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Interim Guidelines for the <br />Operation of Lake Powell <br />and Lake Mead <br />as climate change and deepening drought, implement operational rules for along -but <br />not permanent period in order to gain valuable operating experience, and continue to <br />have the federal government facilitate -but not dictate informed decision-making in <br />the Basin. <br />Today, this Record of Decision (ROD) constitutes the Department's final decision after <br />facilitating, analyzing, and considering public input over the past two and one-half <br />years, during which the ongoing drought continued to focus nationwide attention on the <br />Basin. Abroad range of considerations have been analyzed, involving water supply, <br />environmental protection, hydropower production, and recreation -all benefits that <br />flow from the management of the Colorado River. <br />This document is the ROD of the Department of the Interior, regarding the Preferred <br />Alternative for Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and <br />Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead (Guidelines). The Secretary is <br />vested with the responsibility of managing the mainstream waters of the lower Colorado <br />River pursuant to federal law. This responsibility is carried out consistent with <br />applicable federal law. <br />The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the agency that is designated to act on the <br />Secretary's behalf with respect to these matters, is the lead federal agency for the <br />purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act. The Final Environmental Impact <br />Statement Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and <br />Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake plead, dated October 2007, (FES- <br />07-37) (Final EIS) was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of <br />1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) Regulations <br />for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations <br />[CFR] Parts 1500 through 1508), Department of the Interior Policies, and <br />Reclamation's NEPA Handbook. The Final EIS was filed with the Environmental <br />Protection Agency (EPA) on October 26, 2007 and noticed by EPA (72 Fed. Reg. <br />62229) and Reclamation (72 Fed. Reg. 62272) in the Federal Register on November 2, <br />2007. <br />The Final EIS was prepared by Reclamation to address the formulation and evaluation <br />of specific interim guidelines for shortage determinations and coordinated reservoir <br />operations, and to identify the potential environmental effects of implementing such <br />guidelines. The Final EIS addresses the environmental issues associated with, and <br />analyzes the environmental consequences of various alternatives for specific interim <br />guidelines. The alternatives addressed in the Final EIS are those Reclamation <br />determined would meet the purpose of and need for the federal action and represented a <br />broad range of the most reasonable alternatives. <br />The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park <br />Service (NPS), Western Area Power Administration (Western) and the United States <br />Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) are <br />December 2007 ROD -Colorado River Interim Guidelines for <br />2 Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated <br />Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead <br />