Animas-La PLata Project Environmental Impact Statement

CHAPTER1
INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE OF, AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT
Based on the Supreme Court's decision in Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564 (1908), when Congress
or the President establishes an Indian Reservation, there is reserved the amount of water necessary in
order to accomplish the purposes of the reservation. Under the Winters doctrine, the priority date to
which the reservation is entitled is no later than the date of creation of the reservation. One of the unique
aspects of Indian reserved water rights is that they are not subject to the beneficial use requirements ( "use
or lose ") of state water law. Indian water rights, therefore, may not be diminished for failing to meet a
beneficial use standard under state law. As a general rule, Indian water rights are very senior and
because these rights are premised on sufficient water being reserved to insure full utilization of the
purposes of the reservation, both presently and in the future, Indian water rights are usually sizeable in
quantity.
The Colorado Ute Tribes reserved water rights arise from an 1868 treaty with the United States. 15 stat.
619. This treaty states that the land which is now part of the reservation was "set apart for the absolute
and undisturbed use and occupation" by the Ute Tribes. Art. XIII. Additionally, the treaty provides for
the basic tools, facilities and livestock needed to become self - sustaining. Based on these broad purposes,
the tribes are entitled to make a claim for water in the Animas and La Plata basins. With the reservations
containing over 25,000 acres of arable lands in the immediate vicinity (13,780 acres of which were to be
irrigated by the original ALP Project), a sizable claim could be made on behalf of the tribes. In return for
not asserting a potentially sizeable claim, the Ute tribes will receive a much smaller amount of "wet
water" for settling their Winters rights.
Because the Animas La Plata project is a settlement of the Colorado Ute Tribes Winters rights, the
ultimate use of the water is left to tribal discretion in accordance with federal law. As of this time the
tribes have not conclusively specified to what end uses they will put their water. Because NEPA requires
the federal government to take a hard look at the potential environmental consequences of any proposed
action, Reclamation, in conjunction with input from the tribes, developed potential water use scenarios .
on how the tribes could put their water to use in order to effectively evaluate the potential environmental
effects of settling the water rights claims of the Colorado Ute Tribes and providing for identified M &I
uses in the project area. We believe this approach fulfills the requirements of NEPA while not impinging
upon the sovereignty of the Colorado Ute Tribes.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THIS FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
This FSEIS has been prepared to meet the procedural requirements of NEPA, following the regulations
established by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Parts 1500 to 1508) (Regulations). Those regulations provide the legal and regulatory guidelines for
preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). This FSEIS incorporates by reference the 1996
FSFES and the 1980 FES to eliminate duplication and repetitive discussions of the same issues, and also
incorporates information from the 1996 FSFES and 1980 FES (40 CFR 1508.28 and 1500.40)).
The purpose of this FSEIS is to supplement the 1996 FSFES and 1980 FES for the ALP Project. The
CEQ Regulations state that federal agencies shall prepare supplements to final EIS documents when:
❑ Substantial changes have been made in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental
concerns (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(1)(I)); and
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THIS FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL
r�l' ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 1 -10