Case No. 3:07-cv-08164-DGC Grand Canyon Trust v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation December 7 2007

• Description: Case No. 3:07-cv-08164-DGC Grand Canyon Trust v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation December 7 2007
• State: CO
• Date: 12/7/2007
• Title: Case No. 3:07-cv-08164-DGC Grand Canyon Trust v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation December 7 2007
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Court Documents

L
1
1
['I
fl
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
critical habitat. Rather, this program of steady flows would support all life stages of the
chub, including breeding and rearing young in the mainstem of the Colorado River.
46. FWS imposed the seasonally adjusted steady flow requirement based on
the best available scientific and commercial data available. RPA 1(A) ensures the
delivery of water in accordance with the Colorado River Compact. RPA 1(A) also
ensures compliance with the Grand Canyon Protection Act's mandate to "protect,
mitigate adverse impacts to and improves values for which Grand Canyon National Park
and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were established." In requiring seasonally
adjusted steady flows, FWS considered the notion that steady flows could impact
nonnative fish populations.
47. RPA 1(A) required Reclamation to design a specific flow pattern that
achieved seasonally adjusted steady flows by October 1996. Reclamation completed its
design and included it as an alternative in the 1995 Final Environmental Impact
Statement and 1996 ROD. RPA 1(A) also required Reclamation to test the design's
efficacy by April 1998. The time period for testing had to be sufficient to allow for
"biological processes to function and for variability inherent in riverine ecosystems to
be expressed." In all subsequent low water years, Reclamation is required by RPA1(A)
to implement either Reclamation's tested experimental design, or the seasonally adjusted
steady flow program detailed in the Biological Opinion. The Biological Opinion's
seasonally adjusted steady flow program was the default program in the event
Reclamation's experimental program had not made sufficient progress.
48. Reclamation has not tested a seasonally adjusted steady flow program in
accordance with the 1994 Biological Opinion. On June 13, 2002, FWS provided
Reclamation with an "insufficiency letter," explaining that since the completion of the
Biological Opinion, Reclamation had not complied with RPA 1(A). FWS sent similar
insufficiency letters in 1997 and 1999. Through 2007, Reclamation has never
implemented seasonally adjusted steady flows during low water years. Since the
completion of the 1994 Biological Opinion, additional population declines of the
Complaint 15
Case 3:07 -cv- 08164 -DGC Document 1 Filed 12/07/2007 Page 15 of 20