Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) and Long-Term Excess Capacity Master Contract, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (Fry-Ark Project) Colorado, 44982-44983 [2010-18779]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 146 / Friday, July 30, 2010 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Bureau of Reclamation
Dates of Public Scoping Meetings
Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) and
Long-Term Excess Capacity Master
Contract, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project
(Fry-Ark Project) Colorado
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a
draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
AGENCY:
Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Council on
Environmental Quality’s (CEQ)
regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA, the
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)
proposes to prepare a draft EIS that
analyzes effects associated with
construction of the AVC, a proposed
feature of the Fryingpan-Arkansas (FryArk) Project, and the issuance of an
Excess Capacity Master Contract to
Southeastern Colorado Water
Conservancy District (Southeastern).
The proposed Federal action is to
construct the pipeline to provide treated
water to the service area in southeastern
Colorado. Towns in the service area
need to construct new or improved
water treatment systems, supplement
their current water supply, and/or
purchase other water supplies to replace
poor quality water. Some also need
more water to meet demands of a
growing population. The proposed
Federal action associated with the
Excess Capacity Master Contract is to
issue a long-term contract to
Southeastern for storage of non-Fry-Ark
Project water in Pueblo Reservoir, a
feature of the Fry-Ark Project. The water
would be used by several water
providers within Southeastern’s
boundaries.
SUMMARY:
Written or e-mailed comments
will be accepted through September 13,
2010. Public scoping meetings will be
held in August 2010. See the
Supplemental Information section for
dates and locations of these meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
requests to be added to the mailing list
may be submitted to Bureau of
Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office,
Attention: J. Signe Snortland, P.O. Box
1017, Bismarck, ND 58502.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J.
Signe Snortland, telephone (701) 221–
1278; facsimile (701) 250–4326. You
may submit comments, requests, and/or
other information by e-mail to
jsnortland@usbr.gov.
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
DATES:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:29 Jul 29, 2010
Jkt 220001
• August 16, 2010, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.,
Salida, CO
• August 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.,
La Junta, CO
• August 18, 2010, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.,
Lamar, CO
• August 19, 2010, 1 p.m.–3 p.m.,
Fountain, CO
• August 19, 2010, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.,
Pueblo, CO
Locations of Public Scoping Meetings
• Salida Community Center—305 F
Street, Salida, CO 81201
• Koshare Indian Museum—115 West
18th Street, La Junta, CO 81050–3302
• Lamar Community Center—610
South 6th Street, Lamar, CO 81052
• Lorraine Education and Community
Center—301 E. Iowa Avenue, Fountain,
CO 80817
• Southeastern Colorado Water
Conservancy District—31717 United
Avenue, Pueblo, CO 81001
Meeting facilities are accessible to
people with disabilities. People needing
special assistance to attend and/or
participate should contact Kara Lamb at
(970) 962–4326, Bureau of Reclamation,
Eastern Colorado Area Office, as soon as
possible. To allow sufficient time to
process special requests, please call no
later than one week before the public
meeting of interest.
Background Information
The AVC, an authorized feature of the
Fry-Ark Project, would transport water
about 135 miles east from Pueblo Dam
along the lower Arkansas River to near
Lamar, Colorado. It was not constructed
after Fry-Ark was authorized primarily
because of the inability of project
beneficiaries to repay allocated
construction costs. On March 30, 2009,
however, the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–
11) amended the original Fry-Ark
authorization. Public Law 111–11
authorized annual appropriations as
necessary for construction of the AVC,
and included a cost sharing plan.
Construction costs would be paid from
Federal appropriations, with 65 percent
non-reimbursable and 35 percent
reimbursable from other sources. These
other sources include crediting revenues
from Fry-Ark Project excess capacity
and exchange contracts and payments
from the local beneficiaries if the AVC
would be completed. Approximately 40
municipalities or water districts have
expressed interest in participating in the
AVC Project.
Recently, water users in the Lower
Arkansas Valley have expressed
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
renewed interest in the AVC due to
higher water treatment costs because of
poor groundwater quality and changes
to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The
Colorado Water Conservation Board and
State Legislature approved a $60.6
million loan to meet part of the local
share of AVC Project cost. In 2009, the
Environmental Protection Agency
awarded Southeastern a State and Tribal
Assistance Grant to begin project
planning. Southeastern, a cooperating
agency for the draft EIS, has assumed an
administrative role, including securing
grants and loans for local funding,
supporting legislation, and working
with project beneficiaries.
The proposed Excess Capacity Master
Contract is being pursued by
Southeastern to provide about 28,200
acre-feet of excess capacity storage in
Pueblo Reservoir for entities within its
boundaries in the Upper Arkansas
basin, Lower Arkansas basin, and
Fountain Creek basin, including AVC
participants. This excess capacity
storage space would be available for use
by participating entities. Non-Fry-Ark
Project water stored in Fry-Ark
reservoirs would be subject to spill
priorities in accordance with a proposed
contract between the United States and
Southeastern.
Reclamation has scheduled five
scoping meetings to determine
potentially significant issues,
alternatives, and impacts to be
considered in the draft EIS. Through
these meetings, Reclamation is inviting
agencies, tribes, non-governmental
organizations, and the public to
participate in an open exchange of
information and to provide comments
on the proposed scope of the EIS.
Preliminary Identification of Relevant
Environmental Issues
Reclamation invites you to comment
on the following potentially significant
issues thought to be of widespread
public interest about the proposed
Federal action. We encourage comments
about other potentially significant issues
that you believe should be addressed in
the draft EIS. This list is preliminary
and is intended to facilitate public
comment.
• Short-term and long-term impacts
on water quality in the Arkansas River
from reduced stream flow
• Changes in storage levels and water
quality at Pueblo Reservoir due to AVC
and Excess Capacity Master Contract
operations and potential contributions
to flooding
• Relevant cumulative environmental
impacts to the Arkansas River and
Pueblo Reservoir from past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable future actions
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 146 / Friday, July 30, 2010 / Notices
• Water quantity associated with AVC
and Excess Capacity Master Contract
operations and climate change
• Arkansas River Compact, change in
water quantity at the Colorado/Kansas
state border
• Aquatic communities and habitats
in the lower Arkansas River,
particularly downstream of Pueblo
Reservoir
• Changes in Arkansas River flow
upstream from Pueblo Reservoir
• Changes in aquifer and groundwater
levels and soil saturation as a result of
altered well use and pumping
• Water-based recreation, such as
changes to fishing and boating and other
river-associated activities, such as
hiking and observation of riparian
wildlife
• Water rights and irrigated
agriculture, such as impacts from
exchange of agricultural water for
domestic use by project participants
• Spread of invasive species, such as
salt cedar (tamarisk) growth
• Floodplain, wetland, playa, and
riparian communities
• Aquatic and terrestrial plants and
animals and their habitats, including
species that are federally or State-listed
as threatened or endangered, proposed,
candidate, or of special concern and/or
critical habitat
• Social and economic conditions in
affected communities associated with
repayment responsibility for water
provided by the AVC
• Environmental justice, particularly
whether or not water delivery activities
have a disproportionate adverse effect
on minority and low-income
populations
• Changes in social and economic
conditions from improved domestic
water supplies and construction
• Cultural resources such as historic,
archaeological, architectural, or
traditional properties
• Construction effects on local
communities and coordinating the AVC
Project with improvements to Highway
50
• Private property: how would the
proposed project impact private
property
• Compliance with all applicable
Federal, State, and local statutes and
regulations and with international
agreements and required Federal and
State environmental permits,
consultations, and notifications
• Compliance with all applicable
executive orders
Preliminary Alternatives
As required by Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)
implementing regulations (40 CFR
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:29 Jul 29, 2010
Jkt 220001
1502.2[e]), a range of reasonable
alternatives will be evaluated in detail
in the EIS. These alternatives will
include No Action and may include
alternatives such as development of
alternative project configurations, water
supplies, and types of water treatment.
A preferred alternative has not been
identified yet.
Public Disclosure Statement
To assist Reclamation in determining
issues related to the proposed Federal
action, comments made during formal
scoping and later on the draft EIS
should be as specific as possible. It is
very important that those interested in
this proposed Federal action participate
by the close of the scoping period so
that substantive comments are made
available to Reclamation at a time when
the agency can meaningfully consider
and respond to them.
If you wish to comment, you may
mail or e-mail your comments as
indicated under the Addresses section.
Before including your name, address,
phone number, e-mail address, or any
other personal identifying information
in your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment (including
your personal identifying information)
may be made available to the public at
any time. While you can request in your
comment for us to withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Dated: July 27, 2010.
Robert Quint,
Acting Deputy Commissioner-Operations,
Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2010–18779 Filed 7–29–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCO921000–L13200000–EL0000, COC–
74235]
Notice of Invitation To Participate;
Exploration for Coal in Colorado;
License Application COC–74235
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
All interested parties are
hereby invited to participate with Bowie
Resources, LLC, on a pro rata costsharing basis, in a program for the
exploration of coal deposits owned by
the United States of America in lands
located in Delta County, Colorado.
DATES: Any party electing to participate
in this exploration program must send
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
44983
written notice to Bowie Resources, LLC
and the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) as provided in the ADDRESSES
section below by August 30, 2010 or 10
calendar days after the last publication
of this notice in the Delta County
Independent newspaper, whichever is
later. This notice will be published once
a week for two consecutive weeks in the
Delta County Independent, Paonia,
Colorado.
The exploration plan, as
submitted by Bowie Resources, LLC is
available for review in the BLM,
Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield
Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215 and
the BLM, Uncompahgre Field Office,
2505 S. Townsend Avenue, Montrose,
Colorado 81401 during normal business
hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday
through Friday. Any party electing to
participate in this exploration program
shall notify the BLM State Director, in
writing, at the BLM Colorado State
Office, 2850 Youngfield Street,
Lakewood, Colorado 80215 and Bowie
Resources, LLC, Attn: Art Etter, P.O.
Box 483, Paonia, Colorado 81428. The
written notice must include a
justification for participation and any
recommended changes in the
exploration plan with specific reasons
for such changes.
ADDRESSES:
Kurt
M. Barton at 303–239–3714,
Kurt_Barton@blm.gov; or Desty Dyer at
970–240–5302, Desty_Dyer@blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The
authority for the notice is section 2(b) of
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as
amended by section 4 of the Federal
Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976
and the regulations adopted as 43 CFR
part 3410. The purpose of the
exploration program is to gain
additional geologic knowledge of the
coal underlying the exploration area for
the purpose of assessing the reserves
contained in a potential lease. The
Federal coal resources are located in
Delta County, Colorado.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
T. 12 S., R. 91 W., 6th P.M.,
Sec. 29, S1/2;
Sec. 31, Lots 12 to 26, inclusive;
Sec. 32, All;
Sec. 33, W1/2NW1/4.
T. 12 S., R. 92 W., 6th P.M.
Sec. 36, S1/2.
T. 13 S., R. 91 W., 6th P.M.
Sec. 5, Lot 3, inclusive, N1/2SW1/4, and
SW1/4SW1/4.
These lands contain 2,200 acres, more or
less.
The proposed exploration program
will be conducted pursuant to an
exploration plan to be approved by the
BLM. The plan may be modified to
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44982-44983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18779]
[[Page 44982]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) and Long-Term Excess Capacity
Master Contract, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (Fry-Ark Project) Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality's
(CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA,
the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to prepare a draft EIS
that analyzes effects associated with construction of the AVC, a
proposed feature of the Fryingpan-Arkansas (Fry-Ark) Project, and the
issuance of an Excess Capacity Master Contract to Southeastern Colorado
Water Conservancy District (Southeastern). The proposed Federal action
is to construct the pipeline to provide treated water to the service
area in southeastern Colorado. Towns in the service area need to
construct new or improved water treatment systems, supplement their
current water supply, and/or purchase other water supplies to replace
poor quality water. Some also need more water to meet demands of a
growing population. The proposed Federal action associated with the
Excess Capacity Master Contract is to issue a long-term contract to
Southeastern for storage of non-Fry-Ark Project water in Pueblo
Reservoir, a feature of the Fry-Ark Project. The water would be used by
several water providers within Southeastern's boundaries.
DATES: Written or e-mailed comments will be accepted through September
13, 2010. Public scoping meetings will be held in August 2010. See the
Supplemental Information section for dates and locations of these
meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be added to the mailing
list may be submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office,
Attention: J. Signe Snortland, P.O. Box 1017, Bismarck, ND 58502.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Signe Snortland, telephone (701)
221-1278; facsimile (701) 250-4326. You may submit comments, requests,
and/or other information by e-mail to jsnortland@usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dates of Public Scoping Meetings
August 16, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Salida, CO
August 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., La Junta, CO
August 18, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Lamar, CO
August 19, 2010, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Fountain, CO
August 19, 2010, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Pueblo, CO
Locations of Public Scoping Meetings
Salida Community Center--305 F Street, Salida, CO 81201
Koshare Indian Museum--115 West 18th Street, La Junta, CO
81050-3302
Lamar Community Center--610 South 6th Street, Lamar, CO
81052
Lorraine Education and Community Center--301 E. Iowa
Avenue, Fountain, CO 80817
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District--31717
United Avenue, Pueblo, CO 81001
Meeting facilities are accessible to people with disabilities.
People needing special assistance to attend and/or participate should
contact Kara Lamb at (970) 962-4326, Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern
Colorado Area Office, as soon as possible. To allow sufficient time to
process special requests, please call no later than one week before the
public meeting of interest.
Background Information
The AVC, an authorized feature of the Fry-Ark Project, would
transport water about 135 miles east from Pueblo Dam along the lower
Arkansas River to near Lamar, Colorado. It was not constructed after
Fry-Ark was authorized primarily because of the inability of project
beneficiaries to repay allocated construction costs. On March 30, 2009,
however, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-
11) amended the original Fry-Ark authorization. Public Law 111-11
authorized annual appropriations as necessary for construction of the
AVC, and included a cost sharing plan. Construction costs would be paid
from Federal appropriations, with 65 percent non-reimbursable and 35
percent reimbursable from other sources. These other sources include
crediting revenues from Fry-Ark Project excess capacity and exchange
contracts and payments from the local beneficiaries if the AVC would be
completed. Approximately 40 municipalities or water districts have
expressed interest in participating in the AVC Project.
Recently, water users in the Lower Arkansas Valley have expressed
renewed interest in the AVC due to higher water treatment costs because
of poor groundwater quality and changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board and State Legislature approved a
$60.6 million loan to meet part of the local share of AVC Project cost.
In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded Southeastern a
State and Tribal Assistance Grant to begin project planning.
Southeastern, a cooperating agency for the draft EIS, has assumed an
administrative role, including securing grants and loans for local
funding, supporting legislation, and working with project
beneficiaries.
The proposed Excess Capacity Master Contract is being pursued by
Southeastern to provide about 28,200 acre-feet of excess capacity
storage in Pueblo Reservoir for entities within its boundaries in the
Upper Arkansas basin, Lower Arkansas basin, and Fountain Creek basin,
including AVC participants. This excess capacity storage space would be
available for use by participating entities. Non-Fry-Ark Project water
stored in Fry-Ark reservoirs would be subject to spill priorities in
accordance with a proposed contract between the United States and
Southeastern.
Reclamation has scheduled five scoping meetings to determine
potentially significant issues, alternatives, and impacts to be
considered in the draft EIS. Through these meetings, Reclamation is
inviting agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and the
public to participate in an open exchange of information and to provide
comments on the proposed scope of the EIS.
Preliminary Identification of Relevant Environmental Issues
Reclamation invites you to comment on the following potentially
significant issues thought to be of widespread public interest about
the proposed Federal action. We encourage comments about other
potentially significant issues that you believe should be addressed in
the draft EIS. This list is preliminary and is intended to facilitate
public comment.
Short-term and long-term impacts on water quality in the
Arkansas River from reduced stream flow
Changes in storage levels and water quality at Pueblo
Reservoir due to AVC and Excess Capacity Master Contract operations and
potential contributions to flooding
Relevant cumulative environmental impacts to the Arkansas
River and Pueblo Reservoir from past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future actions
[[Page 44983]]
Water quantity associated with AVC and Excess Capacity
Master Contract operations and climate change
Arkansas River Compact, change in water quantity at the
Colorado/Kansas state border
Aquatic communities and habitats in the lower Arkansas
River, particularly downstream of Pueblo Reservoir
Changes in Arkansas River flow upstream from Pueblo
Reservoir
Changes in aquifer and groundwater levels and soil
saturation as a result of altered well use and pumping
Water-based recreation, such as changes to fishing and
boating and other river-associated activities, such as hiking and
observation of riparian wildlife
Water rights and irrigated agriculture, such as impacts
from exchange of agricultural water for domestic use by project
participants
Spread of invasive species, such as salt cedar (tamarisk)
growth
Floodplain, wetland, playa, and riparian communities
Aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals and their
habitats, including species that are federally or State-listed as
threatened or endangered, proposed, candidate, or of special concern
and/or critical habitat
Social and economic conditions in affected communities
associated with repayment responsibility for water provided by the AVC
Environmental justice, particularly whether or not water
delivery activities have a disproportionate adverse effect on minority
and low-income populations
Changes in social and economic conditions from improved
domestic water supplies and construction
Cultural resources such as historic, archaeological,
architectural, or traditional properties
Construction effects on local communities and coordinating
the AVC Project with improvements to Highway 50
Private property: how would the proposed project impact
private property
Compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local
statutes and regulations and with international agreements and required
Federal and State environmental permits, consultations, and
notifications
Compliance with all applicable executive orders
Preliminary Alternatives
As required by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1502.2[e]), a range of reasonable alternatives will
be evaluated in detail in the EIS. These alternatives will include No
Action and may include alternatives such as development of alternative
project configurations, water supplies, and types of water treatment. A
preferred alternative has not been identified yet.
Public Disclosure Statement
To assist Reclamation in determining issues related to the proposed
Federal action, comments made during formal scoping and later on the
draft EIS should be as specific as possible. It is very important that
those interested in this proposed Federal action participate by the
close of the scoping period so that substantive comments are made
available to Reclamation at a time when the agency can meaningfully
consider and respond to them.
If you wish to comment, you may mail or e-mail your comments as
indicated under the Addresses section. Before including your name,
address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment (including your personal identifying information) may be
made available to the public at any time. While you can request in your
comment for us to withhold your personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Dated: July 27, 2010.
Robert Quint,
Acting Deputy Commissioner-Operations, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2010-18779 Filed 7-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P
