[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18940-18941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08035]



[[Page 18940]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[RC0ZCUPCA0, 155R0680R1, RR.17549897.2015101.02]

THE UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science; Notice 
of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Provo River Delta Restoration Project

AGENCY: Central Utah Project Completion Act, Interior; Utah Reclamation 
Mitigation and Conservation Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, Utah Reclamation Mitigation 
and Conservation Commission, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy 
District, as Joint Lead Agencies, have prepared and made available to 
the public a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that discloses 
the effects of the Provo River Delta Restoration Project (Project) 
which is a recovery action within the approved June Sucker Recovery 
Plan of 1999.

DATES: The Joint Lead Agencies will not make a decision on the proposed 
action until at least 30 days after the release of the FEIS. After the 
30-day waiting period, The Department of the Interior and the Utah 
Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission will each complete a 
separate Record of Decision. These documents will state the action that 
will be implemented and will discuss all factors leading to the 
decision.

ADDRESSES: Send written correspondence or requests for copies to Mr. 
Richard Mingo, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, 
230 South 500 East Suite 230, Salt Lake City, UT 84102; or by email to 
[email protected]. The FEIS is accessible at the following Web sites: 
www.cupcao.gov, www.provoriverdelta.us, www.mitigationcommission.gov, 
and www.cuwcd.com. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 
locations where copies of the FEIS are available for public review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Mingo, 801-524-3146; or by 
email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department of the Interior's Record of Decision for the Diamond 
Fork System Final Supplement to the Diamond Fork Power System Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, signed September 29, 1999, commits the 
Joint Lead Agencies to ``. . . participate in the development of a 
Recovery Implementation Program for June sucker.'' Moreover, ``. . . 
[a]ny future development of the Bonneville Unit of CUP [Central Utah 
Project] will be contingent on the RIP [June Sucker Recovery 
Implementation Program (JSRIP)] making `sufficient progress' towards 
recovery of June sucker.'' The Utah Reclamation Mitigation and 
Conservation Commission signed its own Record of Decision for the 
Diamond Fork System Project on November 19, 1999. The JSRIP was 
established in 2002, and the Joint Lead Agencies are participants. The 
goals of the JSRIP are to recover June sucker so that it no longer 
requires protection under the Endangered Species Act and allow 
continued operation of existing water facilities and future development 
of water resources for human uses within the Utah Lake Basin in Utah.
    The June sucker exists naturally only in Utah Lake and spawns 
primarily in the lower Provo River, a Utah Lake tributary. Monitoring 
indicates young June sucker hatching in the lower Provo River do not 
survive to the adult stage due to habitat inadequacies in the lower 
Provo River and its interface with Utah Lake related to flow, food 
supply, and shelter. A compounding factor is likely predation by 
nonnative fishes. Dredging and channelization for flood control has 
eliminated the shallow, warm, complex wetland habitat at the mouth of 
the Provo River where it enters Utah Lake.

Proposed Federal Action

    The Project would restore the lower Provo River to a more natural 
deltaic ecosystem. The delta and associated habitat would provide 
needed habitat for the recovery of the endangered June sucker. These 
improvements would be accomplished through the implementation of one or 
any combination of the action alternatives and/or options analyzed in 
the FEIS.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The Project has been identified as an essential action needed to 
recover the endangered June sucker. It would restore functional habitat 
conditions in the lower Provo River and its interface with Utah Lake 
that are needed for spawning, hatching, larval transport, survival, 
rearing and recruitment of young into the population on a self-
sustaining basis.
    The purposes of the Project are to:
     Implement the specific criteria of the June Sucker 
Recovery Plan to restore a naturally functioning Provo River delta 
ecosystem essential for recruitment of June sucker;
     provide recreational improvements and opportunities 
associated with the Project;
     adopt flow regime targets for the lower Provo River and 
provide delivery of supplemental water to the lower Provo River, 
including additional conserved water.
    The FEIS describes and analyzes the potential effects of three 
action alternatives, a no action alternative, and two options for the 
existing Provo River channel.

No Action Alternative

    This alternative considers the consequences of taking ``no action'' 
with respect to the purpose and need of the Project. Under the No 
Action Alternative, the planned Project would not be implemented, but 
remaining actions in the June Sucker Recovery Plan and JSRIP would 
proceed as planned, subject to National Environmental Policy Act 
compliance as appropriate. Private lands would not be acquired for the 
Project.

Alternative A

    Alternative A would maximize the available rearing and spawning 
habitat for June sucker. The acquisition boundary for this alternative 
encompasses 507.3 acres.

Alternative B--Agency Preferred Alternative

    Alternative B was developed with substantial involvement from study 
area landowners and other stakeholders. It is the agency preferred 
alternative. It would reduce the amount of private land required for 
the Project and preserve the highest-value agricultural land, while 
still meeting June sucker spawning and rearing habitat improvement 
needs. The acquisition boundary for this alternative encompasses 310.3 
acres.

Alternative C

    Alternative C would exclude most of the existing peat wetlands 
located on the east and north sides of the Project area from 
restoration activities but, as a consequence, would be constructed on 
the higher-value agricultural lands. Alternative C would meet June 
sucker spawning and rearing habitat improvement needs for the Project 
by using lands to the south of these wetlands. The acquisition boundary 
for this alternative encompasses 298.3 acres.

[[Page 18941]]

Existing Provo River Channel Options

    Two options were considered for use of the existing Provo River 
Channel. Either of the two options could be paired with any of the 
three action alternatives. Option 1 would leave the existing Provo 
River Channel open to Utah Lake, allowing for fluctuating water levels 
at various times of the year. Option 2 would maintain the existing 
channel at a relatively constant elevation by constructing a small dam 
at the downstream mouth of the channel near Utah Lake State Park. Under 
both options, an aeration system would be installed and operated to 
improve water quality and a minimum flow of 10 cubic feet per second 
would be provided to the existing Provo River channel which would be 
retained and managed for recreational and aesthetic purposes.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) was published in the Federal Register on February 28, 
2014 (79 FR 11511). The comment period on the DEIS ended on April 29, 
2014. The FEIS contains responses to all comments received and reflects 
comments and any additional information received during the review 
period.
    Copies of the FEIS are available for public review at:
     Department of the Interior, Central Utah Project 
Completion Act Office, 302 East 1860 South, Provo, Utah 84606-7317
     Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, 
230 South 500 East Suite 230, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
     Central Utah Water Conservancy District, 355 West 
University Parkway, Orem, Utah 84058-7303

Libraries

     Provo City Public Library, 550 North University Avenue, 
Provo, Utah 84601
     Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 East 400 South, Salt 
Lake City, Utah 84111

    Dated: March 10, 2015.
Reed R. Murray,
Program Director, Central Utah Project Completion Act Office, 
Department of the Interior.
    Dated: March 10, 2015.
Michael C. Weland,
Executive Director, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation 
Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-08035 Filed 4-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4332-90-P