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Show Specific points of concern raised were: (' l) adequate baseline and diagnostic studies had not been caried out; ( 2) the action would destroy valuable pheasant, waterfowl and non- game bird habitat and adversely affect the associated recreational and educational use of the area; ( 3) essential warm water fish spawning, rearing and feeding areas would be eliminated including a unique rocky shoal area located along the east shore of Goshen Bay; ( k) the merit of eliminating much of the wildlife habitat of Provo Bay, Benjamin Slough, and a portion of Goshen Bay, and attempting to replace these losses with the Goshen Bay Wildlife Management Area, which under the proposed Unit plan would have an inadequate water supply; ( 5) the dike construction and maintenance activities would adversely affect the ecology of West Mountain and other areas by excavating and placement of large volume of embankment material; and ( 6) a health hazard could develop as a result of increased production of mosquitoes that may occur behind the Goshen Bay Dike where inflow is allowed to collect and stagnate; and ( 7) the water quality of the lake would be affected by development of the Unit. ( b) The draft environmental statement did not adequately explain the proposal, particularly as related to the Provo Bay operation and overestimated the amount of the evaporation reduction produced by the diking of the lake. Issue raised by: Environmental Protection Agency Utah State Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Sierra Club Mount Timpanogos Chapter of Audubon Society Utah Environmental Center and several individuals Response: The Bureau of Reclamation acknowledges the concern raised over the proposed plan to dike Provo and Goshen Bays and has attempted to respond to these concerns fully and objectively. To date, other than making the firm commitment to provide adequate study of Utah Lake, the only significant action taken toward achieving this objective has been to informally solicit a study proposal from the Center for Health and Environmental Studies, Brigham Young University. The initial step of the proposal would be completion of a comprehensive literature review and a compilation and evaluation of all existing data. Preliminary indications are that adequate study of Utah Lake would take about k years. Thus, if work were started immediately it would not be fully completed until 1977. According to the proposed schedule for Unit construction ( see Section A, Figure A- l) construction of Goshen Bay Dike would 667 |
