7281 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

?J CHAPTER II ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION is unlikely since the necessary funds are assumed unlikely and because the States may not administer instream flow ' rights. (3) Water rights acquisition: Under the Proposed Action, States will commit to cooperate in obtaining water rights to protect instream flows. Under the "No Action" alternative, States have no such commitment. b. Section 7 consultation: Under the Proposed Action, the Recovery Implementation Committee may suggest actions which can be used in Section 7 opinions in the Upper Basin to recover the rare fishes. Assuming the Committee can secure instream flows and reduce the ' threat posed by depletions, under future Section 7 consultation, depletion impacts can be indirectly offset with a monetary contribution toward the Recovery Implementation Program. The "No ' Action" alternative does not have a means to counteract the threat posed by depletions other than through the Section 7 consultation process. Because of this, Section 7 biological opinions are likely to pursue direct offset of project depletions, i.e., require project sponsors to offset depletion impacts through physical measures such as changing project design, operation, or by providing offsetting flows. c. Fish passage facilities: Under the Proposed Action, a special $5 million construction fund will help finance construction of ' fish passage facilities at sites essential to the recovery of the rare fishes. Under the "No Action" alternative, limited recovery funding will probably constrain construction to one fish passage ' facility, at best. d. Actions common to both alternatives--rate of implementation: In ' general, enhanced cooperation and funding will allow actions to proceed at a faster pace under the Proposed Action than the "No Action" alternative. However, the following should be noted:. (1) Section 7 consultation on operating Reclamation projects is expected to proceed at the same pace under both alternatives. The pace of consultation for these projects is determined ' more by research needs than funding. (2) Section 7 consultation on Reclamation projects under ' construction will examine depletion and nondepletion impacts under the "No Action" alternative, and nondepletion impacts only under the Proposed Action. (3) Section 7 consultations on proposed water projects are ' expected to be completed in a more expeditious fashion under the Proposed Action, since it will take less time for the , Service to calculate a monetary contribution than formulate a project-specific modification directly offsetting depletion impacts. II-10