PRESS RELEASE: Glen Canyon Dam LTEMP FEIS Fails To Fix The Colorado River

For Immediate Release
October 7, 2016
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Colorado, 970-218-8310

Colorado River, USA: Today the U.S. Dept of Interior released the “Final Environmental Impact Statement” (FEIS) for the “Long Term Experimental and Management Plan” (LTEMP) for Glen Canyon Dam. The FEIS is here.

After a quick initial review, Save The Colorado has determined:

• The FEIS fails to consider all alternatives to fix the ecological problems at Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, including the alternative of dam removal.
• The FEIS fails to consider alternatives that comply with the Endangered Species Act and actually “recover” the endangered fish rather than breeding and stocking them forever.
• The FEIS fails to take climate change seriously and does not include a full range of scientific studies about how climate change would negatively impact flows in the Colorado River.
• The FEIS fails to adequately account for the methane emissions from operating Glen Canyon Dam.

“At first blush, the FEIS fails to comply with federal law,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado. “The Colorado River system is failing — it’s failing to protect fish, failing to protect water supplies, and failing under the weight of climate change. The Dept of Interior has failed to consider alternatives for Glen Canyon Dam that meet the needs of the environment and the public, including dam removal.”

The Dept of Interior is allowing a “30-day public review” of the FEIS. Save The Colorado will be fully analyzing the FEIS in the next few weeks and plans to submit more comments into the process.

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