

    Dated: August 5, 2002.
Rick L. Gold,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 02-22542 Filed 9302; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310MNP