[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66929-66930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26357]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR04963000, XXXR0680R1, RR.17549661.1000000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement and Public Scoping Period for the Lake Powell Pipeline 
Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin, Interior Region 7.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for scoping comments.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Lake Powell Pipeline (LPP) 
Project. Reclamation is requesting public scoping comments to identify 
significant issues or other alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Submit comments on or before January 10, 2020.
    Three scoping meetings will be held during the scoping period from 
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on January 7-9, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Provide written scoping comments and requests to be added to 
the mailing list to Mr. Rick Baxter,

[[Page 66930]]

Program Manager, Bureau of Reclamation, Provo Area Office, 302 East 
Lakeview Parkway, Provo, UT 84606; via submittal form at https://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/eis/LakePowellPipeline/index.html; or email 
[email protected].
    The three scoping meetings will be held at the following locations:

January 7, 2020--Kanab Center, 20 North 100 East, Kanab, Utah 84741
January 8, 2020--Dixie Center, 1835 South Convention Center Dr., St. 
George, Utah 84790
January 9, 2020--Valley High, 325 West 11000 South, South Jordan, Utah 
84095

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rick Baxter, Program Manager, 
Bureau of Reclamation, Provo Area Office, 302 East Lakeview Parkway, 
Provo, UT 84606; telephone (801) 379-1078; facsimile (801) 379-1159; 
email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) at 1-800-877-8339 
TTY/ASCII to contact the above individual during normal business hours 
or to leave a message or question after hours. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours. Information on this project may also be 
found at: https://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/eis/LakePowellPipeline/index.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reclamation is issuing this notice pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations 
for implementing NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508; Department of 
the Interior's NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part 46; and Bureau of Land 
Management regulations at 43 CFR 1610.2.

Background

    Reclamation will prepare an EIS for the LPP Project as proposed by 
the Utah Board of Water Resources (UBWR). The LPP is a proposed 140-
mile, 69-inch-diameter water delivery pipeline that begins at Lake 
Powell near Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, and ends at Sand Hollow 
Reservoir near St. George, Utah. The pipeline would deliver up to 
86,249 acre-feet of water from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir. 
UBWR proposes building the LPP in order to bring a second source of 
water to Washington and Kane Counties in Utah to meet future water 
demands, diversify the regional water supply portfolio, and enhance the 
water supply reliability.
    UBWR previously proposed a pipeline project with an intake at Lake 
Powell that included a hydroelectric peaking station at Hurricane 
Cliffs, Utah. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was the 
lead Federal agency for that project because it would have required a 
hydroelectric license issued by the FERC. The UBWR withdrew its 
application to the FERC on September 25, 2019, and the project was 
terminated effective October 10, 2019. (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20191016-3069) Reclamation has been 
designated the lead Federal agency by the Department for the LPP NEPA 
process. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and National Park Service 
(NPS) are cooperating agencies. Based on the changes to project design 
and the lead federal agency, Reclamation is initiating a new public 
scoping process, which will require interested parties to submit new 
comments on the current proposal. Reclamation is also reinitiating 
government to government consultation with Indian tribes under section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and in accordance with 
Executive Order 13175.
    Two pipeline alignments have been proposed: The Southern 
Alternative and the Highway Alternative. Both alternatives begin and 
end in the same locations. The Southern Alternative would travel south 
of the Kaibab Indian Reservation while the alignment for the Highway 
Alternative would cross lands held in trust by the United States for 
the benefit of the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, following Arizona 
State Route 389. The Southern Alternative would cross land administered 
by the BLM in Utah and Arizona and would require multiple right-of-way 
(ROW) grants and an amendment to the Arizona Strip Resource Management 
Plan (RMP), because a small portion of the pipeline would go outside an 
approved utility corridor.
    The Highway Alternative would cross BLM and Tribal trust lands, 
which would require the BLM and BIA to issue ROW grants and require a 
tribal resolution from the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians. Both 
alternatives would cross lands administered by Reclamation and the NPS, 
requiring Reclamation to issue a license agreement and the NPS to issue 
a ROW permit under either alternative.
    In addition, UBWR has requested a water exchange contract with 
Reclamation. Under the exchange contract, UBWR would forbear the 
diversion of a portion of the natural flows to which UBWR is entitled 
and allow these flows to contribute to meeting the Endangered Species 
Act Upper Colorado River Recovery Implementation Program requirements 
in the Green River. In exchange, UBWR would deplete an equal amount of 
water released from Flaming Gorge Dam throughout the year and available 
at Lake Powell. This exchange contract would not entitle UBWR to call 
for releases from Flaming Gorge.

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 may 
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.

Brent Esplin,
Regional Director, Upper Colorado Basin--Interior Region 7, Bureau of 
Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2019-26357 Filed 12-5-19; 8:45 am]
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