[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31974-31975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12622]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement and Notice of Public Meetings for the Newlands Project 
Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation has made available for public review 
and comment, the Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Newlands Project. This 
RMP/DEIS provides a range of alternatives for managing Reclamation-
administered lands in the Newlands Project Planning Area, which is in 
the west-central Nevada counties of Washoe, Storey, Lyon, and 
Churchill.

DATES: Submit written comments on the RMP/DEIS on or before July 29, 
2013.
    Reclamation will hold two public open house meetings to provide 
information and receive comments on the RMP/DEIS:

 Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Fallon, NV
 Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Reno, NV

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Mr. Bob Edwards, RMP Project 
Manager, Bureau of Reclamation, 705 N. Plaza Street, Room 320, Carson 
City, NV 89701; via fax at 775-882-7592; or by email to 
[email protected]. Written comments also may be submitted during the 
public meetings.
    The public meetings will be held at the following locations:

 Fallon at Churchill County Commission Chambers, 155 N. Taylor 
Street, Suite 110, Fallon, NV 89406
 Reno at Hyatt Place Reno-Tahoe Airport, 1790 East Plumb Lane, 
Reno, NV 89502

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bob Edwards at 775-884-8342. The 
RMP/DEIS will be available from the following Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2822. See the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where copies of the 
RMP/DEIS are available for public review.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Newlands Project provides irrigation 
water from the Truckee and Carson Rivers for cropland in the Lahontan 
Valley near Fallon and benchlands near Fernley in western Nevada 
through a series of diversions, canals, dams, and reservoirs. The 
Newlands Project Planning Area encompasses approximately 442,000 acres 
surrounding the Newlands Project facilities and is composed of all 
Reclamation-administered lands, including water bodies, managed as part 
of the Newlands Project.
    The Newlands Project lands have been administered to date in 
accordance with applicable directives and standards. The purpose of the 
Newlands Project RMP is to provide a single, comprehensive land use 
plan that will guide contemporary resource and recreation needs of the 
Federal lands administered by Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in 
the Newlands Project planning area. The RMP will help support the 
Newlands Project's authorized purposes: Water supply, recreation, water 
quality, support of fish and wildlife, and any other purposes 
recognized as beneficial under the laws of Nevada.
    This RMP addresses the use of Federal lands administered by 
Reclamation in the planning areas that are ancillary to the primary 
purpose of providing water for irrigation. The water resource itself 
and the facilities and infrastructure used to transport and store water 
are excluded from this RMP/DEIS.
    This RMP/DEIS addresses the interrelationships among the various 
resources in the Newlands Project Planning Area and provides management 
options to balance resource management between Reclamation's mission 
and authority, and the needs of the public to use these lands. 
Reclamation's authority to prepare the RMP is outlined in the 
Reclamation Recreation Management Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-575, Title 
28).
    The purposes of the Newlands Project RMP are as follows:
     Provide a framework to ensure Reclamation plans and 
activities comply with all appropriate federal, state, and local laws, 
rules, regulations, and policies;
     Provide for the protection and management of natural and 
cultural resources and public health and safety;
     Provide for non-water based recreation management and 
development and other uses consistent with contemporary and 
professional resource management and protection theories, concepts, and 
practices; and
     Be consistent with Reclamation's fiscal goals and 
objectives.

The RMP is needed because no unifying management plan exists to guide 
Reclamation in achieving the demands listed above.

Draft Resource Management Plan

    Three management alternatives were developed to address the major 
planning issues. Each alternative provides direction for resource 
programs based on the development of specific goals and management 
actions. Each alternative describes specific issues influencing land 
management and emphasizes a different combination of resource uses, 
allocations, and restoration measures to address issues and resolve 
conflicts among users. Resource program goals are met in varying 
degrees across alternatives. Management scenarios for programs not tied 
to major planning issues or mandated by laws and regulations often 
contain few or no differences in management between alternatives.
    The alternatives vary in the degree to which activities are allowed 
or restricted, the amount of access allowed for activities, and the 
amount of mitigation or restoration required for authorized activities. 
Grazing is where the alternatives differ the most and was of most 
interest to the public during scoping.
    Copies of the RMP/DEIS are available for public review at the 
following locations:


[[Page 31975]]


 Washoe County Library, Fernley Branch Lyon County Library, and 
the Churchill County Library
 Natural Resources Library, Department of the Interior, 1849 C 
Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240
 Bureau of Reclamation, Lahontan Basin Area Office, 705 N. 
Plaza Street, Room 320, Carson City, NV
 Mid-Pacific Regional Library, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the above 
public meeting, please contact Mr. Bob Edwards at 775-884-8342, or by 
email at [email protected]. Please notify Mr. Edwards as far in advance 
as possible to enable Reclamation to secure the needed services. If a 
request cannot be honored, the requestor will be notified. A telephone 
device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is available at 775-882-3436.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: April 10, 2013.
Pablo R. Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-12622 Filed 5-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P