[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74191-74192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28829]


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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 Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(Final EIS) on Water Treatment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is notifying the public 
that Reclamation has prepared a Final EIS on Water Treatment for the 
Northwest Area Water Supply Project (Project). The proposed action is 
to construct a biota water treatment plant for the Project to treat the 
source water from Lake Sakakawea before it is delivered into the Hudson 
Bay basin. The Final EIS provides information and analyses related to 
four water treatment alternatives that would further reduce the risk of 
a Project-related biological invasion from the Missouri River basin 
into the Hudson Bay basin. Reclamation published a Draft EIS on 
December 21, 2007. The public comment period continued through March 
26, 2008. Revisions were made in the Final EIS to incorporate responses 
to comments and identify the preferred alternative and the associated 
cost estimate. However, these revisions do not significantly

[[Page 74192]]

impact the analysis or results presented in the Draft EIS. The Final 
EIS includes written responses to all public comments on the Draft EIS.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until at least 30 days after filing of the Final EIS. After the 30-day 
waiting period, Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision. The 
Record of Decision will identify the selected action for implementation 
and will discuss factors and rationale used in making the decision.

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 to (701) 
250-4326. You may submit an e-mail to [email protected]. Additional 
information is available to the public regarding this EIS and is posted 
on the Web site http://www.usbr.gov/gp/dkao.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    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. This 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 Project is an inter-
basin transfer of water from Lake Sakakawea, in the Missouri River 
basin to the water treatment plant (WTP) in Minot, North Dakota, in the 
Hudson Bay basin. Reclamation completed an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 
Project in 2001. Project construction began in April 2002. In October 
2002, the Province of Manitoba, Canada 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.
    Subsequent orders issued by the District Court allowed construction 
to continue on the distribution systems of the Project while the EIS 
was being prepared. Construction of the main water pipeline between 
Lake Sakakawea and the Minot WTP was completed in 2008. This buried 
pipeline was constructed with several safeguards which further reduce 
the risk of a pipeline breach resulting in a Project-related biological 
invasion.
    Alternatives: The purpose of the proposed action is to adequately 
treat the Project water from the Missouri River basin (Lake Sakakawea) 
to further reduce the risk of a Project-related biological invasion 
into the Hudson Bay basin. The Final EIS considers four water treatment 
alternatives, a no action alternative and three action alternatives, to 
meet the purpose and need for the proposed action. Each of the 
alternatives evaluated include treatment processes which would occur 
within the Missouri River basin prior to the water being pumped through 
the buried pipeline to the Minot WTP. At the Minot WTP, the water would 
be treated to meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
    Alternatives evaluated in the Final EIS include a no action 
alternative, as required by NEPA, and three action alternatives. The 
alternatives evaluated are:
     No Action. The selected action alternative in the FONSI 
(Reclamation 2001) was evaluated as the No Action Alternative in the 
EIS. The treatment process includes chemical disinfection of Missouri 
River water prior to delivery into the Hudson Bay basin. Ultraviolet 
(UV) disinfection would be provided along with softening and filtration 
at the existing Minot WTP.
     Basic Treatment. This treatment alternative would include 
a pretreatment (coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation) process 
followed by chemical and UV disinfection prior to 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. Softening and filtration would be provided at the existing 
Minot WTP.
     Conventional Treatment. This treatment would include a 
pre-treatment of Dissolved Air Flotation followed by media filtration 
and disinfection using UV and chemicals (chlorine and chloramines) 
within the Missouri River basin. Softening and filtration would be 
provided at the existing Minot WTP.
     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. Softening and filtration would be provided at the 
existing Minot WTP.
    The Preferred Alternative identified in the Final EIS includes a 
combination of the treatment processes evaluated in the alternatives 
described previously. The treatment process of the Preferred 
Alternative would include the chemical disinfection evaluated as part 
of the No Action Alternative and the UV disinfection process evaluated 
as part of the action alternatives. After this treatment within the 
Missouri River basin, the water would be pumped through the existing 
pipeline to the Minot WTP where it would be treated with lime softening 
and filtration to meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
    All of the treatment alternatives evaluated would effectively 
inactivate and/or remove a broad range of organisms, including all of 
the potentially invasive species evaluated in the Final EIS. Estimated 
costs for construction and annual operation, maintenance and 
replacement of the alternatives evaluated are provided in the Final 
EIS.
    Public Review Locations: The Final EIS is available for public 
inspection at the following locations:
     Bismarck Public Library, 515 North 5th Street, Bismarck, 
ND.
     Minot Public Library, 516 2nd Avenue SW., Minot, ND.
     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 6th Street, Bottineau, ND.

    Dated: November 26, 2008.
Bobbi C. Sherwood-Widmann,
Acting, Assistant Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
[FR Doc. E8-28829 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
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