Reclamation will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the effects of the closure of Folsom Dam Road. The study will analyze environmental impacts caused by the need for increased security at Folsom. The Draft EIS will be issued in Summer 2004 with a Final EIS and Record of Decision scheduled for Spring 2005.

Folsom Dam Road was closed in February 2003 following an in-depth security assessment of the facility and a full-scale evaluation by Reclamation, Department of the Interior, and the Defense Department’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency officials. The need to protect the water and power mission of Folsom Dam and the lives and property of the citizens of the Sacramento area required that Reclamation take affirmative and expeditious action.

Folsom Dam, an integral feature of the Federal Central Valley Project, was constructed in the 1950's. The narrow, two-lane road built on top of the dam was intended to serve as an access road for maintenance and for incidental recreational access to the lake. In ensuing years, as the population of Placer and El Dorado counties has grown, the road over the dam has become a major transportation artery. Over the last 20 years, traffic on the road has grown to thousands of cars a day, creating heightened security risks for the facility.

Additional information will be issued as the project advances. If you would like to be included on the EIS mailing list, please either e-mail Jeff McCracken of Reclamation's Public Affairs Office at jmccracken@mp.usbr.gov, or call 916-978-5109 and leave a message including your name, address, and phone number.