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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Colorado River EndaDl!ered Fish SDecies <br /> <br />At the last Board Meeting Mr. Worthley provided you with a schedule of activities and <br />progress for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP)." <br />Although significant progress is being made towards developing the plan, recent discussions with <br />the plan development contractor, Ogden Environmental and Energy Resources Inc. (Ogden), have <br />revealed some major concerns. The contract with Ogden is on a Time and Materials basis. Ogden <br />indicates that it is now approximately two months behind schedule and that it will exceed its first- <br />year budget by approximately $100,000. The primary reasons for the delay and over expenditure are <br />that data required to develop the plan was unavailable or not provided to Ogden in a timely manner, <br />and Ogden representatives were requested to attend numerous meeting that were outside the scope <br />of their contract. <br /> <br />Th.: most significant concern however is that Ogden has infonned Steering Committee <br />representatives that it cannot complete the Multi-Species Conservation Plan within the current <br />funding and time schedule. The plan is scheduled to be completed by December 2000 and there is <br />approximately $1.4 million remaining of the original $2,6 million contract amount. Ogden has <br />infonned Steering Committee representatives that an additional $1.8 million and an additional year <br />will be needed to complete the plan. Ogden also believes that it will not be able to provide a <br />defensible plan within the current budget and time frame. Steering Committee representatives have <br />infonned Ogden that extending the time frame and increasing the budget is unacceptable. Several <br />steps have been and others will be taken to get the program back on track. Ogden has been told that <br />it is expected to stay within its existing budget and time frame. Ogden has stopped or suspended <br />work by its subcontractors. The current Time and Materials contract is being renegotiated to a <br />products-oriented contract. The Bureau of Reclamation's Reasonable and Prudent Alternative 14 <br />report, which will be discussed later, will be used as the foundation for many of the MSCP elements, <br />During the next three weeks, representatives of the Steering Committee will work to redesign the <br />scope of Ogden's work and renegotiate the contract. In addition, some of the tasks originally <br />expected of Ogden, such as hydrologic modeling, outreach, preparing the Implementation Agreement <br />or detennining Implementation costs will probably be assumed by some of the Steering Committee <br />partners. <br /> <br />California Envirornnentnl Quality Act (CEQA) compliance will be required for <br />implementation of the LCR MSCP conservation plan. Compliance with CEQA will require a Lead <br />Agency within California. While Ogden will write the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the Lead <br />Agency will be responsible for issuing the EIR and certifying it when the EIR process is complete. <br />The California entities involved with the program have been considering several options as to who <br />could serve as Lead Agency. The options are; the Colorado River Board; the Six Agency Committee <br />or a Joint Powers Agency created specifically to act as California's Lead Agency for CEQA, <br />Included in the Board folder is a memorandum dated February 5, 1999, from Paul Selzer to the <br />Board concerning this issue of Lead Agency. <br /> <br />Also included in the Board folder is a letter from Reclamation to the U, S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service (FWS) transmitting Reasonable and Prudent Alternative 14 (RPA 14) to the FWS and the <br />LCR MSCP Steering Committee, pursuant to the Biological Opinion. RP A 14 presents conceptual <br /> <br />6 <br />