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<br />000100 <br /> <br />II. Proposed Action and Alternatives <br /> <br />A. Cloud Seeding Proposal <br /> <br />Since the 1960's, the Bureau of Reclamation has conducted an atmospheric <br />resources research program as part of its General Investigations Program <br />in response to congressional directives to pursue research and development <br />activities to determine the utility of cloud seeding technology as an <br />alternative means of increasing the Nation's water supplies. As a result <br />of this effort, the Bureau has developed a proposal for a demonstration <br />cloud seeding project of limited duration in the CRB. It is called CREST <br />(the Colorado River Enhanced Snowpack Test). <br /> <br />Winter orographic clouds that are not efficient naturally can be seeded <br />to produce increased precipitation. The Bureau has identified six high- <br />yield, water-producing subbasins within the CRB which would be logical <br />locations to increase snowpack if CREST demonstrates the feasibility of <br />the technology and, subsequently, a decision is made to undertake a <br />Basin-wide cloud seeding operational program (see fig. 1). Five of these <br />watersheds produce about 75 percent of the Upper Basin's runoff. The <br />sixth area is located in the Lower Basin. On the basis of historical <br />data, from a hydrological and meteorological point of view, these areas <br />would be the best candidates for a demonstration of cloud seeding poten- <br />tial also. <br /> <br />The CREST proposal is that the Bureau would design and conduct a cloud <br />seeding demonstration test in two of the high-yield subbasins located <br />in the Upper Basin. Although Bureau scientists know which areas appear <br />to be scientifically preferable, a final decision selecting out the <br />demonstrations subbasins will not occur pending completion of a public <br />involvement process with State and local officials and residents of the <br />candidate areas. Project planning will not move into the site selection/ <br />public involvement/site-specific environmental evaluation process in <br />advance of congressional approval of the demonstration concept in view <br />of the language of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriations <br />No. 97-673, dated December 6, 1982. Site-specific environmental assess- <br />ments will be conducted as part of the public involvement process after <br />congressional approval of the CREST concept to ensure the proposal is <br />environmentally and socially acceptable as well as being satisfactory from <br />a scientific pOint of view. <br /> <br />Under the CREST concept, only clouds that meet the project's seedability <br />criteria will be seeded. Cloud seeding is reversible on a short-term <br />basis, even on a storm-to-storm basis within a season, should Basin <br />hydrology, weather patterns, or public well-being dictate. Cloud seeding <br />nuclei will be either dry ice or silver iodide. Clouds can be seeded by <br />aircraft or by ground-based generators, depending upon terrain and weather <br />conditions. <br /> <br />B. No Action <br /> <br />Under this alternative, no site-specific activities would occur in any <br />of the subbasins of the CRB in order to determine the feasibility of <br />a design for a Basin-wide operational cloud seeding program. <br /> <br />3 <br />