[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 148 (Friday, August 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41336-41338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20336]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Jackson County Water Association, Jackson County Lake Project and 
Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent and notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), announces its intent to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) 
in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for 
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508) and 
Agency regulations 7 CFR 1940-G. The primary scope of the EIS is to 
evaluate the environmental impacts of and alternatives to the Jackson 
County Water Association's applications for financial assistance to 
provide water supply for the residents of Jackson and surrounding 
counties. This project, known as the Jackson County Lake (Project), is 
one of the initiatives developed for the Kentucky Highlands Empowerment 
Zone. The project proposes to construct a 115 foot tall dam on the 
Laurel Fork of the Rockcastle River in Jackson County, Kentucky 
creating a 640 acre lake, storing approximately 28,440 acre feet of 
water. Included in the proposal is a raw water intake, pumps, water 
treatment plant upgrade from 1.0 million gallons per day (MGD) to 2.0 
MGD, and pipelines necessary for transporting raw water to the Jackson 
County Water Association's water treatment plant for treatment and 
distribution to residents in Jackson County and portions of Lee, 
Madison, Owsley, and Rockcastle Counties. In addition to improving the 
water supply of the areas specified above, the Project will serve to 
meet a stated goal of the Kentucky Highland Empowerment Zone's 
Strategic Plan for increasing local recreational and tourism 
opportunities in the Jackson County area.
    The RUS has received two pre-applications from the Jackson County

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Water Association for the (1) Phase IV Water Plant Expansion Project 
and (2) Jackson County Lake Project. The first application requests 
financial assistance solely from RUS and the second application 
requests financial assistance from the RUS, Appalachian Region 
Commission, Kentucky Department of Transportation, Kentucky Highland 
Empowerment Zone, and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 
accordance with 40 CFR 1501.5, Lead Agencies, the RUS will be the lead 
Agency for the EIS and under consideration and negotiation for 
cooperating agencies are the U.S. Forest Service; the Department of the 
Army, Corps of Engineers, Nashville District; Jackson County EZ 
Community, Incorporated; and the Jackson County Water Association, as 
recipient for Community Development Block Grant funds. Since the 
activities encompassed by both applications are so interconnected, the 
Project shall be, for the purposes of the National Environmental Policy 
Act, considered as one action.
    With this notice, RUS invites any affected Federal, State, and 
local Agencies and other interested persons to comment on the scope, 
alternatives, and significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the 
EIS. The public scoping meeting will be held on August 21, 1997, at the 
Jackson County Courthouse, McKee, KY, at 7:00 pm.
    Public participation is an integral component of the environmental 
review process for Federal actions. Public participation will be 
especially important during the scoping phase of the project. RUS and 
the cooperating agencies will be seeking information, comments, and 
assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other 
individuals who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. This input will be used in preparing the draft EIS. Comments 
submitted during the scoping process should be in writing. The comments 
should describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the 
commenter has with the proposal.
    The draft EIS (DEIS) will be filed with the U. S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (USEPA) and will be available for public comment by 
the Summer or Fall of 1998. At that time, the USEPA will publish a 
notice of the availability of the DEIS in the Federal Register and the 
applicant and EZ officials will publish notices in local newspapers. 
The comment period will be 45 days from the date the USEPA publishes 
their Federal Register notice of the availability of the DEIS.
    RUS and the cooperating agencies, believe it is important to give 
reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
the DEIS must structure their participation in the environmental review 
of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the agencies to the 
reviewer's position and contentions, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. 
v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519. 553(1978). Also environmental objections that 
could be raised at the DEIS stage but that are not raised until after 
the completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by the 
courts, City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 1016 1022 (9th Circuit, 
1986) and Wisconsin Hertitage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 
(E.D.Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important 
that those interested in this proposed action participate at each 
opportunity for public involvement so that substantive comments and 
objectives are made available to the Federal agencies involved at a 
time when they can meaningfully consider them and respond to them 
accordingly.
    To assist the involved Federal agencies in identifying and 
considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the 
DEIS should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if the 
comments refer to the specific pages or chapters of the DEIS. Comments 
may also address the adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of the 
alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may 
wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental 
Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    After the comment period ends on the DEIS, the comments will be 
analyzed, considered, and responded to by the agencies involved in 
preparing the final EIS (FEIS). The FEIS is scheduled to be completed 
approximately 30 days after the end of the comment period on the DEIS. 
The public will again have the opportunity to review and comment on the 
FEIS. Upon completion of a 45 day public comment period, the RUS will 
document its decision regarding the Project and reasons for the 
decision in a Record of Decision.
    Those persons who choose not to comment on the scope of the 
document at this time but desire a copy of the DEIS should send their 
names and addresses to Mark S. Plank at the address listed below.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS will be accepted 15 
days after the public scoping meeting is held.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mark S. Plank, USDA, Rural 
Utilities Service, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Stop 1571, 
Washington, D.C., 20250-1571, telephone (202) 720-1649 or fax (202) 
720-0820 or Thomas G. Fern, State Director, USDA, Rural Development 
State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503, 
(606) 224-7300 or fax (606) 224-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Letcher, Vernon Brown, or Ken 
Slone, USDA, Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 
200, Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300 or Mark S. Plank, at the 
address and telephone number above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Subchapter C, Part I 
(Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities and Rural Development 
Investment Areas) of Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act of 1993, Jackson County, Kentucky, is located in an area designated 
as an Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) (see Federal 
Register Vol. 60, No. 24, February 6, 1995). The purpose of the EZ/EC 
initiative is to empower rural communities and their residents to 
create opportunities for economic development as part of a Federal-
State-local and private sector partnership. The proposed action is an 
integral component of the EZ/EC initiative as identified in the 
Kentucky Highland Empowerment Zone's Strategic Plan. The proposed 
action will improve the area's water supply necessary for promoting 
economic development in the area. At the present time the water supply 
for the area consists of the existing Tyner Lake. Water withdrawals 
from Tyner Lake are at near capacity and raw water emergency situations 
occur during periods of low rainfall.
    Prior to submitting applications to RUS and other Federal and state 
agencies for financial assistance, local and Jackson County Empowerment 
Zone officials held a series of public meetings exploring alternative 
project sites for the Project, which has been an ongoing proposal since 
the early to mid 1980s. Project sites that have been at one time or 
another considered are as follows: Horse Lick Site No. 1; Laurel Fork/
Indian Creek Site No. 1; Laurel Fork/Highway 290 Bridge Site No. 2; War 
Fork Site No. 1; War Fork/Hughes Fork Site No. 2; South Fork/ Highway 
89 Site No. 4 (small lake); South Fork/Highway 89 Bridge Site No. 4 
(large lake); South Fork/War Fork Site No. 3A

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(small lake); and South Fork/War Fork No. 3A (large lake). Preliminary 
studies concluded that the Horse Lick and Water Fork watershed should 
be preserved due to environmental sensitivities. Of the sites 
previously considered, local officials are proposing that the preferred 
alternative sites for an impoundment structure are located within the 
Laurel Fork watershed. There are two primary dam sites to be 
considered--(1) Laurel Fork near the confluence with Indian Creek and 
(2) Laurel Fork near the Highway 290 Bridge. The EIS proposes to 
document the extensive analyses already performed and evaluate in 
detail the two sites that have been designated as preferred 
alternatives by local officials. Which ever site is chosen, the 
applicant and Empowerment Zone officials will be required to secure a 
construction permit from the Kentucky Department for Environmental 
Protection, Division of Waters and a Section 10, Rivers and Harbor Act 
permit from the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers.
Dick Mansfield,
Assistant Administrator, Water and Environmental Programs.
[FR Doc. 97-20336 Filed 7-31-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P