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Show fims/s/rB (ES) SLC September 29, 1978 George D, McMillan, State Conservationist Soil Conservation Servics 4012 Federal Building 125 S. State Street Salt La1;e City, Utah 34138 Dear Mr. McMillan: In, response to your letter of August 16, 1973, we offer the following consents on the Uintah Basin Salinity Study. General Cogesenta We reviewed this report under the Assumption that it is intended to bo an environmental assessment and is considered by your agency to be the priraary input for Nl'PA compliance. VTe have three najor concerns with the report! (1) The plan does not include any provision Cor mitigation or compensation for wildlife habitat loss; (2) the plan and report, in our opinion, do not comply with Executive Order 11990 "Protection of Wetlands1', and (3) dii® to significant losses of wet lanes and other irrigation related wildlife habitat, ire believe the report does not adequately address environmental Impacts. 1. This project involves a change fros wetland types {?., 3, 4, 5, 10, 11) and riparian habitat to upland of 13,005 acres Sfith an additional 3,500 acres of wetlands adjacent to the Duchesne River potentially affected. Troject construction will disturb 1,870 acres of upland haMtat and 6,555 acres of greasevood-salt cedar vill be converted to upland. Irrigation improvements will be installed on 122,200 acres of irrigated lands. Ue believe this is a saajor action that will significantly affect wildlife, particularly pheasants, quail, wsterfo^l nnd non-g&rae birds. The assessment does not include rdLtl^ation or compensation measures as part of the project. The FWS in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, Soil Conservation Service and Utah Division of V/ildlife Resources completed a habitat evaluation in June 1978. We plan to use the evaluation results la formulating mitigation and condensation recommendations for both the on-fara and off-fa ra portions of the project. These reeosimendatlons 'rill be presented to the Bureau of Reclamation and your office for consideration and, hopefully, imples&en ta t ion. 2. In our opinion, the project and report do not comply with Executive Order 11950. In Section 2 (a), of the order President Carter |
