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<br />- <br /> <br />"<:i" <br /> <br />C:J <br />o <br />o <br />o <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br /> <br />Environmental Assessment <br /> <br />Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region <br /> <br />1. Type of Action: Administrative (X) <br /> <br />Legislative ( ) <br /> <br />2. Description of the proposal: The Grand Valley Unit of the Colorado <br />River Basin Salinity Control Project is located in western Colorado in <br />the northwestern part of Mesa County and is designed to lower the salt <br />loading of the Colorado River by reducing the amount of water moving <br />through the saline substrata and the subsequent salt pickup. This would <br />be accomplished by a three-part program conducted by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation, U.S. Department of Interior, and the Soil Conservation <br />Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. A Water Systems Improvement <br />(WSI) program would be conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation and would <br />include 185 miles (300 km) of canals to be lined and 450 miles (720 km) <br />of laterals to be placed in pipe. On-farm Improvements, including the <br />upgrading of irrigation systems and an incentive program to improve <br />irrigation management, would be conducted by the Soil Conservation <br />Service to reduce deep percolation from on-farm systems and excess <br />irrigation. A program of Irrigation Management Services is presently <br />being operated by the Bureau of Reclamation in conjunction with the <br />salinity program to provide irrigators with precise data concerning <br />optimum timing and application of irrigation water. Full development <br />of the program is expected to take 10 years. <br /> <br />3. Summary of environmental impacts: The project would result in a <br />decreased annual salt load from the Grand Valley of 410,000 tons <br />(370 000 metric tons) and decreased salinity in the Colorado River <br />at Imperial Dam amounting to 43.0 mg/l. The project would result in <br />significant economic stimulus to the Grand Valley area during construction <br />and would provide economic benefits downstream of about $9,890,000 <br />annually. Approximately 200 acres (80 hectares) of marshes in the <br />valley would undergo a significant reduction in water supply, and <br />existing vegetation would revert to greasewood. A significant decline <br />in the quality of agricultural wildlife habitat would occur due to <br />losses of edge vegetation along ditches and on farms. Loss of edge <br />vegetation in agricultural areas would cause a decrease in upland game <br />in the area sufficient to support 8,000 hunting-days. This potential <br />loss would be offset by development of a wildlife area to support wild- <br />life oriented recreation in the valley. <br /> <br />4. Alternatives considered: <br />1. Nondevelopment <br />2. Modifications of the proposed plan <br />3. Desalinization facilities <br />4. Retirement of agricultural lands <br />5. Selective retirement of land <br />6. Combination of major systems <br />