Laserfiche WebLink
Chapter 1— Purpose of and Need for Action <br />Because the Governance Committee established 1997 conditions as the baseline for assessing changes in <br />riverflows and other key resources, the quantification of the Present Condition for the EIS also uses a <br />1997 hydrologic baseline. For other resources areas (e.g., agricultural economics), more recent data are <br />sometimes used. <br />FORMULATION OF THE ACTION ALTERNATIVES <br />Under NEPA, an EIS must formulate and evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives for meeting the <br />purpose of and need for the proposed action. As described in the Notice of Intent for this EIS (Federal <br />Register, February 10, 1998), the purposes and need for the Program are to accomplish the goals and <br />objectives of the Program (described above) through a Basinwide, cooperative approach that can be <br />agreed to by the three States and Interior. <br />To meet these requirements, each alternative must generally match with the key Program Principles listed <br />above. For example, in order to be an alternative that could be implemented in a Basinwide, cooperative <br />fashion, an alternative could not propose to acquire habitat lands through condemnation. Similarly, while <br />changes in State water law, Federal laws and project authorizations, and Federal and private contracts <br />may be necessary to implement specific projects (for example, to facilitate water leasing in Nebraska), no <br />changes in interstate water compacts, decrees, or water apportionments are considered. <br />The Governance Committee Alternative was formulated by the Governance Committee within these <br />principles. The other action alternatives were formulated within these principles by the EIS team.21 More <br />detail on the development and screening of alternatives is given in chapter 3, "Description of <br />the Alternatives." <br />PROGRAMMATIC ANALYSIS <br />This is a "programmatic" DEIS. As such, it broadly evaluates the range of impacts reasonably likely to <br />result from implementing a Program for which many of the site - specific details of implementation are not <br />yet known. For example, the Water Action Plan and the Land Action Plan for the Governance Committee <br />Alternative describe approaches to providing needed water and land for the species. <br />However, the precise location or details of some potential actions, such as leasing of water or land, <br />depend(s) on participation by willing sellers /lessors and, therefore, cannot yet be specified. Effects of the <br />Program must therefore be analyzed at a more general, or programmatic, level. <br />Z'The EIS team is comprised of staff from the Bureau of Reclamation and the Service. See attachment, List of Preparers. <br />December 2003 <br />0 <br />