7041 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

a. Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement and Glen Canyon Environmental Studies In 1982 the Department of the Interior (DOI) initiated the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies (GCES) to quantify and qualify the environmental and recreational impacts of the operations of Glen Canyon Dam. Phase I of these studies was completed in 1988. Upon review by DOI, it was determined that additional data were required on the impacts ofIow and fluctuating flows before any conclusions could be made. Phase II of the GCES was directed to begin in November of 1988 and was completed in draft form in December of 1991. The final report is scheduled for completion in March of 1992. On July 27, 1989, the Secretary of the Interior directed that an environmental impact statement (EIS) be prepared on the operation of Glen Canyon Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) was directed to be the lead agency, with other agencies having jurisdictional responsibilities in the area as cooperating agencies. The number of cooperating agencies has grown from the original four to eleven. These include: the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Reclamation (lead agency), National Park Service, Office of Environmental Affairs, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service); the Native American Havasupai, Hopi, and Hualapi tribes and the Navajo Nation; and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). The primary objective of the Glen eanyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement (GeDEIS), as stated in the GeDEIS Management Plan, is to evaluate the impacts of current and alternative dam operations on the downstream environment and ecological resources of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand eanyon National Park. The alternative dam operations to be examined will range from those that emphasize the potential to conserve and maintain the downstream resources to those that emphasize peaking power production. The EIS will identify and quantify, to the fullest extent possible, the benefits, values and application of the dam and the resources affected by the dam, including, but not limited to, water supply, water quality, recreation, cultural resources, hydroelectric power generation and fish and wildlife (including threatened and endangered species), in light of the statutory responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior. 34