OCR Text |
Show reduced water flows on stream ecosystems is being reviewed and a proposal for an ecological study of Utah Lake is being prepared. The Bureau of Reclamation recognizes the urgency in getting studies of this kind into operation. The final step in the studies program is to incorporate pertinent findings into the Unit plan. Where feasible, the Unit plan, as it presently exists, would be modified. The draft environmental statement did reflect an interdisciplinary- approach in that considerable effort was made to obtain input from a variety of government agencies. The problem was that the needs for the Bonneville Unit plan had not been completely identified and the cooperating agencies could not respond adequately. This problem became apparent after the comments on the draft statement were analyzed. The final environmental statement, particularly Sections C, D, and E, has been expanded to show the balancing of environmental costs and Unit benefits. Final decisions on the construction plans for the subsequent systems that would be covered in detailed environmental statements would not be made until these statements have been fully processed. Issue 12: The discussion of the secondary impacts of the Bonneville Unit were inadequately discussed in the draft environmental ii r i i i i i i a i in 1 n i ii< it • < i . Hi m • i ii i . « i ii i i i i ii ii H t .< i am 11 i statement. Issue raised by: Rocky Mountain Center on Environment Environmental Protection Agency Forest Service Utah State Department of Natural Resources Utah Environmental Center Sierra Club Utah Audubon Society Bureau of Land Management and several individuals Response: The final environmental statement has been modified in an attempt to more adequately discuss the secondary impacts that are expected to occur. In this statement, secondary impacts are defined as those that would develop indirectly as a result of the proposed action. Such impacts could be of lesser apparent magnitude than direct impacts but could be cumulative in nature and in time produce an important effect. The expected secondary impacts of the Bonneville Unit would be of two main types: ( l) those affecting the ecology of plants and animals, and ( 2) those affecting human ecology. The discussion of secondary impact is presented throughout Sections C through C- of the final statement. 661 |