[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 57 (Friday, March 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15298-15299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5923]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Dam 
Safety Assurance Program Evaluation Report for Harlan County Lake 
Located in Harlan County, Nebraska Near the Cities of Alma and 
Republican City, NE

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, 
intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and 
Dam Safety Assurance Program (DSAP) Evaluation Report for Harlan County 
Lake. Harlan County Lake is located near the cities of Alma and 
Republican City, Nebraska, immediately north of the Nebraska-Kansas 
border. The dam provides irrigation water supply to areas on both sides 
of the state line and flood control for the Republican River Basin 
between Harlan County, Nebraska and Milford Lake located in east 
central Kansas near Junction City, in Clay and Geary counties. The DEIS 
study will analyze the economic, environmental, and social impacts that 
may occur as a result of the various alternatives solutions being 
considered in the DSAP Report for Harlan County Lake, The DSAP Report 
will analyze both structural and non-structural solutions for Harlan 
County Dam's current tainter gate operational issues, the dam's overall 
hydrologic adequacy, spillway stability and the interdependence of all 
these factors on the performance of the dam.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric S. Lynn, Project Manager, Plan 
Formulation Section, ATTN: CENWK-PM-PF, U.S. Army Engineer District, 
Kansas City, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106-2896, 
Phone 816-983-3258 or e-mail to: [email protected]. Additional 
information is also available on the Harlan County Dam Project Web site 
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/projects/hcdsap/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    The Republican River Flood of 1935 resulted in major property 
damage in the Republican River Basin and the loss of 113 lives. The 
Harlan County Dam project was authorized under the Flood Control Act of 
1941, Public Law 228, 77th Congress, as part of the Missouri River 
Basin Comprehensive Plan. The Flood Control Act of 1944 authorized 
project purposes of flood control, irrigation, fish and wildlife, and 
recreation. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manages Harlan County Dam's 
150,000 acre-feet of storage allocated for irrigation. Harlan County 
Dam began operation in 1952 will full multipurpose pool being achieved 
in 1957. Engineering analysis of Harlan County Dam's 18 tainter gates 
indicated operating issues if the gates were required to operate as 
designed under full water load conditions to control reservoir water 
levels to the top of flood control pool elevation of 1973.5 feet, mean 
sea level (msl). The tainter gates are 30 feet by 40 feet made of 
structural steel. The design of the Harlan County Dam tainter gates is 
similar to the Folsom Dam tainter gates that experienced structural and 
mechanical failure in 1995. Harlan County Dam engineering studies 
resulted in the adoption in 2003 of a 5-year Interim Operating Plan for 
Harlan County Dam with top of flood control pool elevation being 
lowered to 1960.5 msl. At this lower elevation only 17.5 feet of water 
would be on the gates prior to releasing of floodwater as compared to 
approximately 30 feet of water if the gates were completely operating 
as designed. The maximum height on the gates to date is 12.5 feet. The 
Interim Operating Plan has resulted in the reduction of the flood 
control storage capacity of the reservoir by approximately 50 percent 
from 500,000 acre feet to 227,000 acre feet. To date, this lower 
storage capacity has had no effect on the dam's operation for flood 
control, irrigation, recreation, or fish and wildlife use. The Interim 
Operating Plan's top of flood control pool of 1960.5 msl elevation is 
4.8 feet higher than the Dam's highest historic pool elevation. 
Engineering analysis indicates that if corrective action is not taken 
the gate mechanisms will probably continue to corrode and deteriorate 
requiring potentially more stringent operating restrictions at some 
point in the future. There are substantive economic, social,

[[Page 15299]]

environmental and cultural issues associated with alternatives being 
evaluated for the operation of Harlan County Dam including flood 
control, irrigation, agriculture, recreation, tourism, cultural 
resources, aesthetics, transportation, project costs, and other factors 
to be identified during the scoping process.

2. Scoping Process

    The one or more scoping meetings planned during 2005 for the Dam 
Safety Assurance Program will also provide information to the public 
regarding the Harlan County Dam Interim Operating Plan and the 
potential impacts this Plan may have on the Republican River Basin. The 
scoping meeting(s) will be advertised in local newspapers, and a 
mailing list will be used to notify the public and other interested 
parties of the meetings. The public, native American tribes, and 
affected government agencies at the local, State, and Federal level are 
encouraged to participate in the scoping process by forwarding written 
comments to the above noted address. The scoping process is designed to 
obtain comments and input for the DEIS and DSAP Report from the public 
concerning alternative measurers that may be considered for the future 
operation of the Harlan County Dam. Interested parties may also request 
to be included on the mailing list for public distribution of meeting 
announcements and the status of EIS document preparation. Environmental 
consultation and review will be conducted in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as per 
regulations of the Council of Environmental Quality (Code of Federal 
Regulations Parts 40 CFR 1500-1508), and other applicable laws, 
regulations, and guidelines.

3. Availability of EIS Documents

    The availability of the Draft and Final EIS will be presented in 
the Federal Register and by notices in the local newspapers. The 
mailing list will also be used to notify interested parties of the 
availability and location of the Draft and Final EIS for public review.

    Dated: March 11, 2005.
David L. Combs,
Chief, Planning Branch, Kansas City District, Corps of Engineers.
[FR Doc. 05-5923 Filed 3-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-KN-M