Bureau of Reclamation October 9, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Reclamation is extending the review period for the DEIS to October 31, 2008. The notice of availability of the DEIS was published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2008 (73 FR 43472). The public review period was originally to end on September 23, 2008.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, is announcing the opportunity for the public to review and comment on a SIR for the SDS Draft EIS. A public hearing to supplement the opportunity to comment on the SIR is also being announced. Reclamation previously published a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 50055) on August 25, 2008, providing for extended public commenting on the water quality portion of the Draft EIS. Since then Reclamation has completed additional water quality analysis and is providing an opportunity for the public to comment on the new analysis. With this notice Reclamation is therefore closing the comment period on the original water quality analysis as mentioned in the August 25, 2008, notice and opening the comment period for the new water quality analysis. Reclamation has included this analysis in a SIR for the Draft EIS that updates and provides additional information that was not in the Draft EIS. The additional information includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following topics: water quality analyses, potential effects on the western slope of Colorado, potential effects of a failure of new dams, effects of physical changes to the alternatives and reasonably foreseeable actions, clarification of Reclamation's purpose and need statement, changes in the project sponsors' Proposed Action, and identification of Reclamation's preferred alternative. The new and additional information is contained in the report titled ``Supplemental Information Report for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Southern Delivery System Project, Colorado.'' For access to the report and dates and locations of the public hearing, please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section in this announcement.