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News Release
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Patti Watson — 1-800-687-3417/505-269-9691 cell
Rick Carpenter — 505-955-4206; 660-5696 cell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 11, 2008
Buckman Direct Diversion Project Marks Milestone with Publishing of Record of Decision
U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approve BDD as “Selected Alternative”
SANTA FE—The Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) project today marked an important milestone – completion of one of the most important federal approvals necessary to build the project. The Record of Decision (ROD) for the project was issued by the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Notices of availability of the ROD were published in the Federal Register and the Albuquerque Journal.
The ROD has two purposes: 1) It is a legal document detailing the formal decision from the government agencies that own the land upon which the BDD will be constructed; and 2) Equally important, it explains the “why” of that decision. The ROD is also essential in securing additional State funding.
The ROD is the culmination of a process that began six years ago on Feb. 20, 2002, when a formal agreement between these two lead federal agencies, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the three applicants -- the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County and Las Campanas -- became effective. The applicants were required to fund this federal effort.
Prior to that time, two years of discussions addressed, among many topics, the requirement of the federal agencies that the applicants share a single diversion from the Rio Grande. The diversion will be located on federal land in the only place for many miles upstream and downstream where the river is accessible.
Alternatives leading to the federal decision regarding the “selected alternative,” which in this case is the BDD as proposed by the applicants, were analyzed in a multi-step process that included public meetings to solicit public issues and concerns, determination of alternatives to the applicants’ request, analysis of those alternatives, preparation of a draft Environmental Impact Statement, and receipt of and response to comments from the public, federal and state agencies and pueblos. The process also involved consultation with pueblos, consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the impacts on fish and wildlife and endangered species, including the silvery minnow, preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and consideration of comments on the FEIS.
In the ROD, the agencies selected the BDD as the best alternative because it addresses the “immediate need for a sustainable means of accessing surface water supplies for the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, and Las Campanas Limited Partnership.” The ROD further states the selected alternative has “beneficial effects to ground water resources, as it provides a means of managing municipal water supply in a way to allow ground water ‘resting’ while surface supplies are used.”
The selected alternative also has the “least adverse impacts” to resources managed by the federal agencies, avoids creating new utility corridors through otherwise open space, and allows for maximum flexibility of the applicants to work out solutions together.
The Forest Service portion of the ROD permits construction of the BDD diversion facility, a sediment processing facility, pump stations and service buildings on Forest Service land at a site on the east side of the Rio Grande 3.5 miles below the Otowi Bridge north west of Santa Fe. The ROD also authorizes a raw water pipeline from the diversion facility to a booster station, permits Santa Fe County to maintain Buckman Road to standards suitable for certain types of vehicle traffic, and allows electric power upgrades required for the project.
The Bureau of Land Management portion of the Record of Decision grants rights-of-way for routes for needed raw water pipelines, treated water pipelines, the City/County Water Treatment Plant near the Municipal Recreational Complex, electric power facilities and Buckman Road maintenance.
The Final Environmental Impact Study, published in May 2007, found that for a project of its size and complexity, the BDD would have only minor impacts on the environment. Most of those impacts are limited to the period of project construction. To minimize impact on river life, diversion of river water will be restricted or eliminated if the Rio Grande drops below a minimum threshold level. The diversion does not include a dam across the river. The diversion structure, located on the east bank of the river, will include fish screens to prevent fish and fish eggs from entering the diversion structure.
The ROD includes 17 specific requirements or sets of requirements the applicants must implement to minimize or mitigate the project’s environmental impacts, including replacement of fish and wildlife habitat. The ROD is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, which must be completed before BDD construction can begin. To access an electronic version of the Record of Decision, persons can visit www.blm.gov/nm and click on “Buckman Water Diversion Project” on the front page.
About the Buckman Direct Diversion Project
The Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) project will provide a sustainable way for the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County and their limited partner, Las Campanas, to access surface water supplies by diverting San Juan-Chama Project water and native Rio Grande water to reduce their reliance on over-taxed ground water resources. The BDD will divert water from the Rio Grande, pipe it underground to a water treatment plant near the Municipal Recreational Complex, then treat and deliver the water to customers of the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. Las Campanas will receive and treat a portion of the water for its residents at a facility that is not part of the BDD. Design and construction on the BDD is expected to begin in 2008.