[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10256-10257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1049]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Bureau of Reclamation


Final Environmental Impact Statement for Clean Water Coalition 
Systems Conveyance and Operations Program Lake Mead National Recreation 
Area, Clark County, NV; Notice of Availability

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 and the corresponding Council of Environmental 
Quality implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the National 
Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation, as lead agencies for the 
Department of Interior, announce the availability of the Clean Water 
Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program (SCOP) Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS). The SCOP Final EIS 
completes the evaluation of potential environmental impacts associated 
with a proposed pipeline alternative, two additional pipeline 
alternatives, and the baseline No Action alternative (and also presents 
a Process Improvements option derived from the No Action Alternative). 
The purpose of implementing the proposal is to put into operation a 
treatment and conveyance system that will allow for flexible management 
of wastewater flow in the Las Vegas Valley, while maintaining water 
quality standards. Clark County, Nevada is one of the fastest growing 
counties in the U.S., with a projected population in the area of 
approximately 3,130,000 by 2035. The quantity of effluent treated and 
discharged in the Las Vegas Valley will increase with the Valley 
populations. The treatment and conveyance facilities must accommodate 
the additional flows while continuing to meet current or future water 
quality standards for Las Vegas Wash and Bay, and Lake Mead.
    The Final EIS evaluates effects of the alternatives on both visitor 
experience and park resources including: surface water hydrology, 
groundwater, water quality, biological resources/endangered species, 
cultural resources, recreation, land use, air quality, noise, 
socioeconomics, and other appropriate resource issues identified during 
the public scoping phase. An impairment analysis was also completed by 
the National Park Service (NPS) for the portion of the proposed actions 
that would impinge upon this unit of the National Park System.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the Final EIS may be obtained by 
contacting the SCOP EIS Project Manager, PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle, 
Suite 100, Henderson, NV 89074 (or e-mailing to 
[email protected]). The Final EIS will also be made available 
at public libraries in the following locations: Nevada: Boulder City 
Library, Las Vegas Public Library, Searchlight Library, Community 
College of Southern Nevada, Sahara West Library, Mesquite Library, 
University of Nevada-Las Vegas, James I. Gibson Library, Clark County 
Library, James R. Dickinson Library, Moapa Valley Library, Green Valley 
Library, Sunrise Public Library, Laughlin Library. Arizona: Burton Barr 
Central Library, Tempe Public Library, University of Arizona Library, 
Meadview Community Library, Mohave County Library. Utah: Washington 
County Library. California: Environmental Services Library in San 
Diego, Palm Springs Public Library. Finally, the document will also be 
available via the Internet at http://www.cleanwatercoalition.com and 
http://www.nps.gov/lame/docs.html. For questions concerning release of 
the Final EIS, please contact: Mr. Michael Boyles, National Park 
Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder 
City, NV 89005, telephone (702) 293-8978; or Mr. Anthony Vigil (LC-
2621), Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, NV 89006-
1470, telephone (702) 293-8674.
    Please note that all information received in support of preparing 
the EIS becomes part of the public record. Our practice is to make 
comments, including names, home addresses, home phone numbers, and e-
mail addresses of respondents, available for public review. Before 
including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment--including your personal 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.
    Public Involvement and Other Agency Coordination: The NPS, along 
with the Bureau of Reclamation, began the conservation planning and 
environmental impact analysis process for SCOP in 2002. The Notice of 
Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
July 26, 2002. In addition to the NOI, notices were published in local 
and regional newspapers announcing public scoping meetings, which were 
held in August of 2002 in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV, Kingman and 
Phoenix, AZ, and San Diego and Palm Springs, CA. Postcards including a 
brief description of the proposed project and the locations and dates 
of the public meetings were mailed to all interested parties in Nevada, 
Arizona, and California. The Draft EIS was released for public review 
(and also distributed to the area libraries listed above) in late 
September 2005; the EPA's announcement of availability of the Draft EIS 
was noticed in the Federal Register on October 7, 2005. Nine public 
comment meetings were held during October, 2005 in the same cities in 
which the initial public scoping sessions were conducted. The public 
comment period on the Draft EIS ended December 6, 2005. Over 500 oral 
and written comments were received. The Final EIS contains responses to 
all comments received and incorporates additional information obtained 
during the review period.
    Implementation of SCOP will require a permit from the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, which regulates construction and dredging of 
navigable waters of the

[[Page 10257]]

U.S. It will also require a right-of-way permit from the Bureau of Land 
Management for those portions of the alignment which cross lands under 
that agency's jurisdiction. Coordination with Native Americans occured 
in 2002 and 2004. Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is in process, as are 
consultations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act.
    Proposal and Alternatives: The SCOP Final EIS evaluates the 
potential environmental impacts associated with three pipeline 
alternatives, a Process Improvements Alternative, and the No-Action 
Alternative (the three pipeline alternatives and No Action alternatives 
were presented in the Draft EIS). The Boulder Islands North Alternative 
is the ``environmentally preferred'' alternative and remains the 
``agency preferred'' alternative. However, based on public comments, 
the pipeline alternatives have been slightly modified and the Process 
Improvements Alternative has been added.
    The pipeline alternatives have been revised to limit the total 
phosphorus loading discharged to Lake Mead and the Las Vegas Wash to 
not exceed the current wasteload allocation of 334 pounds per day on an 
average annual basis during ordinary conditions. In addition, details 
regarding the Boulder Basin Adaptive Management Plan have been included 
in the description of the pipeline alternatives. The Process 
Improvements Alternative has been added to the EIS. Although the 
Process Improvements Alternative meets the definition of ``No Action'' 
described in CEQ's Forty Questions, and is considered an extension of 
the original ``No Action'' alternative, it is analyzed and presented in 
the Final EIS as a separate alternative at the request of the public.
    Additions to the EIS resulting from public comments also include 
sections addressing the potential impacts to downstream users; a more 
extensive review of the studies and literature that are available 
regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals and 
personal care products, and a discussion of the treatment capabilities 
of the plants and the effectiveness in removal of these substances; and 
a description of the destratification of Lake Mead and its effect on 
water quality.
    Decision Process: The National Park Service and Bureau of 
Reclamation will prepare separate Records of Decision no sooner than 30 
days following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's 
notice of availability in the Federal Register. Following approval of 
the selected actions, the officials responsible for implementation are 
the Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreational Area and the 
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.

    Dated: November 14, 2006.
Robert Walsh,
Acting Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.

    Dated: November 20, 2006.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service.

    Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register on March 2, 2007.

[FR Doc. 07-1049 Filed 3-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-A7-P