Reclamation Bureau December 5, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is notifying the public that Reclamation has prepared a Final EIS on Water Treatment for the Northwest Area Water Supply Project (Project). The proposed action is to construct a biota water treatment plant for the Project to treat the source water from Lake Sakakawea before it is delivered into the Hudson Bay basin. The Final EIS provides information and analyses related to four water treatment alternatives that would further reduce the risk of a Project-related biological invasion from the Missouri River basin into the Hudson Bay basin. Reclamation published a Draft EIS on December 21, 2007. The public comment period continued through March 26, 2008. Revisions were made in the Final EIS to incorporate responses to comments and identify the preferred alternative and the associated cost estimate. However, these revisions do not significantly impact the analysis or results presented in the Draft EIS. The Final EIS includes written responses to all public comments on the Draft EIS.

The Bureau of Reclamation is publishing this rule to comply with the requirements of the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act. The Settlement Act requires that the operating agreement negotiated with the States of California and Nevada for the operation of Truckee River Reservoirs (the five Federal reservoirs in the Truckee River basin) be promulgated as a Federal Regulation.