[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59808-59809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16720]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Cancellation of the Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Operations and Maintenance of the Flathead Indian 
Irrigation Project Upon Transfer in Favor of Preparation of an 
Environmental Assessment, Flathead, Lake, Missoula and Sanders 
Counties, MO

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) intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
instead of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 
operations and maintenance of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project 
upon transfer. This notice also announces a public comment period. The 
purpose of this notice and public comment period is to obtain 
additional suggestions and information from other agencies and the 
public regarding BIA's intention to prepare an EA instead of an EIS. 
Because the BIA has already held public meetings to satisfy scoping 
requirements for preparation of an EIS, and the subject matter of the 
EA is identical, at this time, the BIA does not intend to hold 
additional public meetings. However, if the need for additional public 
meetings becomes evident through public comment or otherwise, the BIA 
will hold additional public meetings.

DATES: Comments on the implementation of this proposal must be received 
before November 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver written comments to Mr. Travis 
Teegarden, Project Manager, Branch of Irrigation, Power, and Safety of 
Dams, Natural Resources Division, Office of Trust Services, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, 490 N. 31st Street, Suite 203, Billings, MT 59101. You 
may also fax comments to Mr. Travis Teegarden at (406) 657-5988.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Travis Teegarden, (406) 657-5987.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Flathead Indian Irrigation Project 
(Project) is located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern 
Montana. The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is required to 
transfer the operations and management of the Project as provided by 
the Act of May 29, 1908, Public Law 60-156, 35 Stat. 441 (the 1908 Act) 
and the Act of May 25, 1948, Public Law 80-554, 62 Stat. 269 (the 1948 
Act).
    In 1904, the Flathead Indian Allotment Act authorized allotments of 
land within the Flathead Indian Reservation to members of the 
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Tribes) and construction of 
the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project for ``the benefit of Indians'' 
on the Flathead Indian Reservation (33 Stat. 302). When this Act was 
amended in 1908, it also authorized the construction of irrigation 
systems to serve homesteaded lands within the Flathead Indian 
Reservation and provided for turnover of the operation and management 
of irrigation works serving non-Indian lands when certain Project 
construction repayment conditions had been met (35 Stat. 450). Further, 
upon turnover of the project, the 1948 Act called for the operation and 
management of the Project under rules and regulations approved by the 
Secretary.
    As of August 2002, there were 134,788 total acres in the project; 
127,535 of which were assessed acres, with 7,252 designated as 
temporarily non-assessed acres. Approximately 10 percent of the 
Project's irrigated lands are held in trust by the United States for 
the benefit of individual Indian landowners and for the Confederated 
Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Trust land totals 11,771 acres, while land 
in fee status totals 115,764 acres. The primary source of the water for 
the Project originates from the Mission Mountains which border the east 
side of the reservation. The Project facilities include 17 major 
storage reservoirs, 1,300 miles of canals and laterals and more than 
10,000 structures. The Project is divided into the Mission, Post, 
Pablo, Camas, and Jocko divisions. Primary irrigated crops are hay and 
alfalfa,

[[Page 59809]]

grains, potatoes, canola, and some fruit orchards.
    Currently, the BIA's Flathead Agency Superintendent is the Officer-
in-Charge of the Project and administers activities through the 
Irrigation Systems Manager. The Irrigation Systems Manager supervises 
the operation and maintenance of the Project works.
    Non-Indian irrigation interests are represented by three irrigation 
districts, the Flathead Irrigation District, the Mission Irrigation 
District, and the Jocko Valley Irrigation District. These Districts 
signed repayment contracts with the United States in 1928, 1931, and 
1934 respectively, and are collectively represented by the Flathead 
Joint Board of Control (FJBC), which is chartered under state law and 
represents only owners of fee lands. Individual Indians and the Tribes 
that irrigate lands held in trust by the United States are statutorily 
excluded from representation by the FJBC.
    Repayment of Project construction conditions were fulfilled in 
early January 2004. The BIA, the Tribes and the FJBC are developing 
proposed standard operating procedures for the Project and are 
proposing to contract the management of the Project under a Cooperating 
Management Entity, made up of representatives from the FJBC and the 
Tribes, with the BIA providing oversight functions and maintaining its 
role as trustee.
    The BIA has been delegated the responsibility to serve as the Lead 
Agency for National Environmental Policy Act compliance in connection 
with the proposed operations and maintenance of the Flathead Indian 
Irrigation Project upon transfer. Issues to be addressed in the 
environmental analysis include, but are not limited to, irrigation and 
farming, rights-of-ways, treaty-protected fisheries, aquatic habitat, 
biological resources, wildlife habitat, and Indian traditional and 
cultural properties and resources.
    On June 7, 2004, the BIA issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an 
EIS for the proposed operations and maintenance of the Flathead Indian 
Irrigation Project upon transfer (69 FR 31835). The BIA held public 
scoping meetings on June 28, 2004, in Arlee, Montana, and June 30, 
2004, in Ronan, Montana. Public comments were solicited and received by 
the BIA and work began on the EIS. As work on the EIS progressed, it 
became evident that an EA would be a more appropriate NEPA document for 
the proposed transfer of the operation and maintenance of the Project. 
Preliminary analysis of current operation and maintenance of the 
Project and proposed future operations and maintenance after turnover 
showed the two plans to be very similar and any environmental affects 
of the limited changes and new actions to be taken would result 
primarily in environmental benefits. Thus, after consultation with the 
Tribes, the FJBC, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the BIA now 
intends to prepare an EA instead of an EIS. A biological assessment 
prepared in accordance with the Endangered Species Act will accompany 
the EA.
    The proposed operations and management of the Project after 
transfer will be examined in the EA, including Project management 
control structures, certain operating and maintenance methods or 
procedures, system rehabilitation, and alternative water delivery 
regimes. The environmental issues will be substantially the same as 
those that were to be addressed in the EIS that was originally 
contemplated. A draft EA will be made available for public comment. 
Following consideration of public comments on the draft EA, BIA will 
publish a final EA. Based on the information in the final EA, BIA will 
either issue a finding of no significant impact (FONSI), or, if the 
final EA reveals significant environmental impacts, BIA will prepare an 
EIS.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with 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 within in the 
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.l.

    Dated: September 22, 2006.
Michael D. Olsen,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
 [FR Doc. E6-16720 Filed 10-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P