Bureau of Reclamation January 20, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), with and on behalf of other joint-lead agencies (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Corps], Department of Defense; and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission [Commission], State of New Mexico), has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to assess the consequences of proposed changes to water operations in the Rio Grande basin above Fort Quitman, Texas. The DEIS is programmatic and is not intended to authorize specific projects that may also be applied to the upper Rio Grande system. It is anticipated that a plan for water operations at existing Reclamation and Corps facilities will be developed. The DEIS presents alternatives with respect to water operations and evaluates the environmental, economic, and social effects of these alternatives. Some of the alternatives considered include changing the channel capacity criteria at Albuquerque, storage or non-storage of Rio Grande water in authorized San Juan-Chama space in Abiquiu Reservoir, and operation of the Low Flow Conveyance Channel.