[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44982-44983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18779]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) and Long-Term Excess Capacity 
Master Contract, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (Fry-Ark Project) Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality's 
(CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, 
the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to prepare a draft EIS 
that analyzes effects associated with construction of the AVC, a 
proposed feature of the Fryingpan-Arkansas (Fry-Ark) Project, and the 
issuance of an Excess Capacity Master Contract to Southeastern Colorado 
Water Conservancy District (Southeastern). The proposed Federal action 
is to construct the pipeline to provide treated water to the service 
area in southeastern Colorado. Towns in the service area need to 
construct new or improved water treatment systems, supplement their 
current water supply, and/or purchase other water supplies to replace 
poor quality water. Some also need more water to meet demands of a 
growing population. The proposed Federal action associated with the 
Excess Capacity Master Contract is to issue a long-term contract to 
Southeastern for storage of non-Fry-Ark Project water in Pueblo 
Reservoir, a feature of the Fry-Ark Project. The water would be used by 
several water providers within Southeastern's boundaries.

DATES: Written or e-mailed comments will be accepted through September 
13, 2010. Public scoping meetings will be held in August 2010. See the 
Supplemental Information section for dates and locations of these 
meetings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be added to the mailing 
list may be submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, 
Attention: J. Signe Snortland, P.O. Box 1017, Bismarck, ND 58502.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Signe Snortland, telephone (701) 
221-1278; facsimile (701) 250-4326. You may submit comments, requests, 
and/or other information by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dates of Public Scoping Meetings

     August 16, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Salida, CO
     August 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., La Junta, CO
     August 18, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Lamar, CO
     August 19, 2010, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Fountain, CO
     August 19, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Pueblo, CO

Locations of Public Scoping Meetings

     Salida Community Center--305 F Street, Salida, CO 81201
     Koshare Indian Museum--115 West 18th Street, La Junta, CO 
81050-3302
     Lamar Community Center--610 South 6th Street, Lamar, CO 
81052
     Lorraine Education and Community Center--301 E. Iowa 
Avenue, Fountain, CO 80817
     Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District--31717 
United Avenue, Pueblo, CO 81001
    Meeting facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. 
People needing special assistance to attend and/or participate should 
contact Kara Lamb at (970) 962-4326, Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern 
Colorado Area Office, as soon as possible. To allow sufficient time to 
process special requests, please call no later than one week before the 
public meeting of interest.

Background Information

    The AVC, an authorized feature of the Fry-Ark Project, would 
transport water about 135 miles east from Pueblo Dam along the lower 
Arkansas River to near Lamar, Colorado. It was not constructed after 
Fry-Ark was authorized primarily because of the inability of project 
beneficiaries to repay allocated construction costs. On March 30, 2009, 
however, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-
11) amended the original Fry-Ark authorization. Public Law 111-11 
authorized annual appropriations as necessary for construction of the 
AVC, and included a cost sharing plan. Construction costs would be paid 
from Federal appropriations, with 65 percent non-reimbursable and 35 
percent reimbursable from other sources. These other sources include 
crediting revenues from Fry-Ark Project excess capacity and exchange 
contracts and payments from the local beneficiaries if the AVC would be 
completed. Approximately 40 municipalities or water districts have 
expressed interest in participating in the AVC Project.
    Recently, water users in the Lower Arkansas Valley have expressed 
renewed interest in the AVC due to higher water treatment costs because 
of poor groundwater quality and changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act. 
The Colorado Water Conservation Board and State Legislature approved a 
$60.6 million loan to meet part of the local share of AVC Project cost. 
In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded Southeastern a 
State and Tribal Assistance Grant to begin project planning. 
Southeastern, a cooperating agency for the draft EIS, has assumed an 
administrative role, including securing grants and loans for local 
funding, supporting legislation, and working with project 
beneficiaries.
    The proposed Excess Capacity Master Contract is being pursued by 
Southeastern to provide about 28,200 acre-feet of excess capacity 
storage in Pueblo Reservoir for entities within its boundaries in the 
Upper Arkansas basin, Lower Arkansas basin, and Fountain Creek basin, 
including AVC participants. This excess capacity storage space would be 
available for use by participating entities. Non-Fry-Ark Project water 
stored in Fry-Ark reservoirs would be subject to spill priorities in 
accordance with a proposed contract between the United States and 
Southeastern.
    Reclamation has scheduled five scoping meetings to determine 
potentially significant issues, alternatives, and impacts to be 
considered in the draft EIS. Through these meetings, Reclamation is 
inviting agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and the 
public to participate in an open exchange of information and to provide 
comments on the proposed scope of the EIS.

Preliminary Identification of Relevant Environmental Issues

    Reclamation invites you to comment on the following potentially 
significant issues thought to be of widespread public interest about 
the proposed Federal action. We encourage comments about other 
potentially significant issues that you believe should be addressed in 
the draft EIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to facilitate 
public comment.
     Short-term and long-term impacts on water quality in the 
Arkansas River from reduced stream flow
     Changes in storage levels and water quality at Pueblo 
Reservoir due to AVC and Excess Capacity Master Contract operations and 
potential contributions to flooding
     Relevant cumulative environmental impacts to the Arkansas 
River and Pueblo Reservoir from past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions

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     Water quantity associated with AVC and Excess Capacity 
Master Contract operations and climate change
     Arkansas River Compact, change in water quantity at the 
Colorado/Kansas state border
     Aquatic communities and habitats in the lower Arkansas 
River, particularly downstream of Pueblo Reservoir
     Changes in Arkansas River flow upstream from Pueblo 
Reservoir
     Changes in aquifer and groundwater levels and soil 
saturation as a result of altered well use and pumping
     Water-based recreation, such as changes to fishing and 
boating and other river-associated activities, such as hiking and 
observation of riparian wildlife
     Water rights and irrigated agriculture, such as impacts 
from exchange of agricultural water for domestic use by project 
participants
     Spread of invasive species, such as salt cedar (tamarisk) 
growth
     Floodplain, wetland, playa, and riparian communities
     Aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals and their 
habitats, including species that are federally or State-listed as 
threatened or endangered, proposed, candidate, or of special concern 
and/or critical habitat
     Social and economic conditions in affected communities 
associated with repayment responsibility for water provided by the AVC
     Environmental justice, particularly whether or not water 
delivery activities have a disproportionate adverse effect on minority 
and low-income populations
     Changes in social and economic conditions from improved 
domestic water supplies and construction
     Cultural resources such as historic, archaeological, 
architectural, or traditional properties
     Construction effects on local communities and coordinating 
the AVC Project with improvements to Highway 50
     Private property: how would the proposed project impact 
private property
     Compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local 
statutes and regulations and with international agreements and required 
Federal and State environmental permits, consultations, and 
notifications
     Compliance with all applicable executive orders

Preliminary Alternatives

    As required by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing 
regulations (40 CFR 1502.2[e]), a range of reasonable alternatives will 
be evaluated in detail in the EIS. These alternatives will include No 
Action and may include alternatives such as development of alternative 
project configurations, water supplies, and types of water treatment. A 
preferred alternative has not been identified yet.

Public Disclosure Statement

    To assist Reclamation in determining issues related to the proposed 
Federal action, comments made during formal scoping and later on the 
draft EIS should be as specific as possible. It is very important that 
those interested in this proposed Federal action participate by the 
close of the scoping period so that substantive comments are made 
available to Reclamation at a time when the agency can meaningfully 
consider and respond to them.
    If you wish to comment, you may mail or e-mail your comments as 
indicated under the Addresses section. Before including your name, 
address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment (including your personal identifying information) may be 
made available to the public at any time. While you can request in your 
comment for us to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: July 27, 2010.
Robert Quint,
Acting Deputy Commissioner-Operations, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2010-18779 Filed 7-29-10; 8:45 am]
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