The meeting is set for 7:00 p.m., at the Yakima Convention Center at 10 North 8th Street in Yakima, Washington. The meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Please direct requests for sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired, or other auxiliary aids, to Kim McCartney (509) 575-5848 ext. 370, as soon as possible prior to the meeting.

"The purpose of this meeting is to provide information about the Appraisal Assessment of the Black Rock Alternative and to answer questions from the public regarding the summary report and the associated technical reports released in late February," said Kim McCartney, Reclamation storage study manager. The reports may be viewed on Reclamation's website at www.usbr.gov/pn.

The potential reservoir east of Yakima would store up to 1.3 million acre-feet of water. Reclamation hydrologists, engineers and planners will be on hand to make formal presentations and answer questions.

Reclamation's assessment report on the proposal, released last month, estimated total project costs at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. Congress authorized the storage study in 2003 with an emphasis on the Black Rock proposal, which would draw water from the Columbia River to serve Lower Yakima Valley irrigators.