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CHAPTER III PLAN FORMULATION Plan Formulation Process The Department of the Interior's Water Resources Council developed the Principles and Standards for Water and Related Land Resources (Principles and Standards) in 1973, which were used in the original plan formulation of the Dolores Unit studies. Effective July 8, 1983, how- ever, new planning guidelines were initiated, which are known as the Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies (Principles and Guide- lines). Under the Principles and Guidelines, the problems and needs of the .affected area are first identified, and the capability of the avail- able resources to meet these problems and needs is evaluated. This evaluation of needs and resources provides the basis for determining the planning elements to be considered in formulating the alternative plans. Alternative plans for meeting the objectives of the study are for- mulated and evaluated to determine if they pass the four tests--com- p1eteness, effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability--listed in the Principles and Guidelines for identifying viable plans. The four tests may be briefly described as follows: (1) completeness is the extent to which an alternative plan provides and accounts for the necessary in- vestments or other actions to realize the planned effects, (2) effec- tiveness is the extent to which sn alternative alleviates the specific problem and achieves the desired results, (3) efficiency is the extent to which an alternative is cost effective, and (4) acceptability is the workability and viability of the alternative in terms of public accep- tance and adherence to existing laws and regulations. Plans passing all four tests are considered viable alternatives and are subject to more detailed examination. The next step in plan for- mulation subjects each plan to analysis under each of the four accounts identified in the Principles and Guidelines. The four-account system is a means of evaluating and displaying the effects of plans and providing meaningful choices for decisionmaking. These four accounts are (1) na- tional economic development (NED), which measures costs and benefits in economic terms; (2) environmental quality (EQ), which measures impacts on the environment in nonmonetary terms; (3) regional economic develop- ment (RED), which measures impacts on the regional economy in both mone- tary and nonmonetary values; and (4) social effects (SE), which measures impacts on local residents, their customs, and way of life. Effects of the alternatives are compared to future conditions with- out development (the no action alternative) in each of the account displays, The best plan is the alternative that reasonably maximizes net positive NED benefits. The four accounts provide a uniform method of evaluating economic, environmental, and social aspects of proposed Federal actions. 8