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<br />4 <br /> <br />was designed to accommodate a water conduit intake for the <br /> <br /> <br />City of Aurora, which owns water rights in the South Platte <br /> <br /> <br />Basin and operates treatment and distribution systems inde- <br /> <br /> <br />pendent of those of the Denver Water Department. The intake <br /> <br /> <br />will replace a severely inadequate facility currently located <br /> <br />8 <br />upstream from Strontia Springs. <br /> <br /> <br />Construction of the Foothills Complex was scheduled <br /> <br /> <br />to begin in 1974. <br /> <br />III. PROBLEMS <br /> <br />Because the final design of the Strontia Springs Dam <br />and Reservoir required utilization of 21.7 acres of land <br />under U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) jurisdiction, and <br />16.4 acres which fell within the boundaries of the Pike National <br /> <br />Forest, BLM decided in January, 1974, that an environmental <br />impact assessment would be required for compliance with the <br />National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Both the <br />U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management partic- <br />ipated in the assessment, and in August, 1974, BLM assumed a <br />lead position in NEPA compliance. The draft Envi~onmental <br />Assessment was submitted to the Director of BLM in Washington, <br />9 <br />D.C., on October 1, 1974. <br /> <br />The draft assessment was returned to Colorado in <br /> <br />February for redrafting on the grounds that it did not fully <br /> <br />answer all environmental questions. <br />According to BLM officials, a series of delays ensued, <br />in part because environmental groups vocally opposed Foothills <br /> <br />OOi;'C8 <br />