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<br />/~Qf=~ <br />.f-.'V ~ ','1' <br />iJ "":-;jo_."C~'~"n"-~ <br /> <br />* * <br /> <br />\.jo _ / lit <br /> <br />- .,. i fi :" c~ 4' <br /> <br />ATTORNEY GENERAL OF COLORADO <br />Ken Salazar <br /> <br />Attorney General Ken Salazar <br /> <br />STATEMENT FOR THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT <br />PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE <br />DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR - BUREAU OF RECLAMATION <br /> <br />February 17, 2000 <br /> <br />I want to begin by thanking the Bureau of Reclamation for preparing a thorough <br />environmental review of ALP and its alternatives in such a timely fashion. Just over a year <br />ago I appeared at a scoping meeting for this supplemental EIS. At that time, I urged <br />Reclamation to complete this review without delay. I am pleased that it has done so and <br />issued its draft supplemental EIS on schedule. This is a particularly impressive achievement <br />in light of the large amount of public input that Reclamation received and considered and the <br />broad spectrum of alternatives that it evaluated. <br /> <br />In completing the draft supplemental EIS, Reclamation has taken a big step toward meeting its <br />commitment to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes under the 1986 Settlement <br />Agreement. I am confident that it will proceed expeditiously to modify its analysis as necessary <br />and issue a final EIS. <br /> <br />Now is the time to address the few remaining issues and move forward to build a project that <br />is environmentally and fiscally sound, fulfills a longstanding legal and moral obligation to <br />the Ute Tribes, preserves the existing agricultural economy, provides needed water for <br />communities in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico, and avoids years of costly <br />and acrimonious litigation. <br /> <br />Last year, I also urged Reclamation to add a conservation pool for environmental and <br />recreational uses to the Administration proposal. I am pleased to see that the preferred <br />alternative - Refined Alternative 4 - includes a 30,000 acre foot minimum pool for fishery <br />and water quality purposes. Even with that minimum pool, the reservoir would only hold <br />120,000 acre feet of water -less than half the size of the reservoir recommended in the 1996 <br />EIS. <br /> <br />The results of Reclamation's study are not surprising to me. After carefully assessing a wide <br />array of alternatives, Reclamation concluded that only a structural alternative can meet the <br /> <br />State Services Building' 1525 Sherman Street-5th Floor. Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone (303) 866-3557 . FAX (303) 866-4745 <br />