[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82-84]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33066]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Intake Diversion Dam Fish Passage Project, Dawson
County, Montana
AGENCIES: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD;
Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation (Reclamation) propose to jointly prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) that analyzes and discloses
effects associated with actions to provide fish passage at the Intake
Diversion Dam. The proposed Federal action is to improve passage for
endangered pallid sturgeon and other native fish at Intake Diversion
Dam in the lower Yellowstone River.
The Corps and Reclamation will serve as joint lead Federal agencies
in the preparation of the Intake Diversion Dam Fish Passage EIS. The
Corps will serve as administrative lead for National Environmental
Policy Act compliance activities during preparation of the EIS. The EIS
will include consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives to the
proposed Federal action that meet the purpose and need of improving
passage while continuing a viable and effective
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operation of the Lower Yellowstone Project. The Corps and Reclamation
will each consider and approve a Record of Decision regarding actions
and decisions for which the respective agencies are responsible.
DATES: Submit written comments on the scope of the issues and
alternatives to be considered in the EIS on or before February 18,
2016.
A public scoping meeting will be held on January 21, 2016, 6:00
p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in Glendive, MT.
ADDRESSES: Send written scoping comments, requests to be added to the
mailing list, or requests for sign language interpretation for the
hearing impaired or other special assistance needs to U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers Omaha District, ATTN: CENWO-PM-AA, 1616 Capitol Ave.,
Omaha, NE 68102; or email to [email protected].
The scoping meeting will be located at Dawson County High School
Auditorium, 900 N. Merrill Avenue, Glendive, MT 59330.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tiffany Vanosdall, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, 1616 Capitol Ave, Omaha, NE 68102, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps and Reclamation are issuing this
notice pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the
Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of NEPA, 43 CFR parts 1500 through 1508; the
Department of the Interior's NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part 46.
Background Information
Reclamation's Lower Yellowstone Project is located in eastern
Montana and western North Dakota. Intake Diversion Dam is located
approximately 70 miles upstream of the confluence of the Yellowstone
and Missouri rivers near Glendive, Montana. The Lower Yellowstone
Project was authorized by the Secretary of the Interior on May 10,
1904. Construction of the Lower Yellowstone Project began in 1905 and
included Intake Diversion Dam (also known as Yellowstone River
Diversion Dam)--a 12-foot high wood and stone diversion dam that spans
the Yellowstone River and diverts water into the Main Canal for
irrigation. The Lower Yellowstone Project was authorized to provide a
dependable water supply sufficient to irrigate approximately 52,000
acres of land on the benches above the west bank of the Yellowstone
River. Water is also supplied to irrigate approximately 830 acres in
the Intake Irrigation Project and 2,200 acres in the Savage Unit. Both
of the smaller irrigation projects pump water from the Main Canal. The
average annual volume of water diverted for these projects is 327,046
acre-feet.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the pallid
sturgeon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1990.
The best available science suggests Intake Diversion Dam impedes
upstream migration of pallid sturgeon and their access to spawning and
larval drift habitats. The lower Yellowstone River is considered by the
Service to provide one of the best opportunities for recovery of pallid
sturgeon.
Section 7(a)(2) requires each Federal agency to consult on any
action authorized, funded, or carried out by the agency to ensure it
does not jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or
threatened species. Reclamation has been in formal consultation with
the Service to identify potential conservation measures to minimize
adverse effects to pallid sturgeon associated with continued operation
of the Lower Yellowstone Project. The Pallid Sturgeon Recovery Plan
specifically identifies providing passage at Intake Diversion Dam to
protect and restore pallid sturgeon populations. By providing passage
at Intake Diversion Dam, approximately 165 river miles of spawning and
larval drift habitat would become accessible in the Yellowstone River.
Section 3109 of the 2007 Water Resources Development Act authorizes
the Corps to use funding from the Missouri River Recovery and
Mitigation Program to assist Reclamation in the design and construction
of Reclamation's Lower Yellowstone Project at Intake, Montana for the
purpose of ecosystem restoration. Planning and construction of the
Intake Project is a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) for the
Corps in the 2003 Missouri River Amended Biological Opinion (BiOp) as
amended by letter exchange in 2009, 2010, and 2013. The Reclamation
Act/Newlands Act of 1902 (Pub. L. 161) authorizes Reclamation to
construct and maintain the facilities associated with the Lower
Yellowstone Project, which includes actions or modifications necessary
to comply with Federal law such as the ESA.
Reclamation initiated a collaborative effort with the Service;
Corps; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; and The Nature Conservancy
through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on July 8, 2005.
Reclamation coordinated a value planning study in August 2005 with
representatives from parties signatory to the MOU and the Lower
Yellowstone Project Irrigation Districts to explore and evaluate a
broad range of alternatives for fish passage and entrainment reduction.
In 2010, Reclamation and the Corps authorized the construction of a
rock ramp and new screened headworks with the completion of an
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact. The
construction of the new headworks is complete and began operation
during the 2012 irrigation season. During the final design of the rock
ramp, following the release of the 2010 Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact, important new information on the
design, constructability, and sustainability of the proposed rock ramp
surfaced along with new information regarding pallid sturgeon movement
which led to a reevaluation of fish passage options.
In 2013, the Corps and Reclamation conducted a planning effort to
examine new and previously considered alternatives. Following this
effort, the Corps and Reclamation identified the bypass channel for
detailed analysis which included a constraint related to Reclamation's
obligation to deliver water necessary to continue a viable and
effective operation of the Lower Yellowstone Project. A Supplemental
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact selecting
the bypass channel were completed in 2015. In response to concerns
about the selected Bypass Channel Alternative, the Corps and
Reclamation are proposing to prepare this EIS.
The Corps and Reclamation will use the scoping period to fully
identify the range of potentially significant issues, actions,
alternatives, and impacts to be considered in the EIS. This scoping
period will ensure the public has sufficient opportunity to review and
comment on the proposed Federal action and reasonable alternatives for
fish passage at Intake Diversion Dam. Public comments are invited and
encouraged to assist agencies in identifying the scope of potentially
significant environmental, social, and economic issues relevant to the
proposed Federal action and determining reasonable alternatives to be
considered in the EIS. Current and past project information and
analyses can be accessed at: http://www.usbr.gov/gp/mtao/loweryellowstone.
The Corps and Reclamation will host a public scoping meeting and
are inviting agencies, tribes, non-
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governmental organizations, and the public to participate in an open
exchange of information and to provide comments on the proposed scope
of the EIS.
As required by CEQ's implementing regulations, the EIS will include
consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed
Federal action that meet the purpose and need of improving pallid
sturgeon passage while continuing a viable and effective operation of
the Lower Yellowstone Project. The EIS will analyze and disclose
environmental impacts associated with the proposed Federal action and
alternatives together with engineering, operations and maintenance,
social, and economic considerations. The public is invited and
encouraged to identify issues and effects that should be addressed in
the EIS, as well as reasonable alternatives to improve fish passage at
the Intake Diversion Dam.
The public scoping meeting date or location may change based on
inclement weather or exceptional circumstances. If the meeting date or
location is changed, the Corps and Reclamation will issue a press
release and post it on the web at http://www.usbr.gov/gp/mtao/loweryellowstone and http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil to announce the
updated meeting details.
Special Assistance for Public Scoping Meeting
The meeting facility is physically accessible to people with
disabilities. People needing special assistance to attend and/or
participate in the open house should contact: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Omaha District, ATTN: CENWO-PM-AA, 1616 Capitol Ave, Omaha,
NE 68102; or email [email protected]. To allow sufficient
time to process special requests, please contact no later than one week
before the public scoping meeting.
Public Disclosure Statement
The Corps and Reclamation believe it is important to inform the
public of the environmental review process. To assist the Corps and
Reclamation in identifying and considering issues related to the
proposed Federal action, comments made during formal scoping and later
on the draft EIS should be as specific as possible. Reviewers must
structure their participation in the environmental review of the
proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the Corps and Reclamation
to the reviewer's position and contentions. It is very important that
those interested in this proposed Federal action participate by the
close of the scoping period so that substantive comments and objections
are made available to the Corps and Reclamation at a time when they can
meaningfully consider and respond to them.
If you wish to comment, you may mail or email your comments as
indicated under the ADDRESSES section. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or any other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
available to the public at any time. While you can request in your
comment for us to withhold your personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
John W. Henderson,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Commander.
John F. Soucy,
Deputy Regional Director, Great Plains Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2015-33066 Filed 12-31-15; 8:45 am]
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