Bureau of Reclamation July 6, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is canceling work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Walker River Basin Acquisition Program (Acquisition Program). Reclamation has determined that the action of providing funds for the Acquisition Program as authorized in Public Laws 109-103 and 111-85 is not a Federal discretionary action. In addition, Reclamation does not have control over the expenditure of the funds by the Acquisition Program recipient and has therefore determined National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance is not necessary per 2008 Department of Interior regulations for implementing NEPA (43 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 46 Implementation of the NEPA of 1969). Reclamation included its decision that NEPA compliance is not required in the July 2009 Draft EIS and shared the decision at the August 2009 public hearings. In February 2010, Reclamation issued a Revised Draft EIS with incorporation of public comment for informational purposes only rather than a NEPA analysis. Additional comments were not solicited on this February 2010 Revised Draft EIS, and a Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) will not be prepared.