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News Release Archive
Public Meetings Scheduled for the Walker River Basin Acquisitions Program, Nevada
Media Contact:
Jeffrey McCracken, 916-978-5100, 10/11/2007 15:38
For Release: October 11, 2007
The Bureau of Reclamation is beginning preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Walker River Basin Acquisitions Program. The purpose of the Program is to comply with the requirements of Public Law 107-171 (Desert Terminal Lakes Program), which appropriates funds to provide water to at-risk natural desert terminal lakes. Subsequent legislation, Public Law 109-103, allocates funds to the University of Nevada to implement a program for environmental restoration to acquire from willing sellers land, water appurtenant to the land, and related interests in the Walker River Basin, Nevada. All acquired water rights would be transferred to provide water to Walker Lake. The goal of the Program is to acquire sufficient water rights to increase the long-term average annual inflow to Walker Lake by up to 50,000 acre-feet due to annual variations in precipitation, river flows, etc.; achieving the Program goal will require acquiring more than 50,000 acre-feet of water rights.
A Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, September 25, 2007. Four public meetings are being held to solicit public input and identify significant issues and concerns on topics that will be addressed in the EIS.
The public meetings will be an open house style format with no formal presentation and may be attended any time between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Information will be provided and Program team members will be available to answer questions on various aspects of the Water Acquisitions Program and EIS process.
Meeting locations are as follows:
Reno | Yerington | Hawthorne |
Thursday, Oct. 25, 6 - 8 p.m. Bridgeport Memorial Hall 73 N. School Street Map |
Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent by close of business Monday, November 26, 2007, to Mrs. Caryn Huntt DeCarlo, Bureau of Reclamation, 705 N. Plaza Street, Room 320, Carson City, NV, 89701, e-mail chunttdecarlo@mp.usbr.gov, or fax 775-884-8376. For additional information or to request translation services or special assistance, please contact Mrs. Huntt DeCarlo at 775-884-8352, TDD 775-882-3436.
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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.
