[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27155-27156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12371]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Weber Dam Repair and Modification Project, Lyon and Mineral 
Counties, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), with the cooperation of the Walker River Paiute Indian 
Tribe (Tribe), intends to gather information necessary for preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Weber Dam Repair and 
Modification Project on the Walker River Paiute Reservation, Lyon and 
Mineral Counties, Nevada. The purpose of the project is to correct 
unsafe conditions at Weber Dam in order to protect health and welfare 
needs of the Walker River Paiute and the citizens of the two counties. 
Details on the project location, proposed action, alternatives, and 
initial area of environmental concern to be addressed in the EIS are 
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. This notice also 
announces public meetings on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
EIS.

DATES: Comments on the scope and implementation of this proposal must 
arrive by June 18, 2001. The public scoping meetings will be held on 
June 5, 2001, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on June 6, 2001, from 6 p.m. 
to 8 p.m.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Amy L. 
Heuslein, Regional Environmental Protection Officer, Western Regional 
Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Environmental Quality Services, P.O. 
Box 10 (400 N. 5th Street, 14th floor), Phoenix, Arizona, 85001; or to 
Chuck O'Rourke, Natural Resources Officer, Western Nevada Agency, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1677 Hot Springs Road, Carson City, Nevada, 
89706. (See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for E-mail options.)
    The June 5, 2001, public meeting will be held at the Walker River 
Paiute Tribal Hall, #1 Hospital Road, Schurz, Nevada. The June 6, 2001, 
public meeting will be held at the Casino West Convention Center, 11 N. 
Main Street, Yerington, Nevada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Heuslein, (602) 379-6750, or Chuck 
O'Rourke, (775) 887-3550.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Weber Dam is located on the Walker River, 
northwest of the town of Schurz, Nevada, and upriver from Walker Lake. 
Walker Lake is a desert lake located at the terminus of the Walker 
River, which once supported naturally-reproducing, indigenous, Lahontan 
cutthroat trout (Oncorhyncus clarki henshawi) (LCT). LCT are currently 
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531-
44. The lake fishery is maintained by hatchery production. Weber Dam is 
one of many structures on the Walker River that prevents LCT from 
migrating from the lake to a historical habitat in the Walker River 
basin.
    Construction of Weber Dam, which is an earthen structure, began in 
1934. It was completed in 1937. The dam serves to store water for 
irrigation of farmland on the Walker River Paiute Reservation. Because 
it sits on an earthquake fault and has been leaking for many years, the 
BIA has determined, under the Indian Dams Safety Act, 25 U.S.C. 3801-
04, that Weber Dam is a high hazard dam. This means that if the dam 
should fail, there is a potential for loss of human life downstream. 
The BIA has therefore assigned Weber Dam the highest priority for 
modification due to its unsafe condition.
    On September 30, 1991, the Tribe entered into a contract with BIA 
pursuant to Public Law 93-638, under which the Tribe will carry out the 
BIA's responsibilities for repair and modification of Weber Dam 
pursuant to the Indian Dams Safety Act, including the preparation of 
environmental compliance documents. In this case, after completing an 
Environmental Assessment in 1994 and Supplemental Assessment in 1998, 
the BIA, in consultation with the Tribe, determined that an EIS is 
needed in order to analyze the effects of the proposed project on the 
human environment. The design and specifications for the repair and 
modification were provided by the Bureau of Reclamation.
    The proposed action to be addressed in the EIS is the repair and 
modification of Weber Dam, pursuant to the Indian Dams Safety Act. 
Alternatives to the proposed action include no action, relocating a 
section of the dam from an existing earthquake fault, renovating the 
outlet works, reestablishing a wetlands area and removing the 
impediment to upstream and downstream passage for LCT. The effect of 
the proposed action on LCT is a primary area of environmental concern 
to be addressed in the EIS.

Public Comment Solicitation

    As an alternative to submitting written comments regarding the 
content of the EIS to the locations identified in the ADDRESSES 
section, interested

[[Page 27156]]

persons may instead comment via the Internet to [email protected] or 
to ChuckO'[email protected]. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII 
file, avoiding the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption. If you do not receive confirmation from the system that 
your Internet message was received, contact Amy Heuslein at (602) 379-
6750, or Chuck O'Rourke at (775) 887-3550.
    Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the mailing addresses shown in the 
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or 
address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent 
allowed by law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the 
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 
1508), implementing the procedural requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the 
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.1.

    Dated: April 12, 2001.
James H. McDivitt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs (Management).
[FR Doc. 01-12371 Filed 5-15-01; 8:45 am]
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