C150307 Final Supplimental Impact Statement

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION,PURPOSE OF,AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT • to satisfy non-structural water rights or for economic development. To provide flexibility in the use of the water acquisition fund,authorization would allow some or all of the funds to be redirected for on- farm development,water delivery infrastructure, and other water-related economic development. The public had an opportunity to provide input into the ALP Project proposal following release of the Notice of Intent(NOl)to Prepare a DSEIS,published in the January 4, 1999 Federal Register. Public scoping meetings were held on February 2, 3, and 4, 1999 in Durango,Colorado; Farmington,New Mexico; and Denver,Colorado,respectively. (Further discussion of public involvement activities is included in Chapter 6, Section 6.2.) Based on both written and oral input received during the scoping process,Reclamation added two alternatives to the list of alternatives originally envisioned for analysis in the DSEIS,bringing to 10 the number of alternatives considered,including both structural and non- structural components. Subsequently,2 of the 10 alternatives were further refined. All of the alternatives are discussed in detail in Chapter 2, Section 2.3, Evaluation of Alternatives, of the FSEIS. The DSEIS was released for public review and comment on January 14,2000 following publication of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. As mentioned previously in Section 1.1,Reclamation conducted public hearings on the ALP Project DSEIS on February 15, 16, and 17, 2000 in Durango, Colorado; Farmington,New Mexico; and Denver,Colorado,respectively. Notice of a 30-day extension of the public comment period was published in the Federal Register on March 9,2000; the public comment period closed on April 17,2000. Further information on the public hearings is also included in Section 6.2. 1.3 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT The purpose of and need for the proposed federal action is "... to implement the Settlement Act by providing the Ute Tribes an assured long-term water supply and water acquisition fund in order to satisfy the Tribes'senior water > rights claims as quantified in the Settlement Act, and to provide for identified M&I water needs in the Project area." [Federal Register Notice,January 4, 1999) Providing the Colorado Ute Tribes with an assured long-term water supply is necessary to protect g g- PP Y � rY P existing water users from senior water rights claims. The Colorado Ute Tribes will use this assured water supply to satisfy future M&I water demands on their reservations and to provide water for regional M&I needs. In addition to providing an assured water supply as a settlement of the Colorado Ute Tribes' senior water rights,the ALP Project as proposed provides a dependable long-term water supply for neighboring Indian and non-Indian community water needs, including the Navajo Nation at and near Shiprock,New Mexico, the ALPWCD and the SJWC. It should be noted that the non-federal parties of the Settlement Agreement,working with their congressional representatives,have introduced proposed legislation(H.R. 3112 and S. 2508)in response to the Administration Proposal and the ongoing NEPA process. The project purpose and need reflects the reality that the pending legislation will likely result in a modification to the Settlement Act which will eliminate the irrigation component and provide substitute benefits to the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes that are equivalent to those that the Tribes would have received under the Settlement Act. See Chapter 2, Section 2.1.1 for further discussion of this issue. 1-9 1.3 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT