[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 8234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4177]
[[Page 8234]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Rueter-Hess Reservoir, Parker, CO
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to analyze the direct, indirect
and cumulative effects of constructing and operating the proposed
Rueter-Hess Reservoir near the town of Parker, in Douglas County,
Colorado. The project proponent is the Parker Water and Sanitation
District (District). The basic purpose of the Proposed Action is to
provide a safe, adequate and sustainable municipal water supply to the
District, which is capable of meeting peak demands within the
District's currently zoned boundary for the next 50 years. The
construction of the proposed project would result in permanent impacts
to 6.7 acres of wetlands and 5 miles of other waters of the United
States, and would require a Section 404 permit.
The DEIS 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 DEIS and information
contained in the DEIS serves as the basis for a decision regarding
issuance of the Section 404 permit. It also provides information for
local and state agencies having jurisdictional responsibility for
affected resources.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted on or before April
8, 2002. Comments should be submitted to Rodney Schwartz, Corps--Omaha
District (address below). Oral and/or written comments may also be
presented at the Public Hearing to be held at 7 p.m. on March 12, 2002
at the High Prairie Farm Equestrian Center, 7522 Pinery Parkway South
in Parker, Colorado.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the DEIS will be available for review at:
1. Parker Library, 10851 South Crossroad Drive, Parker, CO 80134.
2. Parker Water and Sanitation District, 19801 East Mainstreet,
Parker, CO 80138.
3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Denver Regulatory Office, 9307
South Platte Canyon Road, Littleton, CO 80128.
Copies can also be obtained from the Corps' third-party contractor,
URS Corporation, attention: Paula Daukas, 8181 East Tufts Avenue,
Denver, CO 80237; 303-740-3896; Fax 303-694-3946,
paula_daukas@urscorp.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rodney Schwartz, Senior Project
Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District--Regulatory
Branch, 12565 West Center Road, Omaha, Nebraska 68144-3869, Phone: 402-
221-4143, Fax: 402-221-4939, rodney.j.schwartz@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the DEIS is to provide
decision makers and the public with information pertaining to the
Proposed Action, and to disclose environmental impacts and identify
mitigation measures to reduce impacts. The DEIS analyzes the Parker
Water and Sanitation District's proposal to construct and operate
Rueter-Hess Reservoir and the associated water delivery system. The
proposed reservoir would be located in Douglas County, Colorado
approximately 12 miles southeast of Denver and 3 miles southwest of the
town of Parker. The reservoir would be located on Newlin Gulch with a
diversion structure along Cherry Creek. The project would include a
16,200 acre-foot (AF) reservoir inundating 470 acres, a 5,300-foot long
and 135-foot high dam, two pipelines, a water treatment plant and
booster pump station, a diversion structure along Cherry Creek with a
pump station, and 16 Denver Basin extraction wellfields.
The proposed water supply system would rely upon renewable sources
of water, including the capability of capturing, storing, and reusing
seasonal high flows in nearby Cherry Creek, and Advanced Wastewater
Treatment (AWT) return flows currently discharged into Cherry Creek.
The water from the reservoir would be used primarily to help satisfy
the District's peak seasonal demands, thereby reducing the loading on
nonrenewable Denver Basin aquifer groundwater. The reservoir is needed
by the District to provide operational flexibility to ensure a long-
term, reliable water supply.
In addition to the Proposed Action, the DEIS analyzes two
alternatives: (1) The Reduced Capacity Reservoir (11,200 AF), and (2)
the No Action. The Reduced Capacity Reservoir would be constructed
along the same dam axis as the Proposed Action, but with a smaller
storage capacity. The dam would be 5,000 feet long, 123 feet high, and
inundate approximately 370 acres. A total of 17 Denver Basin wellfields
would be developed, one more wellfield than the Proposed Action. The
diversion facilities along Cherry Creek would be the same as for the
Proposed Action. The No Action Alternative assumes that the Rueter-Hess
Reservoir would not be built and that the District would continue with
their current operational plan relying upon deep groundwater well
fields and alluvial Cherry Creek wellfields to supply their water. It
is estimated that 71 Denver Basin wellfields would be required to
supply the area within the District's legal boundary.
Rodney J. Schwartz,
Senior Project Manager, Regulatory Branch.
[FR Doc. 02-4177 Filed 2-21-02; 8:45 am]
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