EDITOR'S PAGE

EDITOR'S

BORN IN CONTROVERSY more than three decades ago, Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in far northern Arizona continues to be for many the center and symbol of a seemingly endless frustration. The present, ongoing concern is different from the original motivation of opponents of the dam's construction. Their battle was lost when the dam was completed in 1963 and the rising waters of its reservoir began to drown the fragile, intricate canyon complex upstream from the damsite. Nine years after vast Lake Powell finally filled to a capacity of 27 million acre-feet and formed a shoreline of 1,960 miles, the dam's impact upstream is an accomplished fact and no longer at issue. But downstream, because of the way its hydroelectric plant is operated to meet peak power demands, the dam is imposing a severe toll on the environment of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon.

The "law of the river" which consists of our treaty with Mexico, interstate water compacts, and much federal legislation defines the purposes Congress intended Glen Canyon Dam to serve. These purposes explicitly include protection of recreational opportunities, fish and wildlife, and other environmental values. Yet the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the dam, and the WesternArea Power Administration, which sells the electricity produced there, have consistently given priority to power generation at the expense of downstream resources.

The problems arise primarily from fluctuations in the release of water through the dam's generators into the river channel. Except during periods of very high runoff, the amount of water released varies hourly, often with two peaks and two troughs daily. These fluctuations cause the river level to change by as much as 13 feet in response to changes in demand for power over a 24-hour period.

The variations in river volume erode banks and diminish beaches; strand fish and expose spawning beds (both sport fish and endangered species); disturb the habitat of various other wildlife; and complicate the schedules and increase the hazards of white-water boating.

"For almost 20 years," points out a recent report of the Grand Canyon Trust, "the recreation industry, conservationists, and others have been asking the Department of the Interior to evaluate, in an Environmental Impact Statement prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act, whether and how operations at Glen Canyon Dam should be modified...."In 1982 the Department of the Interior launched the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies, which then consumed more than five years before publication in January, 1988, of a "Final Report." It includes the following statements: "... fluctuating releases were found to have substantial adverse effects on downstream resources.... Changes in operation of the dam to reduce fluctuations...could reduce the resource losses occurring under current operations and, in some cases, even improve the status of the resources...."

But, it turned out, the "Final Report" was not final at all. Instead of developing alternative criteria for operating Glen Canyon Dam based on conclusions from the five years of studies, and preparing an Environmental Impact Statement, the Bureau of Reclamation announced a whole new round of studies and analyses labeled Phase II and Phase III of the Grand Canyon Environmental Studies.

Comments Edward M. Norton, Jr., president of the Grand Canyon Trust: "It appears extremely unlikely that Phase III could be completed before 1994 or 1995, assuming GCES Phase II is completed by 1992. If a formal Environmental Impact Statement is prepared, which in our view is inevitable, additional time will be required. Under the current plan, a decision on new operating criteria to protect downstream resources in the Grand Canyon is unlikely to take place for approximately 10 years."

Ten years! Perhaps that timetable strikes you as reasonable. It strikes me as a classic example of how bureaucratic procedures and endless studies can work to nullify the public will.The Grand Canyon Trust and various allies have urged the new Secretary of the Interior, Manuel Lujan, Jr., to move promptly to initiate an Environmental Impact Statement concerning Glen Canyon Dam's current operations. If you agree, or would like more information, you can write to the Trust at the Homestead, Route 4, Box 718, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.