Army Department November 16, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Omaha District has prepared a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to analyze the direct, indirect and cumulative effects of enlarging the currently permitted Rueter-Hess Reservoir in Parker, CO. The Draft SEIS was published in the Federal Register on July 27, 2007 (72 FR 41300). The Final SEIS includes responses to comments received on the Draft SEIS. The current project was authorized in February 2004 with Department of the Army Permit No. 199980472 (Section 404 Permit). The basic purpose of the Proposed Action would allow the reservoir to serve as a regional water management facility for multiple water providers in northern Douglas County; enable them to meet peak demands; greatly enhance water management in the region; and help extend the yield of the Denver Basin aquifers, a non-renewable water source and the primary source of water for the South Metro area. Expansion of the reservoir would result in direct impacts to an additional 0.21 acres of wetlands and 4 miles of intermittent stream channel (in addition to the 6.7 acres of wetlands and 5 miles of other waters of the U.S. permitted as part of the 16,200-acre-foot [AF] reservoir). This action requires authorization from the Corps under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Permittee and Applicant is the Parker Water and Sanitation District (PWSD). The Final SEIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Corps' regulations for NEPA implementation (33 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 230 and 325, Appendices B and C). The Corps, Omaha District, Regulatory Branch is the lead federal agency responsible for the Final SEIS and information contained in the SEIS serves as the basis for a decision regarding issuance of a Section 404 Permit modification. It also provides information for local and state agencies having jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.