Natural Resources Conservation Service July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice presents the Record of Decision (ROD) regarding the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) implementation for a Water Management Project located in White County, Arkansas, that provides agricultural water for irrigation, and the enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat. NRCS prepared a Final Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS) in cooperation with the Little Red River Regional Irrigation Water District. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Little Red River Irrigation Project FPEIS was published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2006, and all agencies and persons on the FPEIS distribution list were notified individually as well. Printed and CD- ROM versions of the FPEIS were made available and delivered to all those who requested. This Decision Notice summarizes the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the Little Red River Irrigation Project alternatives identified in the FPEIS that were considered in making this decision, and explains why NRCS selected the Preferred AlternativeConservation/Surface Source AlternativeCanals and Pipelines (Alternative 4) for providing supplemental irrigation water and better utilizing the existing water resources while improving the overall environmental quality of the project area.

Notice is hereby given of the intention of NRCS to issue a series of new or revised conservation practice standards in its National Handbook of Conservation Practices. These standards include: ``Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (Code 395),'' ``Fish Passage (Code 396),'' and ``Fishpond Management (Code 399).'' NRCS State Conservationists who choose to adopt these practices for use within their States will incorporate them into Section IV of their respective electronic Field Office Technical Guides (eFOTG). These practices may be used in conservation systems that treat highly erodible land or on land determined to be wetland.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Guidelines (40 CFR part 1500); and the Natural Resources Conservation Service Guidelines (7 CFR part 650); the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U. S. Department of Agriculture, is giving notice that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared regarding Site 16, Lower Cove Run, in the Lost River Subwatershed of the Potomac River Watershed, Hardy County, West Virginia. (This Notice of Intent supersedes a previously published Federal Register in the Notices Section on April 10, 2006 (71 FR 18603), and includes an announcement of a public scoping meeting.)