FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2002
John H. Lawson, Telephone No. (307) 261-5671
Bureau of Reclamation Wyoming Area Office
WATER LOAN DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR REVIEW
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to temporarily loan up to a total of 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Kendrick Project to one or more of the 13 irrigation districts within the North Platte Project in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska for the remainder of the 2002 irrigation season.
Based on the draft EA for the proposed action, Reclamation has prepared a draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
Due to the limited water supply available to the North Platte Project irrigation entities, Reclamation was contacted by irrigation districts regarding the potential of borrowing water from the Kendrick Project for use during the 2002 irrigation season. Existing drought is affecting irrigated land in the North Platte Valley including about 330,000 acres associated with Reclamation's North Platte Project. Water loans from the Kendrick Project storage in Seminoe Reservoir would be offered to North Platte Project Irrigation Districts as an additional source of supplemental supply. Water loans would occur through a contractual agreement between Reclamation and the district which borrows the water. Borrowed water would be returned to the Kendrick Project in the following water year (2003).
A copy of the draft FONSI and EA is available for review, during normal business hours, at Reclamation's Office at 705 Pendell Boulevard, Mills, Wyoming; Carbon County Library, 215 West Buffalo, Rawlins, Wyoming; Natrona County Library, 307 East 2nd, Casper Wyoming; Goshen County Library, 2001 East A; Torrington, Wyoming; Bridgeport Public Library, 722 Main Street, Bridgeport, Nebraska; and Scottsbluff Public Library, 1809 3rd Avenue, Scottsbluff, Nebraska. An electronic copy of the draft EA and FONSI in the Adobe Acrobat Reader portable document format (pdf) is also available upon request. Comments will be accepted until Friday, July 19, 2002. Comments may be sent to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Wyoming Area Office, Attention: Area Manager, P.O. Box 1630, Mills, WY 82644 or by electronic mail (Email) to wyao@gp.usbr.gov.
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