Letter from the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity to the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers:
October 26, 1994
Colonel Michael Robinson
Commander
Los Angeles District Army Corps of Engineers
Mr. Alex Watt
Environmental Protection Specialist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
PO Box 2711
Los Angeles, CA 90053-2325
Dear Colonel Robinson and Mr. Watt,
Re: Illegal "Finding of No Significant Impact" by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for the proposed Wellton-Mohawk Gila River Flood Channel
Restoration Project
The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (SWCBD) is a
non-profit, public interest, conservation organization whose mission is
to conserve imperiled native species and their threatened habitat and to
fulfill the continuing educational goals of our membership and the
general public in the process.
Ninety-five per cent of Arizona's rivers have been destroyed by
dams, conversion to agricultural lands, water diversion projects, urban
encroachment, cattle grazing, and excessive ground water pumping. As
living barometers of the condition of our rivers, not surprisingly,
Arizona's native fish are in serious trouble.
Of Arizona's 34 original native fish species, one (the Monkey
Springs pupfish) is extinct, one (the Yaqui sucker) has been extirpated,
twelve are federally recognized as endangered with extinction, six are
federally recognized as threatened with extinction, and 11 are recognized
as candidates for federal protection. Only one native Arizona fish, the
bluehead sucker, has not yet been recommended for federal protection.
The State of Arizona has also acknowledged concern about the
survival of its native fish. The State of Arizona has acknowledged that
the status of Arizona's native fish is so serious that it recognizes 17
as endangered with extinction, seven as threatened with extinction, and
two as candidates for State protection.
Rehabilitation and protection of river habitat for the recovery
of Arizona's struggling native fish species is critical at this
historical juncture if any native fish species, and ultimately, if the
rivers themselves, are to survive. The lower Gila River represents one
of the few remaining areas in the Southwest where rehabilitation of a
degraded river system can readily be accomplished. The successful
reestablishment of cottonwoods and willows as the result of the 1993
floods are proof of the rehabilitation potential for the area.
Southwestern rivers, such as the Gila River, are characterized by
late winter and early spring flooding. Spring flooding is especially
important to the survival of a mature willow-cottonwood forest.
Flooding, erosion, scouring and siltation are natural processes in the
Southwest, also. The resultant meandering through a dynamically changing
river channel characterizes the historic behavior of Southwestern rivers.
The formation and decline of oxbows are also part of the natural
and dynamic process. The oxbows often develop into marshes, which are
successional, or which fill and degrade, as the river channel moves.
Episodic disturbance is the primary characteristic that favors
native species. Channelization of the roughly 60 miles of Gila River
between Wellton and Mohawk and continued operation of the Painted Rock
Dam for the singularly, self-serving benefit of the Wellton-Mohawk
Irrigation District (District) will foreclose the option of recovery for
the lower Gila River forever.
The SWCBD has reviewed the Public Notice of Permit Application,
the Draft Environmental Assessment, and the Draft Mitigation Plan for the
proposed Wellton-Mohawk Gila River Flood Channel Restoration Project
(Project). We have also completed a very recent aerial reconnaissance of
the project area and surrounding areas.
The proposed Project will channelize 56.2 miles of river, will
move 5.7 million cubic yards of material and will place 1 million yards
of rip-rap along the insides of the dikes. According to Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality, it will be the "largest [project] in
terms of area of impact of any 404 Permit in Arizona." The proposed cost
of the Project is $13.7 million.
Since the 1940's, the operation of the District has been an
environmental disaster, as well as an unfair economic burden for the
nation as a whole. The premise that the lower Gila River will be
protected or even needs to be protected by a massive channelization,
dike, and levee project is an insult to reason, as well as to the
taxpayers already overburdened pocketbooks. The District has been
maintained historically by controversial taxpayer subsidies. These
subsidies have included an expensive drainage system to collect sumpwater
and carry it away, artificially low electricity rates, commodity price
supports, and a non-functional $258 million desalinization plant. In
summary, the District has been a controversial boondoggle for half a
century. The proposed Project will only prolong this travesty.
In the Draft Mitigation Plan, the District and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (Corps) estimate the "Acquisition and Dedication of
Lands" at $300/acre. If the Corps' and the District's own estimates are
accurate, 45,666.67 acres of land could be purchased for a flood easement
for the proposed Project's estimated $13.7 million cost! The purchase of
flood prone land for an adequate easement would certainly yield much
better benefits to the general public, and will not foreclose future
recovery options.
The proposed summary finding by the Corps of a "Finding of No
Significant Impact" ("FONSI") is not only inaccurate, it will also be
illegal. Such an inappropriate conclusion will violate the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Specifically, a conclusion of a "FONSI" for the Project will be
in violation of the fact that all agencies of the Federal Government shall:
"...include in every recommendation or report on proposals for
legislation and other major Federal Actions significantly affecting the
quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible
official on - (i) the environmental impact of the proposed action, (ii)
any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the
proposal be implemented, (iii) alternatives to the proposed action...(iv)
any irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the
proposed action should it be implemented." (42 USC 4332)
Furthermore, the following NEPA implementing regulations are also being
ignored:
"(a)...the significance of an action must be analyzed in several contexts
such as society as a whole (human, national), the affected region, the
affected interests, and the locality...Both short- and long-term effects
are relevant...(b)...The following should be considered in evaluating
intensity:...(1)...A significant effect may exist even if the Federal
agency believes that on balance the effect will be beneficial...(3)...
wetlands... ecologically critical areas...(4) The degree to which the
effects on the quality of the human environment are likely to be highly
controversial...(6) The degree to which the action may establish a
precedent for future actions with significant effect or represents a
decision in principle about a future consideration...(7) Whether the
action is related to other actions with individually insignificant but
cumulatively significant impacts. Significance exists if it is
reasonable to anticipate a cumulatively significant impact on the
environment. Significance cannot be avoided by terming an action
temporary or by breaking it down or by breaking it down into small
component parts..." (40 C.F.R. 1508.27)
Should the Corps still choose to conclude a "FONSI" for this
Project, please notify us immediately before any irretrievable commitment
of resources has taken place. If indeed you do conclude a "FONSI," we
intend to seek injunctional judicial relief. Please contact SWCBD via
Robin Silver, M.D., Conservation Chair, SWCBD, PO Box 39629, Phoenix, AZ
85069, Ph: (602) 246 4170, FAX: (602) 249 2576.
Sincerely,
Robin Silver, M.D.
Conservation Chair
cc: Mark Hughes, Esq., Earthlaw staff attorney
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