[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 229 (Tuesday, December 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62807-62808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28649]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Equus Beds Aquifer Storage Recharge and Recovery Project, Equus 
Beds Division, Wichita Project, Kansas

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(Final EIS).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has completed the Final 
EIS for the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage Recharge and Recovery Project. 
The City of Wichita, Kansas designed the water project to restore and 
conserve the Equus Beds aquifer while developing water supplies for its 
future needs. Federal funding assistance for this project has been 
authorized by the U.S. Congress under the Wichita Project Equus Beds 
Division Authorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-299). The Federal 
action under NEPA involves Reclamation, acting through the Secretary of 
the Interior, reimbursing the City of Wichita for construction costs 
through a cost-share agreement. The Final EIS addresses the 
environmental consequences of two Federal cost-share alternatives 
previously evaluated in the Draft EIS published on July 10, 2009 (74 FR 
33274).
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and Kansas Water Office were cooperating agencies providing 
assistance in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) under the guidance of NEPA.

DATES: Reclamation expects to conclude the NEPA process with a Record 
of Decision (ROD) after 30 days from the time the Final EIS is 
officially filed and made available to the public. The ROD will 
identify the alternative selected for implementation, provide 
discussion of factors and rationale used in making the

[[Page 62808]]

decision, and address the environmentally preferred alternative.

ADDRESSES: Charles Webster, Bureau of Reclamation, 5924 NW 2nd Street, 
Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73127-6514. The Final EIS is available 
online from Reclamation's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/gp/nepa/quarterly.cfm. Paper copies or compacts discs (CDs) of the Final EIS 
may be obtained by calling Charles Webster at 405-470-4831. Refer to 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations of libraries and 
offices where the published Final EIS is available for review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Webster at 405-470-4831 or 
[email protected]. Mail requests should be addressed to the Bureau of 
Reclamation at the address indicated in the ADDRESSES section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: The Wichita Project Equus Beds Division Authorization 
Act of 2005 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to help the City 
of Wichita, Kansas, complete the Aquifer Recharge (Storage), and 
Recovery component (ASR is the acronym for this specific component or 
project) of Wichita's Integrated Local Water Supply Plan (ILWSP). The 
broader ILWSP was developed in 1993 to provide municipal and industrial 
water to Wichita and surrounding region through the year 2050. The ASR 
component would collect water from the Little Arkansas River basin and 
pipe it into the local Equus Beds aquifer for recharge and storage. An 
inter-connecting system of wells, pipes, and ponds would be constructed 
to move the water. Some facilities of the ASR project are already in 
place to treat collected water before recharging the aquifer. Water 
would later be recovered from wells in the aquifer and used for 
regional needs. The ASR component would become the ``Equus Beds 
Division'' of Reclamation's Wichita Project after completion. 
Operation, maintenance, replacement, and liability of the new division 
would be the responsibility of the City of Wichita.
    Public Law 109-299 requires Reclamation to use, to the extent 
possible, the City's plans, designs, and analyses. The Federal funding 
cap is 25% of total costs, or $30 million (indexed to January 2003), 
whichever is less. The full scale ASR component is estimated to cost 
about $500 million and is designed to recharge the Equus Beds aquifer 
with up to 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD).
    Alternatives: The Final EIS addresses the effects of one action 
alternative and a no action alternative. The alternatives for Federal 
action evaluated in the Final EIS include:
    (1) Proposed Action--Reclamation would reimburse the City of 
Wichita for eligible facility and infrastructure costs to implement the 
100 MGD ASR Plan with 60/40 Option.
    (2) No Action Alternative--Under ``No Action,'' there would be no 
reimbursement to the City of Wichita for ASR project costs.
    The Final EIS describes how the alternatives were focused on two 
cost-share options. The decision to be made essentially involves 
administration of Federal funds for reimbursement of project costs. The 
cost-share agreement would be used to regulate Federal funds and 
reimbursement.
    Locations where the Final EIS may be reviewed:
     Halstead Public Library, 264 Main, Halstead, KS 67056
     Hutchinson Public Library, 901 North Main, Hutchinson, KS 
67501
     Newton Public Library, 720 North Oak, Newton, KS 67114
     Valley Center Public Library, 321 West First Street, 
Valley Center, KS 67147
     Wichita Public Library, 223 South Main, Wichita, KS 67202
     City of Wichita Water and Sewer Department, 455 North Main 
Street, 8th Floor, Wichita, KS 67202
     Bureau of Reclamation, 5924 NW 2nd Street, Suite 200, 
Oklahoma City, OK 73127

    Dated: November 24, 2009.
Michael J. Ryan,
Regional Director, Great Plains Region.
[FR Doc. E9-28649 Filed 11-30-09; 8:45 am]
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