[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72756-72757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24575]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Northwest Area Water Supply Project, ND

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Announcement of Public Hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation published a notice in the Federal 
Register on March 6, 2006 (71 FR 11226) announcing the commencement of 
work under the National Environmental Policy Act on an environmental 
impact statement for the Northwest Area Water Supply Project (NAWS 
Project). We are now notifying the public that Reclamation has prepared 
a Draft EIS which is now available for review and comment. The Draft 
EIS provides information and analyses related to water treatment for 
the NAWS Project that would further minimize the transfer of 
potentially invasive species from the Missouri River basin into the 
Hudson Bay basin from potential treatment or conveyance failures. The 
Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental, cultural, and 
socioeconomic effects of four alternatives.

DATES: A 60-day public review period begins with the publication of 
this notice. Written comments on the Draft EIS are due by February 26, 
2008, and should be submitted to Reclamation at the address given 
below.
    Public hearings will be held during February 2008 in North Dakota. 
See the Supplementary Information section for dates of the public 
hearings.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the Draft EIS to: Northwest Area Water 
Supply Project EIS, Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, P.O. 
Box 1017, Bismarck, ND 58502. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 
meeting addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alicia Waters, Northwest Area Water 
Supply Project EIS, Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, P.O. 
Box 1017, Bismarck ND 58502; Telephone: (701) 221-1206; or FAX (701) 
250-4326. You may submit e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Hearing Dates:

 Monday, February 4, 2008, 7 p.m., Bismarck, North Dakota
 Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7 p.m., Minot, North Dakota
 Thursday, February 7, 2008, 7 p.m., New Town, North Dakota

Public Hearing Locations:

 Bismarck--Best Western Ramkota, 800 South 3\rd\ Street, 
Bismarck, ND 58504
 Minot--Sleep Inn & Suites, 2400 10\th\ Street SW., Minot, ND 
58701
 New Town--Four Bears Casino and Lodge, 202 Frontage Rd, 
Newtown, ND 58763

Public Review Locations:

    Copies of the Draft EIS are available for public review at the 
following locations:

 Bismarck Public Library, 515 North 5\th\ Street, Bismarck, ND
 Minot Public Library, 516 2\nd\ Avenue SW., Minot, ND

[[Page 72757]]

 Dakotas Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 304 East Broadway, 
Bismarck, ND
 Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fort Berthold Agency, 202 Main 
Street, New Town, ND
 North Dakota State Library, 603 East Boulevard Avenue, 
Bismarck, ND
 Standing Rock Administrative Service Center, Building 
1, North Standing Rock Avenue, Fort Yates, ND
 Mohall Public Library, 112 Main Street East, Mohall, ND
 Bottineau City Hall, 115 West 6\th\ Street, Bottineau, ND
 Millennium Library, 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 
Canada

Background

    The Garrison Diversion Unit's Municipal, Rural and Industrial Water 
Supply (MR&I) program was authorized by the U.S. Congress on May 12, 
1986, through the Garrison Diversion Unit Reformulation Act of 1986. 
This act authorized the appropriation of $200 million of Federal funds 
for the planning and construction of water supply facilities throughout 
North Dakota. The NAWS project, initiated in November 1987, is being 
developed as a result of this authorization.
    The NAWS project is designed as a bulk water distribution system 
that will service local communities and rural water systems in 10 
counties in northwestern North Dakota including the community of Minot. 
The NAWS project is an interbasin transfer of water from Lake 
Sakakawea, in the Missouri River basin in North Dakota to Minot, North 
Dakota, in the Hudson Bay basin. Reclamation completed an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 
project in 2001. Construction on the project began in April 2002. In 
October 2002, the Province of Manitoba filed a legal challenge in U.S. 
District Court in Washington, DC to compel the Department of the 
Interior to complete an EIS on the project. A Court Order dated 
February 3, 2005, remanded the case to Reclamation for completion of 
additional environmental analysis.
    During the pendancy of the litigation filed by Manitoba, 
construction continued on the project. Construction of the 45 miles of 
raw water core pipeline began in April 2002 and is substantially 
complete. The Court has also granted permission for the design and 
construction of other project features for the distribution system. 
These project features include a high service pump station and 
distribution pipeline in Minot, North Dakota and a distribution 
pipeline to the community of Berthold, North Dakota.

Proposed Action

    Reclamation proposes to construct a biota water treatment plant for 
the NAWS project that would reduce the risk of transferring potentially 
invasive species from the Missouri River basin to the Hudson Bay basin. 
As a part of this proposed action, Reclamation would implement 
construction methods and operational measures to further minimize the 
risk of invasive species transfer that may occur as a result of a 
failure in the treatment process or conveyance pipeline.

Purpose and Need for the Federal Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to adequately treat water 
from the Missouri River basin (Lake Sakakawea) using methods and 
measures that minimize the risk of transferring invasive species into 
the Hudson Bay basin. Previous environmental analyses have shown that 
the risk of the NAWS project transferring invasive species between 
these two drainage basins is very low. However, in response to the 
legal challenge by the Province of Manitoba, Canada, and the subsequent 
order from the U.S. District Court, Reclamation has conducted further 
environmental analyses of this issue.

Alternatives

    Four water treatment alternatives are evaluated in the Draft EIS to 
meet the purpose and need for the proposed action. Each of the 
alternatives includes a combination of treatment features to form a 
process that reduces the potential risk of the NAWS project 
transferring invasive species from the Missouri River basin to the 
Hudson Bay basin. The alternatives considered in the EIS are generally 
listed in the order of their relative treatment inactivation/removal 
capability with the No Action Alternative providing the lowest level of 
treatment and microfiltration providing the highest level of treatment. 
The alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIS include:
     No Action. The preferred treatment alternative described 
in the Final EA would include chemical disinfection of raw Missouri 
River water prior to transfer into the Hudson Bay basin. This 
alternative includes additional safeguards of pipeline construction and 
operation to minimize the risk of transferring invasive species as a 
result of pipeline failure. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is provided 
along with softening and filtration at the existing Minot water 
treatment plant.
     Basic Treatment. This treatment alternative would include 
a pre-treatment (Coagulation, Flocculation, Sedimentation) process 
followed by chemical and UV disinfection prior to the water crossing 
the drainage divide. The purpose of the pre-treatment process is to 
reduce raw water turbidity which can influence the effectiveness of the 
disinfection processes.
     Conventional Treatment. This treatment process would 
include a pre-treatment of Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) followed by 
media filtration and disinfection using UV and chemicals (chlorine and 
chloramines) within the Missouri River basin.
     Microfiltration. This treatment alternative would include 
pre-treatment (coagulation, pin floc) followed by membrane filtration 
and chemical and UV disinfection processes prior to the water crossing 
the drainage divide.

Public Disclosure Statement

    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should 
be aware that your entire 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.

    Dated: December 10, 2007.
Michael J. Ryan,
Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
 [FR Doc. E7-24575 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
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