Public Meeting Notice: Platte River Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

• Description: South Platte Basin Declining Species
• State: CO
• State: NE
• State: WY
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 2/19/1998
• Author: Curt Brown, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
• Title: Public Meeting Notice: Platte River Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Meeting

ESA by serving as the reasonable and prudent alternative under the ESA for existing and new
water- related activities.
4. Help prevent the need to list more species associated with the Platte River in
Nebraska as threatened or endangered pursuant to the ESA.
5. Accomplish these goals through a cooperative, basinwide approach that can be
agreed to by the three States and the Department of the Interior.
Details of the proposed program can be found in the Cooperative Agreement which may be
requested from this office or viewed on the Platte River website.
NEPA Analysis. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires agencies proposing
major Federal actions with the potential for significant environmental impacts to evaluate and
report to decisionmakers and the public the effects of proposed actions and a range of reasonable
alternatives. To comply with NEPA, the Department of the Interior is preparing a programmatic
environmental impact statement (PEIS) to evaluate the proposed program and alternatives. 2
Public Scoping. An important part of the NEPA analysis is early public input concerning the
scope of the PEIS. The purpose of scoping is to obtain the suggestions of the public regarding:
(1) alternative approaches to meeting the needs and purposes of the Federal action. For
example, are there more effective or feasible ways to improve or protect the habitat of the
four target species? Suggestions could address individual elements of a plan, such as
ways to conserve water or to improve habitat management, or could provide broader
options, such as reoperation of the Federal reservoirs in the Platte River Basin.
(2) impacts of the proposed program and alternatives that should be evaluated and
reported. For example, in addition to the effects of the alternatives on the habitat of the
target species, what are likely to be significant consequences of the various options that
should be considered and reported?
These comments and suggestions will help shape the draft PEIS. The draft PEIS will be released
for public review and comment.
Scoping Meetings. A series of meetings has been scheduled to provide information to the public
and obtain comments and suggestions. The scoping meetings will begin with a one -hour
informal open house. Staff working on the PEIS will be available to informally discuss the
issues, the proposed program, the NEPA process, and to answer questions. After one hour, the
formal scoping meeting will begin with a presentation and questions and answers about the
proposed program. Next, a short presentation with questions and answers will be made about the
NEPA process and scoping. Following this, all persons will have an opportunity to make formal
statements about the range of alternatives that should be considered and the types of impacts that
should be addressed in the PEIS. Staff will remain after this to continue informal discussions.
2 See Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for a
Recovery Implementation Program for Four Threatened and Endangered Species in the Central
Platte River Region and Announcement of Public Scoping Meetings, Federal Register
February 10, 1998.
Platte River EIS Office (303) 445 -2096 FAX [phone]