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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />RECORD OF DECISION <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER INTERIM SURPLUS GUIDELINES <br /> <br />FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT <br /> <br />I. Introduction <br /> <br />This document constitutes the Rerord of Decision (ROD) of the Department of the Interior, <br />regarding the preferred altermtive for Colorado River Interim Surplus Guidelines (Guidelines). <br />The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is vested with the responsibility of managing Ihe <br />mainstream waters of the lower Colorado River pursuant to federal law. This responsibility is <br />carried out consistent with applicable federal aw. Reclamation, as the agency that is desigroted <br />to act on the Secretary's behalf with respect to these matters, is the lead Federal agency for the <br />purposes o I' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for the development and <br />irrplementation of the proposed interim surplus guidelines. TIle FEIS was prepared pursuant to <br />the Natioml Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEP A), as anlemed, the Council on <br />Envirornnental Q.iality's (CEQ) Regulations for Implerrenting the Procedural Provisions of <br />NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulatiorn [CFR] Pans 1500 through 1508), Departn:ent oflnterior <br />Policies, and Reclamation's NEPA Handbook. Colorado River Interim Surplus Criteria is the <br />subject of the Final Environmental Impacl Statement (FEIS), filed with the Environmental <br />Protection Agency (FES-00-52) on December 8, 2000 and noticed by the Environmental <br />Protection Agency and Reclamation in the Federal Register on December 15, 2000. <br /> <br />The FEIS was prepared by Reclamation to address the formulation and evaluation of specific <br />interim surplus guidelines and 10 identitY the potential environmental effects of implementing such <br />guidelines. The FEIS addresses the environmental issues associated with, and analyzes the <br />environmental consequences o I' various alternatives for specific interim surplus guidelines. The <br />alternatives addressed in the FEIS are Ihose Reclamation deternlined would meet the pur[XJse of <br />and need for Ihe federal action and represented a broad range of the most reaso nable ahematives. <br /> <br />The National Park Service (NPS) and the International Boundary and Water Commission United <br />States and Mexico (IBWC) are cooperating agencies for purposes of assisting with the <br />environmental analysis in the FEIS. The NPS administers three areas of national significaoce <br />within the area potentially affected by the proposed action: Gh Canyon National Recreation <br />Area (GCNRA), Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area <br />(LMNRA). The NPS administers recreation, cultural and natural resources in these areas and also <br />grants and administers recreation concessions for the operation of marinas and related facil~ies at <br />Lake Powell and Lake Mead, while the elevation of each o I' these reservoirs is controlled by and <br />subject to Reclamation operatillls. The IBWC is a bi-national organization res[XJnsible for <br />administration of the provisions of the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944 (Treaty), including the <br />Colorado River waters allocated to Mexico, protection of lands along the Colorado River from <br />