[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66123-66124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29345]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Request for Small Reclamation Projects Act Loan To Construct 
Narrows Dam in Sanpete County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation (Interior), Lead Agency; U.S. Forest 
Service (Agriculture); and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army), 
Cooperating Agencies.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental draft environmental 
impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Federal agency 
with administrative authority under the Small Reclamation Projects Act 
(SRPA), in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, intends to prepare a supplemental draft environmental 
impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and 40 CFR 1502.9. The supplemental 
draft EIS will describe the effects of granting a SRPA loan and 
authorizing use of withdrawn lands to the Sanpete Water Conservancy 
District (SWCD) for the purpose of constructing the Narrows Dam and 
Reservoir and rehabilitating the existing Gooseberry (Narrows) Tunnel. 
The purpose of the proposed action is to enable the SWCD to develop an 
existing Gooseberry Project right to 5,400 acre-feet of water.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kerry Schwartz, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Provo Area Office, 302 East 1860 South, Provo, Utah 84606-
7317; telephone (801) 379-1150; faxogram (801) 379-1159; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft EIS for this proposed action was 
prepared and published for public comment in 1998. The supplemental 
draft EIS will incorporate comments received on the draft EIS in 1998 
as well as new information received since that time. When the 
supplemental draft EIS is complete, a Notice of Availability will be 
published in the Federal Register. That notice will contain information 
about public hearings that will be held to receive comments on the 
supplemental draft EIS. Public comments on the draft document will be 
solicited for a 60-day comment period.

Background

    Water development in the Gooseberry Creek drainage in Utah has a 
lengthy history dating back to the early 20th century. The proposed 
action for which this supplemental draft EIS is being prepared was 
initiated in 1981 by a Notice of Intent published in the Federal 
Register by the SWCD to apply for a SRPA loan to help finance 
construction of the Narrows Dam and Reservoir and rehabilitation of the 
existing Gooseberry (Narrows) Tunnel. The proposed reservoir would have 
a total capacity of 17,000 acre-feet of water and would provide active 
storage of no more than 14,500 acre-feet of water for the purpose of 
receiving 5,400 acre-feet per year of water from Gooseberry Creek by 
transmountain diversion through the Gooseberry (Narrows) Tunnel, under 
a water right approved by the Utah State Engineer on January 7, 1985.
    A draft EIS analyzing the potential impacts of the proposed action 
was prepared by Reclamation and circulated for public review in 1993. A 
final EIS and Record of Decision were completed in 1995, but the Record 
of Decision was rescinded later in 1995. A new draft EIS was published 
in March 1998 for public review and comment, and public hearings were 
held to receive comments on the draft EIS in April 1998. Since that 
time, Reclamation has addressed and incorporated comments received on 
the 1998 draft EIS and engaged in written and oral communications with 
the interested public, including its cooperating agencies, and other 
state and Federal regulatory agencies. Because of new information 
either received or developed from comments received on the 1998 draft 
EIS, Reclamation and its cooperating agencies have determined that a 
supplemental draft EIS should be prepared and published for public 
review and comment rather than proceeding with publication of a final 
EIS. Specifically, the supplemental draft EIS will update or add new 
information as follows:
    [sbull] Updated hydrology studies through 2002.
    [sbull] Updated water quality studies through 2002.
    [sbull] Updated population and demographics based on a 2000 census.
    [sbull] Updated water usage data.
    [sbull] Updated recreation data.
    [sbull] Added discussion regarding Skyline Mine water development.
    [sbull] Updated brown trout habitat suitability curves.
    [sbull] Updated project cost estimates.
    [sbull] Updated wetlands delineations.
    [sbull] Added discussion and analysis related to Wild and Scenic 
Rivers proposed designation for Gooseberry Creek.
    [sbull] Updated Endangered Species Act compliance for Colorado 
pikeminnow use of the lower Price River

Purpose and Need for Action

    Reclamation has received an application for a SRPA Loan from the 
SWCD for the purposes of constructing the Narrows Project. The primary 
purpose of the Narrows Project is to develop an irrigation and 
municipal and industrial supply source for water users in north Sanpete 
County, Utah. The following water needs would be addressed by the 
proposed
    [sbull] Demand for municipal water for present and future use 
currently exceeds the available supply. The proposed Narrows Project 
would develop through exchange an additional supply of municipal water 
to offset current shortages and accommodate anticipated population 
growth in the project area;
    [sbull] The current water supply for agricultural irrigation does 
not provide adequate supply and storage during July, August, and 
September of each year. The proposed Narrows Project would provide late 
season irrigation water to offset at least some of the current 
shortages; and
    [sbull] The Gooseberry (Narrows) Tunnel in Sanpete County is in 
need of rehabilitation to maintain and enhance its dependability and 
capability to deliver water to Sanpete County users. The proposed 
Narrows Project would include such rehabilitation work to prevent 
tunnel failure and ensure the tunnel's continuing usefulness.

In addition to the primary purpose of supplying water to Sanpete 
County, the project would have the additional benefit of providing 
improved and additional recreation and fishery opportunities in Sanpete 
County.

Proposed Action

    Reclamation proposes to approve the SWCD's loan application under 
the SRPA and authorize use of withdrawn lands to enable the SWCD to 
construct the Narrows Project. If the loan and use of the land are 
approved, a supplemental water supply would be developed for presently 
irrigated lands and municipal water users in north Sanpete County. A 
dam and reservoir would be built on Gooseberry Creek and water would be 
diverted through the existing Gooseberry (Narrows) Tunnel (which would 
be rehabilitated) to Cottonwood Creek. Pipelines would be

[[Page 66124]]

built to deliver the water to existing water distribution systems. 
Recreation facilities would be developed and a 2,500 acre-foot minimum 
pool for fish habitat would be provided. Mitigation measures would be 
implemented to offset adverse impacts to wetlands, terrestrial 
wildlife, and stream fisheries. Additional water conservation measures 
would be implemented independent of this proposed action, but water 
users would be required to use or agree to implement conservation 
measures to be eligible to receive project water.

Public Disclosure

    It is Reclamation's practice to make comments, including names and 
home addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: October 21, 2003.
Rick L. Gold,
Regional Director, Upper Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 03-29345 Filed 11-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P