[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 155 (Thursday, August 11, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49787-49788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20392]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Rural Water Supply Program Approved Appraisal Reports;
Availability
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: Reclamation provides assistance for appraisal investigations
and feasibility studies for rural water supply projects intended to
serve a community or group of communities with domestic, industrial,
and municipal water. This assistance helps rural communities assess
their potable water needs and identify options to address those needs.
Three appraisal reports were approved in Fiscal Year 2010 and two
were approved in Fiscal Year 2011. The initial appraisal investigations
were submitted by the participants for review to assess technical
adequacy and completeness. Once reviewed, Reclamation prepared these
reports to document the findings and conclusions of the appraisal
investigations that identified the water supply problems, needs, and
opportunities in the planning study areas. The approval of an appraisal
report indicates that there is a viable alternative that warrants a
more detailed investigation through a feasibility study.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The approved appraisal reports can be
downloaded from our Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/ruralwater.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Joseph Wilson by telephone at
(303) 445-2856, or by e-mail at jwilson@usbr.gov. Copies are also
available for public review at the following locations:
Dry-Redwater Rural Water System Appraisal Report, Bureau
of Reclamation, Montana Area Office, 2900 Fourth Avenue North,
Billings, MT 59101, (406) 247-7300
Douglas County Rural Water Project Appraisal Report,
Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Area Office, 11056 W. County Rd
18E, Loveland, CO 80537-9711, (970) 667-4410
Lower Niobrara Natural Resource District Appraisal Report,
Bureau of Reclamation, Nebraska Kansas Area Office, 203 West 2nd
Street, Grand Island, NE 68801-5907, (308) 389-5301
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Appraisal Report,
Bureau of Reclamation, Montana Area Office, 2900 Fourth Avenue North,
Billings, MT 59101, (406) 247-7300
Southern Black Hills Regional Water System Appraisal
Report, Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, 304 E. Broadway
Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501, (701) 250-4242 x3101
Authority
Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of December 22, 2006 (Pub. L.
109-451, Title I, 120 Stat. 3346, 43 U.S.C. 2401, et seq.) authorizes
Reclamation to establish a program to work with rural communities,
including Indian tribes, in the 17 Western States to assess rural water
supply needs and identify options to address those needs through
appraisal investigations and feasibility studies.
[[Page 49788]]
Background
The Douglas County Rural Water Project Appraisal Report addresses
the County's extremely low recharge into and high withdrawal amounts
from the Denver Basin aquifers and proposes to resolve this issue by
replacing current groundwater supplies with an alternative source of
water. The proposed alternative includes water treatment, raw and
finished water transmission, finished water storage, and aquifer
storage and recovery for delivery of surface water from existing
diversions and water impoundments on the South Platte River to this
large rural region of central Colorado.
The Dry-Redwater Rural Water System project would serve a
population of about 15,000 people in the project area, including the
towns of Circle, Richey, Jordan, and Fairview; the unincorporated town
of Lambert; the water districts of Highland Park, Forrest Park, Spring
Grove, and Whispering Tree; and rural users in the service area. It
examines opportunities to provide communities, unincorporated areas,
and rural areas in east-central Montana with a present and future
source of high quality water from North Rock Creek in the Big Dry Arm
of Fort Peck Reservoir.
The Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Appraisal Investigation
was conducted by the Central Montana Regional Water Authority to assess
the viability of developing a rural water system to serve about 4,500
people in 15 incorporated and unincorporated towns in central Montana.
The proposed alternative would supply water to the system from a field
of groundwater wells in the Utica, Montana area. Water pumped from the
Madison Aquifer, a deep underground aquifer, would be distributed from
the well field by a branch type system of pipelines, booster pump
stations, and storage tanks.
The Lower Niobrara project area is located in Knox County in
northeast Nebraska. There is a growing need for an improved water
source because of rising nitrate levels in some areas. The proposed
study area comprises approximately the central one-third of Knox
County, which includes the West Knox Rural Water System (RWS), the
Santee Sioux Reservation, and the towns of Creighton, Niobrara, and
Center. The preferred alternative for Lower Niobrara consists of
expanding the West Knox RWS Well Field to supply Creighton, Niobrara,
Center, and the Santee Sioux Reservation.
The Southern Black Hills Water System (SBHWS) project is designed
to provide a regional water supply and water delivery system for rural
users, special use needs, and community needs for southern Pennington
County, all of Custer County, and all of Fall River County, in
southwestern South Dakota. The SBHWS appraisal investigation evaluated
a number of alternatives ranging from purchasing water from an existing
entity, developing new infrastructure, and some non-structural
alternatives which include water use polices (e.g., prohibit rural
residential growth) and water conservation (e.g., leak detection
surveys).
Dated: July 11, 2011.
Roseann Gonzales,
Director, Policy and Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-20392 Filed 8-10-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P