Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and To Initiate the Public Scoping Process for the Proposed Pine Valley Water Supply Project, Beaver and Iron County, UT
| Published date | 15 July 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 42914 |
| Record Number | 2020-15300 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Interior Department,Land Management Bureau |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42914-42915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15300]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[18X LLUTC01000 L51010000 ER0000 LVRWJ18J4210; UTU-92733]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
To Initiate the Public Scoping Process for the Proposed Pine Valley
Water Supply Project, Beaver and Iron County, UT
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), intends to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to consider a right-of-
way (ROW) application submitted by the Central Iron County Water
Conservancy District (CICWCD), referred to as the Pine Valley Water
Supply (PVWS) Project.
DATES: This Notice initiates the public scoping process. Scoping
comments may be submitted in writing until August 14, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments related to the proposed
actions at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1503915/510,
or by email at [email protected], or mail at Bureau of Land
Management, Attn: PVWS, 176 DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Campeau, Cedar City Field
Office Realty Specialist, telephone (435) 865-3047; address 176 DL
Sargent Dr., Cedar City, UT 84721; email [email protected]. Persons
who use a telecommunications device for the
[[Page 42915]]
deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to
leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM will announce date(s) and
location(s) of any public involvement opportunities through a news
release and the BLM website at: https://www.blm.gov/news/utah. In order
to be considered during the preparation of the Draft EIS, all comments
must be received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will
provide additional opportunities for public participation upon
publication of the Draft EIS.
On June 15, 2017, CICWCD applied for a ROW grant for the PVWS
Project on BLM-managed public land in western Iron and Beaver counties,
Utah. The proposed project would include the development of a system
for the extraction and transport of water, which the CICWCD holds
rights to as permitted by the Utah Division of Water Resources, from
Pine Valley to Cedar Valley.
The EIS will analyze the development of 15 drilled production wells
contained within above-ground well-houses, 10 of which are on BLM-
managed public lands, all within the Pine Valley in Beaver County. The
project also includes the development of buried feeder pipelines,
access roads, above-ground power distribution lines, a solar field (on
private land), large underground storage tank (on private land), and a
main buried pipeline to transport water to Iron County communities. All
portions of the project located on non-Federal land will be analyzed in
the EIS as connected actions. The CICWCD proposed a 66.31-mile long
buried water transmission pipeline, including lateral lines to connect
the wells to the main line, with a total of approximately 42.61 miles
of buried pipeline crossing BLM-managed public land. The CICWCD also
applied for a 50-foot-wide, 30-year, 250-acre ROW, and during
construction, an additional 70-foot-wide temporary ROW totaling
approximately 382 acres. The CICWCD is requesting an additional width
of 70 feet for temporary use along the pipeline corridor during
construction. The total combined ROW width (including the ROW and the
temporary ROW) during construction would be 120 feet. The BLM will
prepare an EIS to consider the CICWCD application and a reasonable
range of alternatives.
NEPA Process
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the EIS
in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified during the scoping period. Potential direct, indirect,
residual, and cumulative impacts from the proposed actions will be
analyzed in the EIS.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant
subject areas that will influence the scope of the environmental
analysis, including potential alternatives, and guide the process for
developing the EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following
preliminary subject areas: Impacts to ground water, threatened and
endangered species, including the federally listed Utah prairie dog,
greater sage-grouse, and socioeconomic factors.
The BLM will follow the NEPA public participation requirements to
satisfy the public involvement requirements under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant
to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Any information about historic and cultural
resources within the area potentially affected by the proposed project
will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such
resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
The BLM will consult with Indian Tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. The BLM actively coordinates with other Federal, State,
and local agencies, along with Tribes and other stakeholders that may
be interested in or affected by the proposed PVWS Project.
Before including your phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1502.9, 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 46.435, 43 CFR
2800.
Anita Bilbao,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-15300 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
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