Reclamation Announces Additional Public Comment on Water Quality for SDS Draft EIS

(Bureau of Reclamation News Release, August 25, 2008)

Reclamation, under the National Environmental Policy Act, announces the opportunity to provide additional comment on the water quality analysis portion of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Southern Delivery System.

The original 60-day comment period for the Draft EIS was scheduled to end on April 26, 2008, but was extended to June 13, 2008. Comments received during this period expressed a concern about the section addressing water quality analysis. In order to address these comments, an additional water quality analysis is being prepared for the Draft EIS. This analysis will augment and reinforce the existing analysis for the Draft EIS.

Reclamation will continue to receive comments on the existing water quality portion of the Draft EIS while the additional analysis is performed. When completed, the additional analysis will be made available for public review and comment over a 45-day period.

The complete Southern Delivery System Draft EIS, Draft EIS Summary, and related documents are available at www.sdseis.com. For additional questions regarding the Draft EIS, or to request a copy of the Draft EIS Summary, please contact Kara Lamb at (970) 0962-4326 or klamb@gp.usbr.gov.

Comment from Colorado Springs Utilities

Additional study and comment are routinely done as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

Colorado Springs Utilities believes Reclamation’s decision to seek more comment and conduct additional water quality analysis is how the NEPA process is intended to work. NEPA calls for public input and additional analysis when warranted. Reclamation received a number of comments on water quality issues. We think additional information on water quality will only improve the scientific thoroughness of the study.

While we expect the Bureau of Reclamation will complete its work as soon as possible, we also believe it’s important for the Final EIS to be thorough and complete. We’re confident the public comment and Reclamation’s review will result in an even better project.