Revised Alternative for SDS Environmental Review
Reclamation has been notified that Colorado Springs Utilities will be submitting a revised No Action Alternative for consideration in the environmental review of the proposed Southern Delivery System.
An Alternatives Report released in March 2006 finalized the seven alternatives to be included in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and its related studies, including the previous No Action Alternative. Studies of each of the alternatives have been underway since the reports release. Analysis by Reclamation indicated that Springs Utilities portion of the original No Action Alternative would not meet their projected water demands through 2046. In response, Springs Utilities is developing a revised alternative and will submit it to Reclamation upon completion. Reclamation will begin studying the revised No Action Alternative as soon as it is received. The No Action alternatives for the other project participants (Fountain, Security, and Pueblo West) remain unchanged.
To complete full analysis of the revised No Action Alternative, Reclamation will delay release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement from its current schedule of spring 2007. A description of the new No Action Alternative, as well as the revised schedule, will be posted on www.SDSEIS.com as soon as they are available.
The No Action Alternative is a required option under the National Environmental Policy Act. It describes actions the project participants would take without Reclamation contracts.
For more information on the NEPA process for the proposed SDS project, please contact Kara Lamb with Reclamation at (970) 962-4326 or klamb@gp.usbr.gov.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
