[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 245 (Friday, December 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77838-77839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29565]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Southern Delivery System, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Southern Delivery System Final

[[Page 77839]]

Environmental Impact Statement, Colorado.

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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, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has prepared and made 
available to the public a final environmental impact statement (Final 
EIS) for the proposed Southern Delivery System (SDS) project. The non-
federal Project Participants (City of Colorado Springs, City of 
Fountain, Security Water District, and Pueblo West Metropolitan 
District) have made a request to Reclamation to issue long term excess 
capacity, conveyance, and exchange contracts for the use of Fryingpan-
Arkansas Project facilities. Reclamation needs to decide if the 
requested contracts will be issued. The Project Participants' purpose 
is to provide a safe, reliable, and sustainable water supply for their 
customers through the foreseeable future. The Project Participants' 
needs are the following:
     The Project Participants have a need to use developed and 
undeveloped water supplies to meet most or all projected future demands 
through 2046.
     The Project Participants have a need to develop additional 
water storage, delivery, and treatment capacity to provide system 
redundancy.
     The Project Participants have a need to perfect and 
deliver their existing Arkansas Basin water rights.
Reclamation published a Draft EIS on February 29, 2008. Reclamation 
published a Supplemental Information Report on October 3, 2008 to 
update and provide additional information that was not in the Draft 
EIS. Revisions were made to the Final EIS to incorporate additional 
analyses presented in the Supplemental Information Report, and 
responses to comments on the Draft EIS and Supplemental Information 
Report. The Final EIS includes written responses to all public comments 
on both the Draft EIS and Supplemental Information Report. It also 
identifies the Participants' Proposed Action as Reclamation's preferred 
alternative.

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

ADDRESSES: Ms. Kara Lamb, Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area 
Office, 11056 W. County Road 18E, Loveland, CO 80537-9711; telephone 
(970) 663-3212; facsimile (970) 962-4326; e-mail: [email protected]. 
The Draft EIS, Supplemental Information Report, and Final EIS, are also 
available on the project Web site at: http://www.sdseis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final EIS considers six action 
alternatives and a no action alternative:
     The No Action Alternative represents the most likely 
future water development project in the absence of a major Reclamation 
action.
     The Participants' Proposed Action represents the Southern 
Delivery System project as the Participants propose to construct and 
operate it.
     The Wetland Alternative was developed to minimize the 
wetland acres disturbed.
     The Arkansas River Alternative was developed to provide 
both the highest minimum flow in the Arkansas River through Pueblo and 
minimize water quality effects on the lower Arkansas River.
     The Fountain Creek Alternative was developed to minimize 
geomorphic and water quality effects on Fountain Creek by minimizing 
the use of Fountain Creek for receiving and conveying reusable return 
flows on the Arkansas River.
     The Downstream Intake Alternative would use an untreated 
water intake from the Arkansas River downstream of Fountain Creek.
     The Highway 115 Alternative would convey untreated water 
through a pipeline that generally follows Colorado 115 between the 
Arkansas River and Colorado Springs.
    Copies of the Final EIS are available at the following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area Office, 11056 
W. County Road 18E, Loveland, CO 80537.
     Buena Vista/ North Chaffee County Library, 131 Linderman 
Avenue, Buena Vista, CO 81211.
     Ca[ntilde]on City Public Library, 516 Macon Avenue, 
Ca[ntilde]on City, CO 81212.
     Pikes Peak Library District--Penrose Library, 20 N Cascade 
Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.
     Pueblo City-County Library District, 100 E Abriendo 
Avenue, Pueblo, CO 81004.
     Woodruff Memorial Library, 522 Colorado Avenue, La Junta, 
CO 81050.

    Dated: December 9, 2008.
Bobbi C. Sherwood-Widmann,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
 [FR Doc. E8-29565 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]
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