[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68473-68474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22345]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-030-5101-ER-F340; N-76800, N-76897]


Notice of Availability for the North Valleys Rights-of-Way 
Projects Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Carson 
City Field Office, Nevada.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the North Valleys Rights-of-Way Projects and 
initiation of a 30-day comment period.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) and 40 CFR 1500-1508 Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations (CEQ), notice is given that the Bureau of Land Management, 
Carson City Field Office (BLM) has prepared, with the assistance of a 
third-party consultant, a Final EIS for the proposed North Valleys 
Rights-of-Way Projects, and has made the document available for public 
and agency review. The proposed Projects include the construction and 
operation of two separate water supply and transmission projects 
located in Washoe County, Nevada. Rights-of-way applications were 
submitted to the BLM from Intermountain Water Supply, LTD and Fish 
Springs Ranch, LLC for production well(s), pump station(s), 
transmission pipeline(s), terminal water storage tank, electrical 
substation, overhead power lines, and access road rights-of-way.

DATES: Effective Dates: The comment period for the Final EIS will 
commence with the publication of this notice. The formal comment period 
will end 30 days after publication of this notice. Comments should be 
received on or before the end of the comment period at the address 
listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to BLM Carson City Field 
Office, Attn: Terri Knutson, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, NV 
89701; Fax (775) 885-6147; or e-mail address [email protected]. A limited number of the Final EIS may be obtained at the 
above BLM Field Office in Carson City, NV. Comments, including names 
and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public 
review at the above address during regular business hours (7:30 a.m.-5 
p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as 
part of the EIS. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If 
you wish to withhold your name or street 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. However, we 
will not consider anonymous comments. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by law. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, write to 
the above address or call Terri Knutson (BLM Environmental Planner) at 
(775) 885-6156 or Ken Nelson (BLM Realty Specialist) at (775) 885-6114.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM Carson City Field Office received 
separate rights-of-way applications from the Fish Springs Ranch, LLC 
and Intermountain Water Supply, LTD, two independent water companies, 
proposing to construct and operate water transmission pipelines across 
public lands in Washoe County, Nevada. The BLM determined that due to 
the same timing, geography, and similarity of the types of actions, the 
two proposals would be analyzed in one EIS, together known as the North 
Valleys Rights-of-Way Projects. Each company is proposing to construct 
and operate water supply and transmission projects to meet present and 
future water demands of the Stead/Silver Lake/Lemmon Valley areas 
(North Valleys) in Washoe County. The proposed Projects consist of 
groundwater production wells, pump station(s), transmission 
pipeline(s), electrical substation, overhead power lines, and terminal 
water storage tank to convey water. The Fish Springs Ranch, LLC 
proposed pipeline (carrying 8000 acre-feet per year) would begin at the 
Fish Springs Ranch and proceed approximately 33 miles to the North 
Valleys. The Intermountain Water Supply, LTD original proposal included 
a water pipeline to convey approximately 3500 acre-feet per year that 
would begin in Dry Valley and proceed east a short distance before 
tying into the same general route south approximately 24 miles to the 
North Valleys. As a result of a review of public comments and 
groundwater modeling results for the Draft EIS, Intermountain Water 
Supply, LTD has reduced their proposed pumping rate to a total of 2500 
acre-feet per year for the Final EIS.
    The Final EIS assesses the impacts of the two proposed rights-of-
way actions and the No Action alternatives and considers an alternative 
alignment of the pipelines. The Final EIS addresses issues brought 
forth through scoping and the Draft EIS and has been evaluated by an 
interdisciplinary team of specialists. The proposed rights-of-way cross 
several jurisdictions with permitting responsibilities, therefore, the 
following agencies or entities are active participants in the EIS 
process as formal cooperating agencies: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; 
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs; U.S. Geological Survey; Sierra Army 
Depot; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe;

[[Page 68474]]

Susanville Indian Rancheria; California Department of Water Resources; 
California Department of Fish and Game; Lassen County, CA; Washoe 
County, NV; City of Reno; City of Sparks; Airport Authority of Washoe 
County; and Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency.
    Public participation has occurred throughout the EIS process. A 
Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS was published in the Federal 
Register on September 15, 2003 and the public comment period was 
initiated. A public scoping open house was held in Reno, NV in October 
2003 and eight additional presentations were conducted between October 
2003 and April 2004. A Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was 
published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2005 and a 60-day comment 
period was initiated. Two public open houses and three local government 
presentations were conducted in Reno, NV and one community public 
meeting was conducted in Susanville, CA. A total of 26 comment letters 
were received on the Draft EIS and the letters and responses to 
comments are included in the Final EIS.
    Comments on the Final EIS should be as specific as possible and 
should refer to specific pages or chapters in the document. After the 
comment period ends, all comments will be considered by the BLM in 
preparing the Record of Decision (ROD).

    Dated: September 27, 2005.
Donald T. Hicks,
Manager, Carson City Field Office.
[FR Doc. 05-22345 Filed 11-9-05; 8:45 am]
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