WSP06338

• File Number: 8277.600.10
• Description: Big Sandy River Unit - Colorado River Salinity Control Program
• State: WY
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 6/1/1986
• Title: Findings of No Significant Impact and Environmental Assessment Summary
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: EIS

OTHER ALTERNATIVES Atm PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

The summaries of alternatives and public involvement presented
below were taken from the report entitled Big Sandy River, Colorado
River Basin Salinity Control Study, USDA Report, November 1980.

A local Coordinating Committee, comprised of two board members of
the Eden Valley Irrigation and Drainage District, all of the board of
supervisors for the Big Sandy Conservation District, an appointed member
from the Wyoming Governor's Office, and a representative from the BR
provided general guidance and a vehicle for local citizen input. The
Coordinating Committee reviewed the basic data and recommended several
on-farm irrigation management alternatives to increase irrigation
efficiencies and reduce deep percolation losses. In addition, the
Coordinating Committee requested that land retirement and irrigation
retirement alternatives also be analyzed. Eleven separate alternatives
were analyzed and presented to the Coordinating Committee and at a
public meeting. As a result of the public meeting, the Coordinating
Committee sent a questionnaire to all landowners to obtain their
preferences.

As a result of the questionnaire and public meeting, a landowner
preferred alternative (Alternative 11) and landowner preferred-modified
alternative (Alternative 12) were formulated. These alternatives were
analyzed and presented at a subsequent public meeting. General
consensus of the majority of landowners and the Coordinating Committee
was to select the "landowner preferred-modified alternative"
(Alternative 12). This modified alternative would retire from
irrigation about 87 percent (13,700 acres) of the irrigated area with
13 percent (2,000 acres) remaining under irrigation.

A large range of alternatives was evaluated during the course of
the salinity study. The alternatives range from no project action,
which did not reduce salinity from the project area, to various levels
of irrigation water management including irrigation retirement, which
provided greatest salinity reduction benefits. In addition to those
alternatives requested by the Coordinating Committee, two additional
alternatives were developed to meet two national objectives as specified
by "Principles and Standards for Water Related Land Resource Planning."
They were the National Economic Development (NED) (Alternative 8) and
Environmental Quality (EQ) (Alternative 13).

The alternatives evaluated and displayed in this report are listed
as follows:

Alternative 1 - Future Without a Project (No Action)

Alternative 2 - Improved Water Management and Minimum Structural
Improvements

Alternative 3 - Entire Project Area Sprinkler Irrigated (pumping
plant and pipeline distribution system)

GJL67

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