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J, . . . . . Alternative A is the District's preferred alternative because it has low overall environmental impact and is consistent with the project purpose. It also has the lowest estimated life cycle cost and least cost per acre-foot of the three alternatives (A, B and C) that meet the project purpose. Project Update All of the alternatives would result in depletions to the IS-mile Reach of the Colorado River, which is considered critical habitat for four species of endangered fish. Extensive consultations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996 resulted in a mutually acceptable Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) for the project. The RPA, as documented in the February 1998 Final Biological Opinion for the project, allows the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin to serve as the RP A for both historic depletions by the District as well as the first 3,000 acre-feet of new depletions from the project. Future project depletions in excess of 3,000 acre-feet will require initiation of further Section 7 Consultation. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was completed in February 1998, and in May 1998, the Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision (ROD) favoring the District's preferred alternative. The Sierra Club and the Concerned Citizens Resource Association filed an appeal of the ROD in June 1998. The appeal included a Petition for Stay, which was denied by the Interior Board of Land Appeals (mLA) in July. A hearing on the appeal by the mLA is not expected for about two years. The right-of-way permit from the BLM was received on November 5, 1998. The Corps of Engineers issued a Section 404 Permit to the District in July 1998. Public hearings are scheduled before the Mesa County Planning Commission in December 1998 and the Board of County Commissioners in January 1999. The District and their consultants have updated the EIS cost estimate for the preferred alternative to reflect added design and construction items, a new contingency factor, and additional easement acquisition resulting in an increase of slightly more than $2.5 million. The resulting design and construction cost for the project is $32,855,000. Total project costs, including permitting and planning studies, are now estimated at $35,255,000. Water Ril!.hts The District has an extensive portfolio of water rights in the Plateau Creek and Rapid Creek basins as well as on the Colorado River. The estimated yield of the District's water rights to meet the year 204S demand indicates that all but about 4,000 acre-feet would be supplied from the Plateau Creek watershed and conveyed to the treatment plant by the Plateau Creek Pipeline. 3