WSP08418

• File Number: 8220.114.I
• Description: Dolores Participating Project
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 3/24/1989
• Author: USDOI-BOR
• Title: Final Supplement to the Final Environmental Statement
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: EIS

SUMHARY

Introduction
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The Dolores Project is located in ~ontezuma and Dolores Counties in
southwestern Colorado. The area, predominantly rural and agriculturally
oriented, is part of a region frequently referred to as the Four Corners
because of the unique juncture of the States of Utah, Colorado, New
Hexico, 'HId Arizona. The northeastern edge of the project area lies
within the Do lares River Basin and the remainder within the San Juan
River Basin. Both basins are a part of the Upper Colorado River Basin.

l-lithin this a rea is the city of Cortez, the Hontezuma County seat
and major cOlumerdal center; the town of Dove Creek, the Dolores County
seat; and Towaoc, the headquarters of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The
town of Dolores is located on the Dolores River upstream of McPhee Dam
and Reservoir, just north of Cortez and the Montezuma Valley area.
Montezuma County, which contains major project features, had a population
of 16,510 in 1980, according to the U.S. Census. Most of the irrigated
agricultural land in the area lies in Montezuma Valley in the eastern
portion of the drainage around Cortez.

The three areas served by the Dolores Project are Montezuma Valley
in the central part of the project area, Dove Creek to the northwest,
and Towaoc to the south. All areas are mostly rural and agricultural.
Montezuma Valley and Dove Creek are within the boundaries of the Dolores
Water Conservancy District (DWCD). The Montezuma Valley Irrigation
Company (MVIC) is the oldest distributor of water in the project area,
having diverted water from the Dolores River to the McElmo Creek drainage
for approximately 100 years to serve irrigators and municipal and indus-
trial water users in the valley.

Regu.latory Compl!.!l~

This Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Statement (FES) was
prepared pursuant to Section 102(2) of Public Law 91-190, the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and Section 1502.9(c) of the
Council on Environnental Quality's Regulations for Implementin~~J:r~
cedural Provisions of the National Env~~~lt~l Policy Act. This Draft
Supplement, in conjunction with the 1977 FES and the 1981 Finding of No
Signi ficant Impact, provides addit ional NEPA compliance and puts the
Dolores Project in compliance with Executive Order 11990, Protection of
Wetlands; Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Hanagement; Public Law
95-217, Clean Water Act; Public La" 88-206, Clean Air Act; Puhlic Law
93-205, Endangered Species Act, as amended; Public Law 85-624, Fish and
IHldlHe Coordination Act; Public Law 89-665, as amended by Public Law
96-515, the National Ristoric Preservation Act; Public La" 96-95, the
Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979; and applicable environ-
mental regulations or instructions of the Bureau of Reclamation.

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