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<br />o~n13b <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />Bureau of Reclamation <br />Westem Colorado Area Office <br /> <br />FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT <br />CONTRACT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DOLORES WATER <br />CONSERVANCY DISTRICT FOR THE CARRIAGE OF WATER THROUGH <br />DOLORES PROJECT FACILITIES <br /> <br />Introduction <br />In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and based on <br />the following, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has determined that execution of the <br />contract between the United States and the Dolores Water Conservancy District for the Carrial!e <br />of Water Thro4.-l!h Dolores Proiect Facilities (Carrial!e Contract) would not result in a significant <br />impact on the human environment. <br /> <br />Background <br />The Carriage Contract is needed to allow the Dolores Water Conservancy District (DWCD) the <br />ability to carry non-Project water through the Reclamation-owned canals and facilities of the <br />Dolores Project in southwestern Colorado. The primary purpose is to make additional irrigation <br />water available :in Montezuma County while protecting the purposes and operations of the <br />Dolores Project. <br /> <br />The Dolores Project-- a Reclamation project authorized under the Colorado River Basin Act .of <br />1968 as a participating project under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956-- is located <br />in Montezuma and Dolores Counties in southwestern Colorado and provides irrigation water to <br />approximately 61,000 acres in addition to municipal water and water to benefit the Dolores River <br />fishery downstream from McPhee Reservoir.and recreation resources, McPhee Reservoir is the <br />primary water storage facility of the Dolores Project. <br /> <br />For more than a century, the private Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company (MVIC) has <br />provided irrigation water to Montezuma County. Over the last 5 to 10 years, MVIC' s water <br />demands have been reduced due to increased water use efficiency, subdivision expansion, <br />salinity control programs, and other factors, As a result, MVIC has agreed to sell the DWCD <br />1,500 shares ofMVIC Class B shares, representing up to 6,000 acre-feet of water with the <br />possibility of adding an additional 2,000 acre-feet from MVIC's senior water rights in the future. <br />The DWCD proposes to convey this water to irrigate up to 3,000-4,000 acres ofland, primarily <br />in Montezuma County, using Reclamation-owned canals and facilities. The proposed Federal <br />action needed to complete this proposal is execution of a Carriage Contract to allow the DWCD <br />to convey non-Project water represented by these shares in Reclamation canals. The Contract <br /> <br />'1 <br /> <br />1 <br />