[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54050-54051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19353]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Springfield Supplemental Water Supply Project

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intends to 
prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to address 
the proposed Springfield Supplemental Water Supply Project (previously 
referred to as the Proposed Water Supply Reservoir Hunter Lake) in 
Sangamon County, IL. The Corps, working in conjunction with the City of 
Springfield, Office of Public Utilities, also known as the City Water, 
Light & Power (City), prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 
[42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.] that evaluated a range of alternatives to 
provide supplemental water supply to meet a projected deficit in water 
availability. A final EIS was prepared and published in November of 
2000. The Final EIS (EIS No. 000402) was published in the Federal 
Register on November 24, 2000; however, no Record of Decision was 
issued.
    The City has conducted an updated water demand analysis that 
demonstrates a sustained need for additional water supply to meet 
current and future demands. In accordance with Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations specified in 40 CFR 1502.9, the Corps in 
conjunction with the City are initiating the preparation of an EIS 
supplement.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to ATTN: Regulatory Branch, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, Clock Tower 
Building, P.O. Box 2004, Rock Island, IL 61204-2004. Comments also may 
be submitted to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions, about the proposed action 
or SEIS should be addressed to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

(1) Background

    The City operates an integrated water supply, purification, 
transmission, and distribution system. The City's service area 
encompasses approximately 100 square miles with more than 52,600 
service connections and a population of about 147,000. The City's 
current source of water is Lake Springfield that was constructed in the 
1930s. The lake serves as the water source for its drinking water 
supply and the cooling water supply for the City's coal-fired power 
generating station. As a result of drought conditions in 1953-1955, the 
City constructed a movable low head dam across the South Fork of the 
Sangamon River to supplement the Lake Springfield water supply during 
low lake levels. On July 26, 1989, the City submitted a joint permit 
application for construction of Hunter Lake Reservoir to the Corps and 
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). A Notice of Intent 
to prepare a Draft EIS for the construction of the Hunter Lake 
Reservoir was published by the Corps in the Federal Register on October 
31, 1989. A final EIS was published in 2000 and the construction of the 
Hunter Lake Reservoir was identified as the preferred alternative.
    On December 17, 2010, the Corps provided a letter to the City 
formally determining the need for a SEIS. The Corps identified areas in 
the SEIS where information should be updated, such as water demand 
analysis, threatened and endangered species bat surveys, wetland 
delineations, programmatic agreement related to cultural resources, 
water quality anti-degradation analysis, and mitigation plans.

(2) Project Need

    Based on an analysis of the storage and capacity, the Illinois 
State Water Survey had determined that Lake Springfield is an 
inadequate supply system with a 50% probability of not meeting expected 
water supply demands. Under conditions of reduced water availability 
the City is at risk of not meeting demands (both existing and future) 
for commercial and residential water use, and for industrial water 
supply (power plant operation and condenser cooling). Under projected 
drought conditions the estimated water deficit (demand minus yield) is 
currently 8.2 million gallons per day (MGD), whereas future deficits 
(year 2065) are projected at 11.3 MGD.
    Other associated regional needs have also been identified that may 
potentially be addressed by the City's proposed project. Specifically, 
the following regional needs are also recognized:

 Increased demand for regional outdoor recreational areas that 
provide additional fishing and hunting opportunities
 Provide supplemental water supply for adjacent communities
 Increased water supply to support regional economic 
development

(3) Proposed Action

    The proposed Federal action is the issuance of a permit by the 
Corps pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act in support of the 
development of the selected water supply alternative. The Corps is 
neither a proponent nor an opponent of the City's supplemental water 
supply project. The City is the project proponent and will evaluate all 
reasonable development of a supplemental water supply for municipal, 
commercial, and industrial customers.

[[Page 54051]]

(4) Alternatives

    In accordance with requirements of CEQ regulations 40 CFR 1502.14, 
and the provisions of Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act, the 
SEIS will evaluate all appropriate and reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed project. The SEIS will review all alternatives previously 
assessed in the FEIS and will include an analysis of reasonable 
alternatives consisting of the following:
     No Action Alternative,
     Development of a new water supply reservoir,
     Development of groundwater well systems with associated 
pump stations and pipelines,
     Use of other existing surface water reservoirs,
     Dredging of Lake Springfield.
    Consideration of conservation measures is inherent in the City's 
on-going objectives to optimize the efficiency of it water supply 
systems and is therefore inherent in each of the alternatives under 
evaluation.

(5) Scoping Process

    The Corps is furnishing this notice to: (1) Advise other Federal 
and state agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of the proposed 
project; (2) announce the initiation of a 30-day scoping period; and 
(3) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and 
alternatives to be included in the Draft SEIS. The Corps invites 
comments from all interested parties to ensure the full range of issues 
related to the permit request is addressed and that all significant 
issues are identified.
    The SEIS will provide updated supporting data where needed, review 
the purpose and need, evaluate alternatives, and assess impacts of 
reasonable alternatives resulting from the development of a 
supplemental water supply system for the city. Potentially affected 
resources include: Agricultural land, threatened and endangered 
species, wildlife, water resources, wetlands and floodplains; forested 
areas, transportation, recreation and potentially historic properties. 
Preliminary measures to minimize harm will be developed as part of this 
study. The public's views on the scope of the alternatives that should 
be addressed in the SEIS will also be considered in the preparation of 
the SEIS.

(6) Public Participation

    A public scoping meeting will be held on August 24, 2016 from 5:00-
8:00 p.m. at the State Journal-Register, 1 Copley Plaza, Springfield, 
IL. The public is invited to submit comments on the scope of this SEIS 
no later than the date identified in the DATES section of this notice. 
After the Corps prepares a draft of the SEIS, the Corps will release it 
for public comment. The Corps anticipates holding a public meeting in 
Springfield after release of the draft SEIS during the public comment 
period. Meeting details will be posted on the City of Springfield's Web 
site and published in local newspapers. The release of the Draft SEIS 
is anticipated for the first quarter of 2017.

    Dated: August 3, 2016.
Craig S. Baumgartner
Colonel, US Army Commander & District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2016-19353 Filed 8-12-16; 8:45 am]
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