[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 76 (Friday, April 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21155-21156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8380]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


South Valley Facilities Expansion Project--Clark County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and notice of scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), together with the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS) as 
cooperating agencies, is preparing an EIS pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act to evaluate the effects of the South Valley 
Facilities Expansion (SVFE) Project (Project), as proposed by the 
Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). The SNWA has applied for 
temporary and permanent rights-of-way to construct water treatment and 
conveyance facilities on public land administered by Reclamation, BLM, 
and NPS in Clark County, Nevada.

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held from 4:30 to 8 p.m., with a 
half-hour presentation at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 
May 5, 6, and 7, 2008, to receive oral and written input on the scope 
of issues to be addressed in the EIS such as alternatives, resources, 
and other concerns. Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be 
submitted by May 23, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ms. Laureen Perry (LC-2631), Bureau 
of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, PO Box 61470, Boulder City, NV 
89006-1470, or to [email protected], or fax to 702-293-8418. The 
public scoping meetings will be held at the following locations:
     Monday, May 5, 2008: Valley View Recreation Center, 500 
Harris Street, Henderson, NV 89015.
     Tuesday, May 6, 2008: Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community 
Center, 2020 West Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, NV 89012.
     Wednesday, May 7, 2008: Wingate Hotel, 3041 St. Rose 
Parkway, Henderson, NV 89052.

[[Page 21156]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laureen Perry at 702-293-8020, or 
at the above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Evolving water use patterns in the southern 
area of the Las Vegas Valley and the need to increase the reliability 
and flexibility of the SNWA water supply system have resulted in the 
proposal to redistribute, treat, and convey existing water supplies to 
meet the water demand projections and use patterns in this area. The 
proposed SVFE Project would increase treatment and conveyance capacity 
to allow SNWA to redistribute existing water supplies to locations 
identified by the City of Henderson and the Las Vegas Valley Water 
District to meet projected water demands and to increase the 
flexibility and reliability of the SNWA system to meet seasonal and 
regional water needs. The Project consists of two major elements: (1) 
An expansion of raw water transmission and treatment facilities (the 
treatment element), and (2) construction of a new transmission system 
to convey treated water to the southern area of the Las Vegas Valley 
(the conveyance element).
    The raw water transmission and treatment element of the Project 
includes upgrades and additional facilities to redistribute raw water 
from existing sources at Lake Mead to the River Mountains Water 
Treatment Facility (RMWTF); expansion of treatment capacity within the 
existing footprint of the RMWTF; and enhancement of existing pumping 
station capacity and water filtration rates.
    The conveyance element would include construction of approximately 
26 miles of underground pipeline (72- to 114-inch diameter) from the 
RMWTF to a location west of Interstate 15 in the vicinity of Cactus 
Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Appurtenant facilities would include a 
40-million gallon storage reservoir, rate-of-flow control stations, and 
a pumping station. Currently, the South Valley Lateral transmits water 
supplies to the southern Las Vegas Valley. The conveyance element of 
the SVFE Project would increase SNWA's management flexibility and 
system reliability by supplying water to locations identified by the 
City of Henderson and Las Vegas Valley Water District, and through a 
planned interconnection with the South Valley Lateral, would allow 
areas to be served from either lateral if needed as a result of 
maintenance, repair, or power outage.
    Potential project alternatives include different pipeline 
alignments, different pipeline construction methods (trench excavation 
and tunneling), and different locations for pumping stations, storage 
reservoir, and appurtenant facilities. Alignments being considered for 
the treatment element of the Project include following the existing raw 
water pipeline from the vicinity of Lake Mead to the RMWTF, or a new 
route under the River Mountains. One alignment being considered for the 
conveyance element includes a southern route from the RMWTF that heads 
south and then west and generally parallels the southern corporate 
limits of the City of Henderson, the northern boundary of Sloan Canyon 
National Conservation Area, and north of the Henderson Executive 
Airport to Gillespie Street. The northern conveyance alignment heads 
west from the RMWTF to U.S. Highway 95 where the alignment may go 
either north or south around Black Mountain. The route continues west 
and generally parallels Interstate 215 to St. Rose Parkway and to 
Maryland Parkway where the route turns south and then west to Gillespie 
Street. At Gillespie Street both the northern and southern alignments 
head south to St. Rose Parkway and north to Silverado Ranch Boulevard 
to new distribution facilities, and west across Interstate 15 to the 
terminus in the vicinity of Cactus Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Maps 
of the potential alternative alignments will be available for review at 
the public scoping meetings, may be requested from Ms. Laureen Perry 
(at the above address), or may be viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g2000/envdocs.html.

Special Assistance for Public Scoping Meeting

    If special assistance or other accommodation is needed, please 
notify Ms. Laureen Perry at 702-293-8020, or at [email protected], 
or by mail at the above address as far in advance as possible to secure 
the needed services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will 
be notified.

Public Disclosure

    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 personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
request in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, Reclamation cannot guarantee it will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: March 20, 2008.
Jayne Harkins,
Deputy Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. E8-8380 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
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