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;} < ! Volume 8 Colorado Riller Studies Office Fall 1994 Tremendous Public Response to Draft Environmental Impact Statement B.v: Ralph Becker, COflsultaflt B(arWes( The public displayed overv.-hclming interc!'o{ by submitting more than 33.000 ....Tinen comments on tbe Draft Em-iron. mental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam. In addition, hearings in seven cities were attended by over 500 individuals, .....ltb about ISO specific issues and concerns addreMoed. As the .....Tinen comment deadline approached, stacks of mail mounted. and people worked around the clock to carefully altend to each piece of corre!'opundl."nce. In !'oome instances comments were dOlens of pages; in other instance!., comments were brief notes. A large proportion of [be final tota] of comments wa!'o form letters and preprinted c.artis. The comments arc being re\iewed by members of [he EIS team, and the EIS is being re-evaluated in light of those comments as the team begins to con.<;ider changes for the final EIS. Every comment is recehing allention. A summar)' of comments has heen prepared and organized ....ith more than 2,300 distinct issues and concerns being extracted from the oral and .....Tilten comments on the draft EIS. Some concern!> ......ere repeated hundred!> or even thou!>ands of times. A report on the public comments is being prepared that .....111 include a summary llf the comments, a brief analysis of the types of comments on major topics, and a re\leW of [he process followed by Reclamation and the cooperating agencies in developing [he draft EIS. Comments have come from all across the United States and from international sources. The breadth of interest in the EIS l<; as varied as the diversity of interests in the operations of the dam. the Grand CanYlm. and the variou~ re~uurces and use!. affected. Some of the comments have fncused on thc EIS proce~ itself. In various ways. interested persons, organizations, and go....ernment agencic!. have questioned aspects of the;: scientific or emnomic analysi~ thai forms Ihe foundation of the EIS conclusions. Tho~e comments are being evaluated by the in(erdi~ciplinary team that has been working on the EIS. Others interested in the EIS process have questioned the balancing of values between human and economic interests and en\lronmental protection. Comments on the alternative!. (the "heart" of the EIS) were numerous. Like commenlS on virtually all elements of the draft EIS. Ihe)' e"'pressed divergent points of view on the range of alternati\.es. The preferred alternative, calling for a modified low nuctuating now in dam operations, received considerable support, but almost alway~ ....lth a caveal or suggestil)n for improvement. Public comment focused on the Adaptive ~tanagement Program (A~1P) and continuing research programs. often requesting more information about the make-up of those programs. suggesting changes. or cxpre~ing \"arious levels of supporl. (Continued on Page 9)