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CHAPTERS 

 COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES 



The comparison of alternatives first addresses environmental impacts, then discusses 

 the institutional criteria discussed in Chapter 4. 



5.1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 



The SOR agencies have concluded that envirorunental effects result from implementing 

 the System Operating Strategy and are therefore related to the content of decisions 

 about river operations rather than the process used to reach those dedsior«. Thus, it is 

 concluded that there are no environmental impacts associated with any of the Forum 

 alternatives. 



The only basis for determining that one Forum alternative would be environmentally 

 preferable to another would be if one could predict with certainty what kind of 

 decisions would be made by different Forums. The SOR agencies believe it is not 

 possible to predict the content of decisions that would be made by a particular Forum 

 based on the composition of the Forum or the amount and type of public involvement 

 the Forum employs. 



The SOR environmental analysis pertaii\s to, and focuses on, the System Operating 

 Strategy alternatives since decisions about these alternatives will have effects which 

 must be considered by the SOR lead agencies as required by the National 

 Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Upon establishment of a Forum, future revisions to 

 an operating strategy, annual implementation decisions, and other decisions which 

 affect the strategy and its implementation, would have to be assessed by the SOR lead 



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