Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the North Cache Valley Watershed Plan Project in Franklin County, Idaho and Cache County, Utah, 92618-92620 [2024-27417]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 226 (Friday, November 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92618-92620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27417]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2024-0019]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the North Cache Valley Watershed Plan Project in Franklin County, Idaho 
and Cache County, Utah

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Idaho State 
Office announces its intent to prepare an EIS for the North Cache 
Valley Project Watershed Plan (Watershed Plan), located within the 
North Cache Valley Watershed in Lewiston, Utah. The proposed Watershed 
Plan will examine alternative solutions to provide improved 
agricultural water management and to enhance recreational facilities. 
The project is being planned for areas within the watershed located in 
Franklin County, Idaho and Cache County, Utah. The project area is 
comprised of the irrigation service area within the watershed which 
fits into the watershed plan's primary purpose of Agricultural Water 
Management. The Project Area includes developed and undeveloped 
agricultural land and small farm communities. The primary purpose for 
this Watershed Plan is to provide more reliable management of 
agricultural water in the Project Area and to enhance existing 
recreational opportunities in the watershed. This Watershed Plan is 
needed to improve impaired drainage infrastructure; provide an 
efficient and reliable irrigation water supply; improve water 
management and measurement; reduce seepage loss in existing conveyance 
systems; and to expand the limited recreational opportunities in the 
watershed. NRCS is requesting comments to identify significant issues, 
potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the 
proposed action from all interested individuals, Federal and State 
agencies, and Tribes.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by December 23, 2024. 
We will consider comments received after close of the comment period to 
the extent possible.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments in response to this notice. 
You may submit your comments through one of the methods below:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for docket ID NRCS-2024-0019. Follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments; or
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Dan Murdock, Water Resources 
Planning Specialist, USDA, NRCS, Idaho State Office, 9173 W Barnes 
Drive, Suite C, Boise, Idaho 83709. In your comments, specify the 
docket ID NRCS-2024-0019.
    All comments received will be posted without change and made 
publicly available on www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Murdock, telephone: (208) 685-
6990; email: [email protected].
    Individuals who require alternative means for communication should 
contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at 
(202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone (TTY)) or dial 711 for 
Telecommunications Relay service (both voice and text telephone users 
can initiate this call from any telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need

    The primary purposes for the Watershed Plan is to improve 
agricultural water management and recreation development in the Project 
Area. Watershed planning is authorized under the Watershed Protection 
and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (Pub. L. 83-566), as amended, and the 
Flood Control Act of 1944 (Pub. L. 78-534).
    Franklin County, Idaho is the Sponsoring Local Organization for 
this project with Cub River Irrigation Company (CRIC) and Cache County, 
Utah as co-sponsors. The project is essential to improve agricultural 
water management and enhance recreational development in the watershed.
    This action is needed to address drainage, water management, and 
recreation issues for the Project Area. This action is needed to better 
manage and remove drainage and flood flows in a timely manner; provide 
an efficient, reliable irrigation water supply; construct a sustainable 
distribution system; increase pumping efficiencies; and conserve water. 
Water conservation would be accomplished by reducing open channel 
inefficiencies, seepage losses, and evaporation.
    Estimated Federal funds required for the construction of the 
proposed action may exceed $25 million and the proposed action will, 
therefore, require congressional approval per the 2018 Agriculture 
Appropriations Act amended funding threshold. In accordance with the 
regulation in 7 CFR 650.7(a)(2), an EIS is required for projects 
requiring congressional approval.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives, Including No Action

    The EIS objective is to formulate and evaluate alternatives for the 
purposes of agricultural water management and public recreation in the 
Franklin County, Idaho Project Area. The EIS is expected to evaluate 
three alternatives:

[[Page 92619]]

two action alternatives and one no action alternative.
    The alternatives that may be considered for detailed analysis 
include:
     Alternative 1--No Action Alternative: Taking no action 
would consist of activities conducted if no Federal action or funding 
were provided. If the No Action Alternative is selected, water flows 
would pass through the same historic channels, waterways, and drainage 
crossings as they currently do with issues continuing, dependent on the 
nature, timing, and severity of the events. Agricultural fields would 
continue to flood during rain-on-snow events, including the extensive 
saturation and killing of crops. Irrigation water would continue to be 
lost through seepage and evaporation from the earthen canals and 
existing irrigation methods would remain unchanged or continue to 
change as farmers choose to install pumps and pressurize their own 
irrigation systems. Additionally, the soils saturated seasonally by the 
canal seepage would continue to be saturated and soured and unusable 
for agricultural production. No new stations would be constructed to 
consolidate the system. There would be no recreational access points 
constructed on the Bear River. No Federal action or funding would be 
associated with the No Action Alternative.
     Alternative 2--Proposed Action--Bear River Two Pump 
Station. This alternative would include various actions to provide 
agricultural water management and public recreation benefits to the 
area. The Proposed Action would install 19,000 feet of conduit and 
place five pumps for drainage management. In many areas, the existing 
canal and ditches will be left open and used for flood control 
purposes, as they historically have been, including improvements to the 
Choll's Spill to allow the water flows to pass to the Cub River with 
minimal manual regulation and reduced risks. The existing canal along 
800 West below 800 South in Lewiston, Utah, would also remain open and 
convey the water flows. Irrigation pipelines will be dual purposed in 
locations where it would not be cost effective or feasible to build 
conduits and will allow water to be pumped out using a mobile pump with 
a quick connection to the irrigation system to back pressure the system 
and allow discharge to the system drains used to winterize the 
irrigation system. This alternative also includes measures to construct 
two new pump stations, relocate one pump station, remove four pump 
stations, and enclose 19.5 miles of open canal for agricultural water 
management purposes. This alternative would pull Bear River water from 
two pump station (a north and a south site), preventing the need to 
enlarge the existing electrical grid. Finally, this alternative would 
construct a public recreational access site to the Bear River adjacent 
to 2000 South in Lewiston, Utah, along the banks of the Bear River. 
This site would consist of public parking and a boat ramp for non-
motorized watercraft.
     Alternative 3--Proposed Action--Bear River One Pump 
Station. The Proposed Action would include all the same project 
measures as Alternative 2 with the following difference: under this 
alternative, all the Bear River water used by CRIC would be pulled from 
a single pump station rather than from two, requiring larger pipeline 
diameters and bigger pumps. This alternative would also require an 
enlargement of the electrical grid expected to cost around $1 million 
dollars.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    As mentioned above, the estimated Federal contribution to 
construction cost will exceed $25 million.
    The EIS will be prepared as required by section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); and NRCS 
regulations that implement NEPA in 7 CFR part 650.
    Resource concerns for scoping were identified and categorized as 
relevant or not relevant to the proposed action. Franklin County, Idaho 
and NRCS evaluated the current conditions for resources in the Project 
Area including soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans along with 
relevant resource concerns for each proposed solution. Environmental 
resources in the Project Area consist of the natural and human-made 
environment. Resource concerns to be identified and addressed in the 
Watershed Plan-EIS include: soils; prime and unique farmland; upland 
erosion; surface and groundwater quality and quantity; wetlands and 
Waters of the United States; floodplains; air quality; climate change; 
endangered and threatened plant and animal species; riparian areas; 
invasive species; fish and wildlife; migratory birds; cultural and 
historic resources; environmental justice; public health and safety; 
and transportation, among others.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    The following permits and authorizations are anticipated to be 
required:
     Federal Emergency Management Agency, Floodplain 
Development Permit. Implementation of the proposed action would require 
coordination with the local floodplain administrator and may require a 
Floodplain Development Permit to ensure all development and engineering 
requirements for construction within the Special Flood Hazard Areas are 
implemented.
     Clean Water Act (CWA) and National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES). The project would require water quality 
certification under section 401 of the CWA, permitting under section 
402 of the NPDES, and section 404 of the CWA for potential wetland 
impacts.
     Encroachment Permit. The proposed action would require 
coordination and permitting with the Idaho Transportation Department 
and the Utah Department of Transportation for temporary construction 
work within State and Federal roadway rights-of-way.
     Utah Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (UPDES) 
Construction Permit. A construction permit will be required through the 
UPDES.
     Stream Alteration Permit. The proposed action will require 
coordination and permits with the Idaho Department of Water Resources 
and Utah Division of Water Rights for bank alterations of the Bear 
River for the pump stations and recreational access. This permit is 
typically done jointly by both Idaho and Utah with the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers to get State and section 404 of the Clean Water Act 
approval and authorization through a single application.
     National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106. 
Consultation with Tribal Nations and interested parties would be 
conducted as required by the NHPA.
     Local Encroachment. Consultation and potential 
encroachment permits would be required with Franklin County, Idaho; 
Lewiston City, Utah; and Cache County, Utah, for all construction work 
within the local roadway rights-of-way.

Schedule of Decision-Making Process

    A Draft EIS (DEIS) will be prepared and circulated for review and 
comment by agencies, Tribes, consulting parties, and the public for 45 
days as required by the regulations in 40 CFR 1503.1, 1502.20, 1506.11, 
and 1502.17, and 7 CFR 650.13. The DEIS is anticipated to be published 
in the Federal Register, approximately 24 months after publication of 
this NOI. A Final EIS is anticipated to be published within 3

[[Page 92620]]

months of completion of the public comment period for the DEIS.
    NRCS will decide whether to implement one of the action 
alternatives as evaluated in the EIS. A Record of Decision will be 
completed after the required 30-day waiting period and will be publicly 
available. The responsible Federal official and decision maker for NRCS 
is the Idaho NRCS State Conservationist. The Responsible Federal 
Official (RFO) and decision maker for NRCS is the Idaho State 
Conservationist.

Public Scoping Process

    A public scoping meeting was held on November 19, 2020. Comments 
received, including the names and addresses of those who commented, 
were part of the public record. Scoping meeting presentation materials 
were available for review and comment for 30 days from November 19, 
2020, through December 18, 2020.
    Federal, State, Tribal, local agencies and representatives, and the 
public were invited to take part in the watershed plan scoping period. 
Franklin County, Idaho, and NRCS organized the public scoping meeting 
to provide an opportunity to review and evaluate the project 
alternatives, express concern, or support, and gain further information 
regarding the project. To determine the most viable alternatives for 
the EIS, Franklin County, Idaho, used input obtained during public 
scoping discussions to focus on relevant resource concerns and issues 
and eliminated those that were not relevant from further detailed 
study.
    NRCS will coordinate the scoping process to correspond with section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) 
as allowed in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3) and 800.8.

Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and Analyses

    NRCS invites agencies, Tribes, consulting parties, and individuals 
that have special expertise, legal jurisdiction, or interest in the 
North Cache Valley Watershed Plan-EIS to provide written comments 
concerning the scope of the analysis and identification of potential 
alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the Proposed 
Action.
    The information about historic and cultural resources within the 
area potentially affected by the proposed project will assist NRCS in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of 
both NEPA and NHPA.
    NRCS will consult with Native American Tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with the regulations in 36 CFR 800.2 and 
800.3, Executive Order 13175, and other policies. Tribal concerns, 
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to 
cultural resources and historic properties, will be given due 
consideration.

Authorities

    This document is published as specified by the NEPA regulations 
regarding publication of an NOI to issue an EIS (40 CFR 1501.9(d)). 
Watershed planning is authorized under the Watershed Protection and 
Flood Prevention Act of 1954, as amended and the Flood Control Act of 
1944.

Federal Assistance Programs

    The title and number of the Federal Assistance Program as found in 
the Assistance Listing \1\ to which this document applies is 10.904, 
Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention.
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    \1\ See https://sam.gov/content/assistance-listings.
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Executive Order 12372

    Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs,'' requires consultation with State and local officials that 
would be directly affected by proposed Federal financial assistance. 
The objectives of the Executive order are to foster an 
intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened federalism, by relying 
on State and local processes for State and local government 
coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and 
direct Federal development. This project is subject to the provisions 
of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation 
with State and local officials.

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, 
and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are 
prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, 
religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual 
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental 
status, income derived from a public assistance program, political 
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in 
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases 
apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by 
program or incident.
    Individuals who require alternative means of communication for 
program information (for example, braille, large print, audiotape, 
American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or 
USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and telephone) or dial 711 
for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and text telephone 
users can initiate this call from any phone). Additionally, program 
information may be made available in languages other than English.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA 
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at: 
https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA 
and provide in the letter all the information requested in the form. To 
request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your 
completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail to: U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410; (2) Fax: (202) 690-
7442; or (3) email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Loretta Kassib,
Acting Idaho State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-27417 Filed 11-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P