News Release:
CARRINGTON, ND (December 4, 2020) – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) released the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply (ENDAWS) Project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
ENDAWS is an alternate bulk water supply to the State Red River Valley Water Supply Project, a municipal, rural and industrial water supply project being developed to meet the water needs of central and eastern North Dakota. The state project, led by the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District (Garrison Diversion), is designed with an intake on the Missouri River, to which Garrison Diversion estimates that using the proposed alternate water source of Reclamation’s McClusky Canal could save millions of dollars in construction and operations and maintenance costs.
“Utilizing existing facilities such as the McClusky Canal would make the project much more affordable for the end water users,” says Duane DeKrey, Garrison Diversion’s General Manager.
The EIS evaluated multiple alternatives, from which a preferred alternative, the McClusky Canal and Missouri River Alternative, was chosen.
“We are grateful for Reclamation’s thorough assessment of the alternatives in the environmental impact statement and for staying on task to maintain the timeline for this important project,” says DeKrey.
A cooperating agency team was established to assist Reclamation with the preparation of the Draft EIS, which included federal and state agencies with jurisdiction or special expertise.
A decision will not be made on the proposed alternatives until a 30-day minimum waiting period has passed, at which point a Record of Decision can be issued for the project and will state the alternative selected.
For additional information on the ENDAWS EIS, please visit www.garrisondiversion/news.