Environmental Impact Statements and Records of Decision

On this page you will find a chronological listing of Environmental Impact Statements and Records of Decision for Interior Region 7 – Upper Colorado Basin projects and activities.

Federal agencies prepare Environmental Impact Statements if a proposed major federal action is determined to significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The regulatory requirements for an Environmental Impact Statement are more detailed and rigorous than the requirements for an Environmental Assessments.

An agency publishes a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The Notice of Intent informs the public of the upcoming environmental analysis and describes how the public can become involved in the EIS preparation.

This Notice of Intent starts the scoping process, which is the period in which the federal agency and the public collaborate to define the range of issues and possible alternatives to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement.

A draft Environmental Impact Statement is published for public review and comment for a minimum of 45 days. Upon close of the comment period, agencies consider all substantive comments and, if necessary, conduct further analyses.

A final Environmental Impact Statement is then published, which provides responses to substantive comments. Publication of the final Environmental Impact Statement begins the minimum 30-day "wait period," in which agencies are generally required to wait 30 days before making a final decision on a proposed action.

The Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register, announcing the availability of both draft and final Environmental Impact Statements to the public.

The Environmental Impact Statement process ends with the issuance of the Record of Decision. The Record of Decision explains the agency's decision, describes the alternatives the agency considered, and discusses the agency's plans for mitigation and monitoring, if necessary.

You may email questions regarding environmental documents to ucrnepa@usbr.gov