[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 43588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16378]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental 
Statement for the Reallocation of Water Supply Storage Project, John 
Redmond Lake, KS

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 
has prepared a Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Statement 
(DSFES) for the Reallocation of Water Supply Storage Project, John 
Redmond Lake, KS. The purpose of the project is to assess potential 
significant environmental impacts associated with water storage 
reallocation and a higher conservation pool elevation at John Redmond 
Lake.

DATES: The DSFEIS will be available for public review when this 
announcement is published. The review period of the document will be 
until September 11, 2002. To request a copy of the supplement, please 
call (918) 669-4396.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
DSFEIS, please contact Stephen L. Nolen, Chief, Environmental Analysis 
and Compliance Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CESWT-PE-E, 
1645 South 101st East Avenue, Tulsa OK, 74128-4629.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: John Redmond Dam was initially authorized as 
the Strawn Dam and Reservoir under the Flood Control Act of May 17, 
1950, for flood control, water conservation, recreation, and water 
supply for communities along the Neosho River in southeastern Kansas. 
Congress subsequently changed the name in 1958 to John Redmond Dam and 
Reservoir.
    To perform its authorized purposes, the lake contains three types 
of water storage pools. The upper pool provides 574,918 acre-feet of 
flood control storage and is reserved for flood control operations. The 
conservation pool provides 50,501 acre-feet of storage for water 
supply, water quality, and sediment. The inactive pool has filled with 
sediment. Water supply storage was projected to occur within the 
conservation pool when maintained at the surface elevation of 1039.0 
feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum(NGVD). Studies have determined 
that sediment is accumulating in the conservation pool and is reducing 
the amount of water stored there. The amount of water storage reduction 
predicted by calendar year (CY) 2014 is approximately 25% or 8,725 
acre-feet of water supply.
    The USACE has been directed by Congress to conduct a study to 
reallocate water supply storage, an action that would fulfill the water 
supply agreement with the State of Kansas. This supplement addresses 
the proposed water supply storage reallocation project.
    A Final Environmental Statement for operation and maintenance of 
John Redmond, Marion, and Council Grove Lakes, KS, was filed on 
December 17, 1976. This supplement addresses the environmental impacts 
of making an equitable redistribution of the storage remaining between 
the flood control pool and the conservation pool due to uneven sediment 
distribution.
    Sediment in John Redmond Lake has been collecting mainly in the 
conservation pool, thereby reducing the conservation pool storage 
faster than was designed, while the flood control pool has not received 
as much sediment and has retained more storage than it was designed to 
retain. The reallocation does not guarantee the water storage volume 
contracted to the State of Kansas per an agreement in 1975, but makes 
an equitable redistribution of the remaining storage.
    A total of four alternatives were identified and addressed in the 
DSFES. These include: no action, raise the conservation pool elevation 
by two feet, raise the conservation pool by two feet incrementally, and 
dredge the sediment from the conservation pool. The preferred 
alternative is to reallocate water storage in the conservation pool by 
two feet in a single pool raise. This would achieve the water storage 
obligation.
    Environmental consequences of the proposed action identified in the 
DSFES include: (1) The loss of approximately 270 acres of wetland 
habitat, 40 acres of grassland, 51 acres of cropland, and 195 acres of 
woodland, and (2) impacts to 31 potentially significant prehistoric and 
historic archeology sites.
    Mitigation for impacts to biological resources is proposed and is 
based upon recommendations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A 
Memorandum of Agreement between the USACE, the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation, and the Kansas and Nebraska State Historic 
Preservation Offices is being drafted to determine appropriate actions 
and mitigation measures for cultural resources that may be discovered 
and/or affected during the course of the project. Appropriate 
mitigation measures may include preservation in place for future study, 
recovery or partial recovery of site data through excavation, a public 
interpretive display, or a combination of these measures.
    The DSFES has been coordinated and approved by offices and 
directorates affected by or interested in the subject matter, including 
the Office of Counsel and Executive Offices.

Stephen R. Zeltner,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Acting District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 02-16378 Filed 6-27-02; 8:45 am]
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