[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 155 (Thursday, August 11, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49787-49788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20392]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Rural Water Supply Program Approved Appraisal Reports; 
Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Reclamation provides assistance for appraisal investigations 
and feasibility studies for rural water supply projects intended to 
serve a community or group of communities with domestic, industrial, 
and municipal water. This assistance helps rural communities assess 
their potable water needs and identify options to address those needs.
    Three appraisal reports were approved in Fiscal Year 2010 and two 
were approved in Fiscal Year 2011. The initial appraisal investigations 
were submitted by the participants for review to assess technical 
adequacy and completeness. Once reviewed, Reclamation prepared these 
reports to document the findings and conclusions of the appraisal 
investigations that identified the water supply problems, needs, and 
opportunities in the planning study areas. The approval of an appraisal 
report indicates that there is a viable alternative that warrants a 
more detailed investigation through a feasibility study.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The approved appraisal reports can be 
downloaded from our Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/ruralwater.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Joseph Wilson by telephone at 
(303) 445-2856, or by e-mail at [email protected]. Copies are also 
available for public review at the following locations:
     Dry-Redwater Rural Water System Appraisal Report, Bureau 
of Reclamation, Montana Area Office, 2900 Fourth Avenue North, 
Billings, MT 59101, (406) 247-7300
     Douglas County Rural Water Project Appraisal Report, 
Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area Office, 11056 W. County Rd 
18E, Loveland, CO 80537-9711, (970) 667-4410
     Lower Niobrara Natural Resource District Appraisal Report, 
Bureau of Reclamation, Nebraska Kansas Area Office, 203 West 2nd 
Street, Grand Island, NE 68801-5907, (308) 389-5301
     Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Appraisal Report, 
Bureau of Reclamation, Montana Area Office, 2900 Fourth Avenue North, 
Billings, MT 59101, (406) 247-7300
     Southern Black Hills Regional Water System Appraisal 
Report, Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, 304 E. Broadway 
Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501, (701) 250-4242 x3101

Authority

    Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of December 22, 2006 (Pub. L. 
109-451, Title I, 120 Stat. 3346, 43 U.S.C. 2401, et seq.) authorizes 
Reclamation to establish a program to work with rural communities, 
including Indian tribes, in the 17 Western States to assess rural water 
supply needs and identify options to address those needs through 
appraisal investigations and feasibility studies.

[[Page 49788]]

Background

    The Douglas County Rural Water Project Appraisal Report addresses 
the County's extremely low recharge into and high withdrawal amounts 
from the Denver Basin aquifers and proposes to resolve this issue by 
replacing current groundwater supplies with an alternative source of 
water. The proposed alternative includes water treatment, raw and 
finished water transmission, finished water storage, and aquifer 
storage and recovery for delivery of surface water from existing 
diversions and water impoundments on the South Platte River to this 
large rural region of central Colorado.
    The Dry-Redwater Rural Water System project would serve a 
population of about 15,000 people in the project area, including the 
towns of Circle, Richey, Jordan, and Fairview; the unincorporated town 
of Lambert; the water districts of Highland Park, Forrest Park, Spring 
Grove, and Whispering Tree; and rural users in the service area. It 
examines opportunities to provide communities, unincorporated areas, 
and rural areas in east-central Montana with a present and future 
source of high quality water from North Rock Creek in the Big Dry Arm 
of Fort Peck Reservoir.
    The Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Appraisal Investigation 
was conducted by the Central Montana Regional Water Authority to assess 
the viability of developing a rural water system to serve about 4,500 
people in 15 incorporated and unincorporated towns in central Montana. 
The proposed alternative would supply water to the system from a field 
of groundwater wells in the Utica, Montana area. Water pumped from the 
Madison Aquifer, a deep underground aquifer, would be distributed from 
the well field by a branch type system of pipelines, booster pump 
stations, and storage tanks.
    The Lower Niobrara project area is located in Knox County in 
northeast Nebraska. There is a growing need for an improved water 
source because of rising nitrate levels in some areas. The proposed 
study area comprises approximately the central one-third of Knox 
County, which includes the West Knox Rural Water System (RWS), the 
Santee Sioux Reservation, and the towns of Creighton, Niobrara, and 
Center. The preferred alternative for Lower Niobrara consists of 
expanding the West Knox RWS Well Field to supply Creighton, Niobrara, 
Center, and the Santee Sioux Reservation.
    The Southern Black Hills Water System (SBHWS) project is designed 
to provide a regional water supply and water delivery system for rural 
users, special use needs, and community needs for southern Pennington 
County, all of Custer County, and all of Fall River County, in 
southwestern South Dakota. The SBHWS appraisal investigation evaluated 
a number of alternatives ranging from purchasing water from an existing 
entity, developing new infrastructure, and some non-structural 
alternatives which include water use polices (e.g., prohibit rural 
residential growth) and water conservation (e.g., leak detection 
surveys).

    Dated: July 11, 2011.
Roseann Gonzales,
Director, Policy and Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-20392 Filed 8-10-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P