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Show Issue 10: The draft environmental statement failed to adequately assess and discuss esthetic values and the impacts of the proposed development on these values. Issue raised by: Environmental Protection Agency Utah State Department of Natural Resources Sierra Club Forest Service Utah Audubon Society and individuals Response: The Bureau of Reclamation recognizes'and accepts the responsibility that esthetic management must play an important role in project planning, construction, and operation and that esthetic values must be conserved as a basic resource. In order to insure that the esthetic aspects of the Bonneville Unit as well as all future projects are adequately treated, the Bureau intends to follow a concept of sensory management ( primarily visual) similar to that promulgated by'... the U. S. Forest Service and described in publications entitled- Review Draft - Basic Resource Report Rock Creek and North Fork of the Duchesne River, . Ashley National Forest, September 1972,^ and Comments on the Central Utah Project Bonneville Unit Draft Environmental Statement, and Preliminary Environmental Analysis of Proposed Projects on the Ashley National Forest, 1972. The' Bureau also intends to work closely with and to seek assistance from the Forest Service and other concerned agencies in an attempt to handle esthetic problems properly. A description of how esthetic aspects would be treated is presented in paragraph D2c of the final environmental statement. Other specific discussions of esthetics are presented in paragraphs BIO, C^ f, E*+, F6 and G6. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 19& 7? defines esthetics as being " A branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and the beautiful, especially with judgments of taste concerning them." Thus, there will always be some disagreement involving the esthetic merits of any activity. The Bureau of Reclamation contends that all esthetic value is not restricted to natural situations, that properly planned artificial entities can and do have beauty and that man- made complexes even though unnatural to an area can be attractive. At the same time the Bureau recognizes the intangible esthetic qualities associated with streams and remote undisturbed areas. In the final environmental statement, the Bureau has tried to present an objective view of the esthetic consequences of the Bonneville Unit and where possible quantify the discussion. Issue 11: The Draft Environmental Statement lacked the systematic interdisciplinary approach required by the National Environmental Policy Act. 659 |
