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. 4012 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Th is final environmental s ta tement is submi tted in compliance with Section 102(2) (c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Public Law 91-190 (NEPA). It follows the instructions for preparing environmental statements presented in Bureau of Reclamation Instructions, Part 376.5 dated January 12, 1972, and amended November 6, 1972. . The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, sponsored by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, was authorized for construction, operation, and maintenance by the Department of the Interior on August 16, 1962, under Public Law 87-590 which appears in Appendix A of this statement. Congress authorized constructing the second 100- megawatt unit at the Mt. Elbert Pumped-Storage Powerplant in Public Law 93-493 dated October 24, 1974. Figure I-I shows the location of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project development and service areas in the southeastern quarter of Colorado. Construction of the multi-purpose water and power development project began in the summer of 1964. At the time the National Environmental Policy Act became effective on January 1, 1970, the project was about 31 percent completed based on expenditures as of that date. As of January 1, 1975, the project is nearly 43 percent complete. The "Operating Principles -- Fryingpan-Arkansas Project," adopted April 30, 1959, by the State of Colorado, govern the allocations and utilization of the project water. These "Operating Principles," also published .in "House Document No. 130, 87th Congress 1st Session," as amended prior to 1961, were adopted by the Congress. They appear in Appendix B of this statement. When the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 was passed and subsequent initial guidelines to implement it were published by the Council on Environmental Quality on January 28, 1971, numerous Fryingpan-Arkansas Project features were already in various phases of construction. Therefore, the Bureau of Reclamation adopted the policy to prepare environmental statements for individual features when construction was imminent for immediate compliance with the philosophy and intent of the Act. Environmental statements for the features listed below are on file with the Council on Environmental Quality and are available for public inspection at Colorado and Washington, D.C., Reclamation offices listed in Appendix C. 1-[ .