[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24394-24396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09831]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Notice of Intent; Request for Comments on Adoption of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers' Bayou Meto Basin General Reevaluation Report
and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Arkansas, Jefferson, Lonoke,
Prairie and Pulaski Counties, Arkansas
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Adopt Reevaluation Report and Final
Environmental Impact Statement; Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) an agency of the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving notice of its intent
to adopt the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) existing general
reevaluation report and final environmental impact statement (GRR/EIS)
for the Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas project (project). RUS is
considering providing funding to the applicant, the Bayou Meto Water
Management District (BMWMD), to construct a portion of the project
consisting of activities that have been identified, designed and
reviewed under the USACE's existing GRR/EIS. Based on RUS' independent
evaluation, adoption of the GRR/EIS would meet the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) and RUS regulations and guidance for
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To fulfill
our NEPA requirements and support a funding decision, we are
recirculating the GRR/EIS for written public comment via this notice,
in accordance with CEQ and RUS adoption guidelines.
DATES: Written comments on this Notice must be received on or before
May 30, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Mark S. Plank, Director,
Engineering and Environmental Staff, USDA Rural Utilities Service, 1400
Independence Ave. SW., Stop 1571, Room 2242-S, Washington, DC 20250.
The GRR/EIS and related documents referenced in this Notice are
available at http://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects/BayouMetoBasinProject/Reports.aspx. To the extent practicable, these
documents can be made available for public review in alternative
formats by contacting the individual listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION to request documents in alternative formats. RUS provides
this notice under regulations implementing NEPA and invite the public
to review the GRR/EIS during the 30-day comment period (see DATES).
Before including your address, phone number, email address or other
personal identifying information in your comment, please be aware that
your entire comment--including personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. RUS will endeavor to withhold
personal identifying information from public review upon request, but
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
As provided for pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), RUS is using this
notice to comply with the requirement under 36 CFR 800.2(d) that the
agency seek and consider the views of the public regarding effects to
historic properties prior to making a decision on the project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Fristik, Senior Environmental
Protection Specialist, USDA Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence
Ave. SW., Stop 1571, Room 2240-S, Washington, DC 20250, Telephone:
(202) 720-5093, Facsimile: (202) 690-0649, or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RUS' proposed funding action is for
activities already identified, designed and reviewed under the GRR/EIS.
Adoption and recirculation for public written comment of the GRR/EIS
fulfills RUS' requirements under the CEQ (40 CFR 1506.3(b)) and Agency
(7 CFR 1794.72(b)) NEPA implementing regulations. Recent CEQ guidance
encourages agencies to ``. . . coordinate and take appropriate
advantage of existing documents and studies, including through adoption
and incorporation by reference'' as a means of improving NEPA
efficiency (see ``Improving the Process for Preparing Efficient and
Timely Environmental Reviews under the National Environmental Policy
Act'' at http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/current_developments/docs/Improving_NEPA_Efficiencies_06Mar2012.pdf).
The overall Bayou Meto project area is located in east central
Arkansas and is bounded approximately on the west and south by the
Arkansas River and the city of England, and on the north and east by
the cities of Lonoke, Carlisle, Stuttgart and Reydell. The entire study
area encompasses 864,000 acres. The
[[Page 24395]]
proposed project for which RUS funding would be provided consists of
the Indian Bayou Service Area, a narrow (north to south) 94,000-acre
area on the western edge of the overall Bayou Meto area.
The USACE prepared the following documents to meet their federal
requirements:
1. ``Grand Prairie Region and Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas Project,
Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas General Reevaluation Report, Volume 1--Main
Report & Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),'' November 2006,
Revised March 2007, (GRR/EIS).
2. ``Record of Decision, Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas,'' November
2007, (ROD).
3. ``Final Environmental Assessment, Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas,
Post General Reevaluation Design Changes,'' July 2010, (EA).
4. ``Finding of No Significant Impact, Bayou Meto Basin, Arkansas,
Post General Reevaluation Design Changes,'' July 2010, (FONSI).
The particular authority under which the overall project is
authorized and funded requires a 65 percent federal/35 percent non-
federal cost share. Both the BMWMD and the Arkansas Natural Resources
Commission (ANRC) are the non-federal partners. RUS funding would
comprise a portion of the non-federal cost share for the Indian Bayou
Service Area. The ANRC is the state agency with legal authority and
responsibility for protection and management of Arkansas' water
resources, including groundwater. The ANRC strongly supports the
implementation of projects that develop surface water resources to
supplement and protect diminishing groundwater reserves. The Bayou Meto
Basin, Arkansas project was developed to be consistent with the
Arkansas State Water Plan. The ANRC, in partnership with the BMWMD, has
indicated their intent to serve as local sponsor for the project and
assume the responsibilities of local cooperation.
Numerous other studies have been completed that document the water
supply and groundwater depletion issues (the primary problem that the
project addresses), starting as far back as the late 1940's. Continued
withdrawals at the current rate will deplete the alluvial and Sparta
aquifers such that they will no longer be viable sources of irrigation
water, and agriculture as it is now practiced will be impossible. The
project was re-authorized, and the scope expanded, in the Water
Resources Development Act of 1996. The general reevaluation was
conducted to fully evaluate and determine the best plan of improvement
for flood control, agricultural water supply, and waterfowl management.
Alternatives were developed and analyzed using USACE planning criteria
to develop a plan consisting of measures that best meet the area's
needs. Once the plan was identified, detailed engineering and design
studies were completed to the level of detail required for preparation
of a baseline cost estimate and schedule for implementation.
The following were identified as planning objectives:
1. Protect and preserve the alluvial aquifer.
2. Maximize the use of water conservation.
3. Provide supplemental water supply to meet the irrigation
water needs of the
Bayou Meto Basin.
4. Restore and enhance waterfowl habitat.
5. Restore native vegetation.
6. Maintain long-range productivity of wetlands and forests.
7. Minimize cost and maximize outputs.
Relief from flooding problems in the southern portion of the
project area is also an important component of this study. Significant
annual flooding occurs on farmland and within the Bayou Meto Wildlife
Management Area (WMA), resulting in lost income and stress on forest
habitat (excess water cannot drain from the WMA). Waterfowl management
is also an important objective. Much of the native habitat in the Bayou
Meto Basin has been cleared for agriculture, limiting available habitat
for waterfowl and isolating flora and fauna in relatively small
patches.
Therefore, the development of a waterfowl management (WM) plan that
focused on providing substantial waterfowl benefits through habitat
restoration was developed. The WM plan also benefits tributary stream
fisheries and aquatic organisms, and would substantially increase the
amount of bottomland hardwood forest and other wildlife habitat within
the region.
The GRR/EIS evaluates five alternatives for meeting the identified
problems and opportunities: No Action (Alternative WS1); Conservation
with Storage (Alternative WS2); 1650 cubic feet per second (cfs) Import
System Plus Conservation and Storage (Alternative WS3); 1750 (cfs)
Import System Plus Conservation and Storage (Alternative WS4); and,
1850 (cfs) Import System Plus Conservation and Storage (Alternative
WS5). The selected plan, which maximized National Economic Development
(NED) and environmental (restoration) benefits, consisted of Water
Supply (WS) Alternative 4B, Flood Control (FC) Alternative 2A, and the
Waterfowl Management (WM) Plan. In addition to waterfowl, habitat
benefits would accrue to a variety of other game and non-game species
through creation or enhancement of bottomland hardwood, herbaceous
wetland/prairie, moist soil, and riparian buffer habitats.
In order to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) and its implementing regulations,
``Protection of Historic Properties'' (36 CFR part 800), the USACE,
acting as the lead agency for Section 106 review, the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation,
and the Arkansas State Historic Preservation Officer executed a
Programmatic Agreement (PA) on January 13, 2009. That PA, which is
titled, ``Programmatic Agreement Among the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Memphis District, the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, the Arkansas State Historic Preservation Officer, Quapaw Tribe
of Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians, Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, Osage Nation of Oklahoma, United
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, Thlopthlocco Tribal
Town, Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Other Signatory and Concurring
Tribes, Bayou Meto Water Management District, the Arkansas Natural
Resources Commission and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Regarding Implementation of the Bayou Meto Basin Arkansas Project
Pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act and Other
Authorities,'' establishes the level of effort needed for the
identification and treatment of affected historic properties.
Since execution of the PA in 2009, the USACE has conducted several
archeological studies of the area of potential effects. RUS, which has
designated the USACE as the lead agency pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(a)(2),
will review the studies completed to date under the terms of the 2009
PA to determine how to proceed most appropriately to conclude Section
106 review.
The proposed RUS decision to provide funding for the Indian Bayou
Service Area portion of the Bayou Meto Basin project is a federal
action subject to NEPA and related federal statutes. After an
independent review, RUS finds that the GRR/EIS and Record of Decision
(ROD) sufficiently addresses reasonable alternatives and the potential
environmental effects of the activities proposed to be funded by RUS.
The GRR/EIS meets the requirements of USDA and RUS NEPA procedures and
guidance, and would be appropriate for adoption.
[[Page 24396]]
RUS may receive additional requests for financial assistance for
similar portions of the Bayou Meto Basin project. If additional
requests are received it is the intent of the agency to issue
additional Records of Decision without additional notices to adopt the
USACE's GRR/EIS.
Based on the information summarized in this notice, RUS intends to
adopt the USACE's final GRR/EIS to enable Agency NEPA compliance for
the proposed Federal funding decision. After the close of the comment
period, RUS anticipates the preparation and issuance of our Record of
Decision to occur in May/June 2014. As required, RUS will conclude
review under 36 CFR part 800 prior to the issuance of the Record of
Decision.
Dated: April 8, 2014.
Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk,
Assistant Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-09831 Filed 4-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P