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.~ STATE OF NEW MEXICO STATE ENGINEER OFFICE SANTA FE 5, E, ~EYNOLOS 51 A TE ENGINEER July 18, 1989 8ATAAN MEMORIAL BUILDING STATE CAPITOL SAmA FE. NEW MExICO 87503 The Honorable Manuel Lujan Secretary of the Interior U,S. Department of the Interior 18th and C Streets, NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing to you on behalf of the Governors' representa- tives for the seven Colorado River Basin states, We greatly appreciate your having met with us on July 7 to discuss the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies. We would like to take this oppor- tunity to reiterate the points that we raised with you. The Glen Canyon Environmental Studies were initiated in response to comments on the Department's peaking power study completed in September, 1978, and the Environmental Assess- ment/Finding of No Significant Impact on the generator uprate and rewind program at Glen Canyon Dam completed in 1982. The Decem- ber, 1982, departmental memorandum which directed that the studies be undertaken states that~their purpose was to study: ... the current operation of Glen Canyon Dam to see how present flow patterns l.mpact upon the total riverine environment in the Grand Canyon and how various low-flow periods affect rafting and the fisheries resources in the river. (Emphasis supplied) Because the Phase I field studies through 1986, characterized by condi tions and consequently large Canyon Dam, the intp.nded purpose achieved. covered a time period, 1983 unprecedented high runoff sustained releases from Glen of the studies could not be Due to these circumstances, the Department determined it necessary to conduct further studies based upon more nearly normal runoff and reservoir operating conditions in order to gather reliable data upon which to base decisions on what, if any, changes in the operation of Glen Canyon Dam should be made.