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<br />1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The scoping report has been prepared to provide a synopsis of the scoping process that has <br />been conducted to date for the proposed execution of the Implementation Agreement (IA) for <br />Secretarial actions associated with the proposed Colorado River Quantification Settlement <br />Agreement (QSA) and other related Federal actions, including implementation of an <br />Inadvertent Overrun and Payback Policy (lOP) on the Colorado River in the Lower Basin. This <br />scoping report identifies efforts made to notify interested agencies, organizations, and <br />individuals about the proposed Federal action and to obtain input from those entities regarding <br />the range of alternatives to be evaluated and the issues to be addressed in the environmental <br />impact statement (EIS) I)eing prepared by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau <br />of Reclamation (Reclamation). These efforts have been carried out pursuant to the "scoping <br />process," as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations <br />implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), <br /> <br />This report summarizes the major points made in the public comments received during the <br />scoping process, and identifies how Reclamation has revised or further developed alternatives <br />to address concerns and issues raised during the scoping process. <br /> <br />1.1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION <br /> <br />Consistent with implementation of NEPA, Reclamation is preparing an EIS related to the <br />proposed execution of the IA and other related Federal actions, including implementation of an <br />lOP on the Colorado River in the Lower Basin. The proposed action to be analyzed in the EIS <br />includes: <br /> <br />. the execution of the IA which would provide the Secretary of the Interior's (Secretary) <br />agreement to make Colorado River water deliveries in accordance with the terms and <br />conditions of the proposed QSA; <br /> <br />. adoption of an lOP by Reclamation that would define inadvertent overruns, establish <br />procedures that account for inadvertent overruns, and define subsequent payback <br />requirements to the Colorado River for Colorado River water users in the Lower Basin <br />for a 3D-year period; and <br /> <br />. the implementation of the biological conservation measures identified in the Us. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service's (FWS) "Biological Opinion for Interim Surplus Criteria, Secretarial <br />Implementation Agreements, and Conservation Measures on the Lower Colorado River, <br />Lake Mead to the Southerly International Boundary Arizona, California and Nevada" <br />(Biological Opinion), dated January 12, 2001, which relate to the IA. <br /> <br />The purpose of the proposed Federal action is to facilitate implementation of the QSA, which <br />incorporates contractual agreements necessary for California to reduce its use of Colorado River <br />water. The need for the proposed Federal action is to assist California's efforts to reduce its use <br />of Colorado River water to its 4,4 million acre-feet (MAF) normal year apportionment. It is <br />anticipated that at the conclusion of this NEP A process, the Secretary will prepare a Record of <br />Decision regarding Federal actions that are necessary to make operative the IA and the lOP. <br /> <br />LA, lOP arid Related Federal Actiorl' E1S <br /> <br />1 <br />