Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Logan Northern Canal Reconstruction Project, Cache County, UT, 42678-42680 [2010-17956]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 140 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42678-42680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17956]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Logan 
Northern Canal Reconstruction Project, Cache County, UT

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d (NEPA), as implemented by the Council 
of Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces its intent to 
prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Logan 
Northern Canal Reconstruction project.
    The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties regarding 
the intent to prepare the EIS, to provide information on the nature of 
the proposed action and possible alternatives, and to invite public 
participation in the EIS process (including providing comments on the 
scope of the DEIS, to announce that public scoping meetings will be 
conducted, and to identify cooperating agency contacts).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, including the 
project's purpose and need, the alternatives to be considered, types of 
issues that should be addressed, associated research that should be 
considered, and the methodologies to be used in impact evaluations 
should be sent to NRCS on or before August 31, 2010, at the address 
below. See the ADDRESSES section below for the address to submit 
written comments. A public scoping meeting to accept comments on the 
scope of the EIS will be held on Wednesday, August 11, 2010, from 5:30 
p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Bridgerland Applied Technology

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College, 1301 North 600 West, Logan, Utah. Formal presentations will be 
given at about 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
    The building used for the scoping meeting is accessible to persons 
with disabilities. Any individual who requires special assistance, such 
as a sign language interpreter, to participate in a scoping meeting 
should contact Ms. Alana Spendlove, HDR Engineering, (801) 743-7829 or 
Alana.Spendlove@HDRInc.com.
    Scoping materials and the Alternatives Analysis will be available 
at the meetings and are available on the NRCS Utah Web site (https://www.ut.nrcs.usda.gov/). Hard copies of the scoping materials may also 
be obtained from Ms. Alana Spendlove, HDR Engineering, (801) 743-7829 
or Alana.Spendlove@HDRInc.com. An interagency scoping meeting will be 
held on August 11, 2010, at the NRCS Utah office, 125 South State 
Street, Room 4402, Salt Lake City, Utah. Representatives of Native 
American tribal governments and of federal, State, regional and local 
agencies that may have an interest in any aspect of the project will be 
invited to be cooperating agencies, as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: Comments will be accepted at the public scoping meetings or 
they may be sent to Mr. Bronson Smart, State Conservation Engineer, 
Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4402, 
Salt Lake City, Utah 84138-1100, or via e-mail at 
bronson.smart@ut.usda.gov. The locations of the public scoping meetings 
are given above under DATES. Comments should be submitted by August 31, 
2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bronson Smart, State Conservation 
Engineer, Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State Street, 
Room 4402, Salt Lake City, Utah 84138-1100, or via e-mail at 
bronson.smart@ut.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Logan and Northern Canal (LN Canal) and the Logan, Hyde Park 
and Smithfield (LHPS) Canal has provided the citizens of Cache County 
with irrigation water since the 1890s. During the spring of 2009 a 
slope failure occurred along a hill side in south Logan, Cache County, 
UT. As a result of the slope failure, a section of the LN Canal broke 
away, thus disabling the water distribution capabilities of the canal. 
Because the canal is part of an important water delivery system, 
several permitted shareholders have been adversely affected through 
nondelivery of irrigation water.
    NRCS intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
proposed repair and/or modifications to the canal system, which occurs 
in an unincorporated area of Cache County and the communities of Logan, 
North Logan and Hyde Park, Utah. NRCS is assisting Cache County through 
the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program (Code of Federal 
Regulations, Title 7: Agriculture, Part 624--Emergency Watershed 
Protection). The EIS will be prepared consistent with Title 390, The 
National Emergency Watershed Protection Program Manual.
    The proposed action is needed to reestablish support delivery of 
irrigation water to canal system shareholders. The purpose of the 
project is to restore the water conveyance condition of the canal. The 
EIS will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, its 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR part 1500-1508, and NRCS regulations 
that implement NEPA at 7 CFR part 650. The EIS process will evaluate 
alternatives recommended for further study as a result of previous 
planning-level studies completed by NRCS and any additional (new) 
alternatives identified during scoping.

Scoping Process

    NRCS invites all interested individuals and organizations, public 
agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment on the scope of the 
EIS, including the project's purpose and need, alternatives proposed to 
date, new alternatives that should be considered, specific areas of 
study that might be needed, and evaluation methods to be used.
    Background information including the project purpose and need and 
alternatives developed to date will be available at the public and 
agency scoping meetings. Summaries of this information will also be 
available on the NRCS Web site at https://www.ut.nrcs.usda.gov/. Hard 
copies of supporting documentation are also available from Ms. Alana 
Spendlove, HDR Engineering, (801) 743-7829 or 
Alana.Spendlove@HDRInc.com.
    Once the scope of the EIS is confirmed upon the close of scoping, 
NRCS will begin preparation of the EIS. A summary of comments received 
during the scoping process will be available on the NRCS Web site.

Project Study Area and Environmental Setting

    The proposed action area is located in Cache County, Utah. The 
study area includes areas that are unincorporated and portions of the 
incorporated cities of Logan, North Logan, and Hyde Park and focuses on 
the LN Canal and the LHPS Canal. Both canals originate at the Logan 
River and generally run parallel to each in a northerly direction. The 
canal system that will be studied has been divided into four reaches, 
each having a unique environmental setting and characteristics varying 
in length. These four reaches are described below.
    Reach 1 begins at the Point of diversion from Logan River and is 
about 1.5 miles long. This reach travels through a canyon environment 
and ends just before entering the area surrounded by the Logan Golf and 
Country Club. This reach represents the canal system through the canyon 
to the beginning of the general urban landscape.
    Reach 2 is along the eastern side of the project study area in the 
city of North Logan and is less than a mile long. It extends from the 
Logan Golf and Country Club to Hyde Park, where irrigation water is 
temporarily being bypassed through the city of Logan stormwater system 
to the LHPS Canal. This reach travels through an area that supports 
urban and suburban development.
    Reach 3 extends from Lundstrom Park in Hyde Park to 3100 North, 
which is at the northern edge of the study area. This area is 
characterized by urban and suburban development.
    Reach 4 is the section of the LN Canal that extends from 400 North 
to 3100 North in Logan and North Logan. This reach generally travels 
through urban and suburban developments.

Alternatives

    NRCS has developed four preliminary alternatives for the project. 
These alternatives are as follows:
     Alternative 1: Divert LN Canal water into the existing 
LHPS Canal alignment, from Logan River to the mouth of the canyon where 
is would be taken parallel along Highway 89 (US 89) and to a structure 
at 400 North and 600 East and placed back into the existing LN Canal.
     Alternative 2: Divert LN Canal water into the existing 
LHPS Canal alignment, from Logan River to Lundstrom Park, where it 
would be taken under city streets to 1400 North and approximately 900 
East and placed back into the existing LN Canal.
     Alternative 3: Use the existing LN Canal's point of 
diversion from Logan River, place the water in a conveyance pipeline 
under Canyon Road to 600 East, then North to the intersection of 400 
North and 600 East, and placed back into the existing LN Canal.

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     Alternative 4: Divert LN Canal water into the existing 
LHPS Canal alignment, from Logan River to approximately 3100 North 
where is would be taken under the city street to 1200 East and placed 
back into the existing LN Canal, with service to 1400 North.
    NRCS will consider any viable alternatives brought forward from 
initial scoping if such alternatives are substantially different from 
the four described above. NRCS will also study a No-Action alternative.

Cooperating Agencies

    Because the project area includes land administered by the USDA 
Forest Service and because that agency might need to issue a special 
use permit for activity associated with one or more of the 
alternatives, the USDA Forest Service will participate in the Logan 
Northern Canal Reconstruction EIS process as a cooperating agency. 
Because one or more of the project alternatives could affect waters of 
the United States as defined by the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers will also act as a cooperating agency.

    Dated: July 16, 2010.
Todd Nielson,
Acting State Conservationist.
[FR Doc. 2010-17956 Filed 7-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P