National Environmental Policy Act Review

On March 20, 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation issued its Record of Decision (ROD) for SDS, completing its review of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Reclamation’s review of the project under NEPA included the publication of a Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that analyzed seven potential alternatives for the project.

The ROD describes Reclamation’s environmental review, the alternatives they analyzed and some of required mitigation. The ROD, signed by Regional Director Michael Ryan of Reclamation’s Great Plains Region, cleared the way for the project participants to negotiate SDS-related water storage, conveyance and exchange contracts with Reclamation for the Preferred Alternative from Pueblo Dam. Although the Project Participants own rights to the water they will obtain through SDS, the contracts with Reclamation are required because the project will make use of water stored and managed by Reclamation as part of the federal Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which includes Pueblo Reservoir.

The water contracts between Reclamation and the Project Participants will incorporate comprehensive mitigation requirements outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The mitigation requirements will require the Project Participants to monitor and offset potential impacts in eight categories: surface water, vegetation, wildlife, recreation, wetlands, stream bank and channel stability, water quality and others.

NEPA-Review Milestones

The Record of Decision by the Bureau of Reclamation completes a lengthy review required by the federal National Environmental Policy Act that began more than five years ago with a review of a number of potential alternatives, including the seven ultimately included in the environmental impact statement for the project.

Some major milestones in the NEPA review: