[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45606-45607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21140]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYR02000 L14400000.ER0000.17X, WYW-166003]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Leavitt Reservoir Expansion Project, Big Horn County, Wyoming
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,
as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), through the
Cody Field Office, Cody, Wyoming, intends to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Leavitt Reservoir Expansion
Project (Project) in Big Horn County, Wyoming. The BLM is announcing
the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and
identify issues.
DATES: Comments may be submitted in writing until November 13, 2017. In
order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be received
prior to the close of the 45-day scoping period or 15 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will provide
additional opportunities for public participation as appropriate. The
dates and locations of any scoping meetings will be announced at least
15 days in advance through the local news media, newspapers, and the
BLM ePlanning Web site at: http://bit.ly/Leavitt_Reservoir_EIS_2bcgpgW.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 307-578-5939.
Mail: NEPA Coordinator, BLM Cody Field Office, 1002
Blackburn Street, Cody, Wyoming 82414.
Documents pertinent to this proposal are available for public
review at the BLM Cody Field Office and on the BLM ePlanning Web site
at: http://bit.ly/Leavitt_Reservoir_EIS_2bcgpgW.
[[Page 45607]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bradley Johnson, Planning &
Environmental Coordinator, telephone: 307-578-5928; address: 1002
Blackburn Street, Cody, Wyoming 82414; email: [email protected].
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr.
Johnson during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. You
may call either of these numbers to have your name added to the project
mailing list.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice initiates the public scoping
process for the EIS. The BLM intends to prepare an EIS to support the
decision making for the proposed Project and conduct a public scoping
period to seek input on the preliminary issues identified regarding
this proposal. The Wyoming Water Development Commission proposes to
enlarge the water storage capacity of Leavitt Reservoir to a total
capacity of 6,604 acre feet for the purposes of multiple use that
include late season irrigation, flood attenuation and recreation. A
1.5-mile sub-surface pipeline from Beaver Creek will divert water to
the reservoir inlet via a 42-inch diameter pipeline across private
lands. A permanent sub-surface transfer pipeline, approximately three
miles long, is proposed downstream in the Beaver Creek drainage to
efficiently convey reservoir release water to irrigation
infrastructure.The proposal area is between the towns of Greybull and
Shell, Wyoming, in the Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming, T. 54 N., R.
92 W., sec. 13, NW1/4SW1/4 and SW1/4SW1/4; sec. 14, NE1/4SE1/4 and SE1/
4SE1/4; sec. 23, NE1/4NE1/4 and SE1/4NE1/4; sec. 24, lots 3 and 4, SW1/
4NW1/4, SE1/4NW1/4, NW1/4SW1/4, NE1/4SW1/4, and SW1/4SE1/4.
Preliminary issues include: Potential impacts to wetlands and
cultural sites (properties), ground and surface waters, mineral
development, wildlife habitat, and the county road right-of-way. The
BLM will identify, analyze, and require mitigation, as appropriate, to
address the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the
approval of this Project. Mitigation may include avoidance,
minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination over time, and
compensatory mitigation; and may be considered at multiple scales,
including the landscape-scale.
The BLM seeks resource information and data for public land values
(e.g., air quality, cultural and historic resources, fire/fuels,
fisheries, forestry, lands and realty, non-energy minerals and geology,
oil and gas, paleontology, rangeland management, recreation, soil,
water, and wildlife) in the project area. As proposed, approximately 48
percent of the project area would take place on BLM-managed public
lands. The proposed dam and nearly the entirety of the expanded
reservoir would reside on BLM lands. The proposed pipeline and borrow
areas both cross or take place nearly in their entirety on private
lands. The purpose of this request is to ensure that the project
analysis has sufficient information and data to consider a reasonable
range of resource uses, management options, and alternatives for
managing public lands.
Please submit information to the Cody Field Manager at the address
above. The BLM will treat proprietary information submissions marked as
``Confidential'' in accordance with the laws and regulations governing
the confidentiality of such information. To provide the public with an
opportunity to review the proposal and associated information, as well
as any proposed plan amendments, the BLM will host meetings before
October 30, 2017. The BLM will notify the public of meetings and any
other opportunities for the public to be involved in the process for
this proposal at least 15 days prior to the event. Meeting dates,
locations and times will be announced by a news release to the media,
individual emailings, and postings on the project Web site. The purpose
of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will
influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including
alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS.
The BLM will use and coordinate the NEPA commenting process to help
fulfill the public involvement process under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108), as
provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and
cultural resources in the area potentially affected by the proposal
will assist the lead agency in identifying and evaluating impacts to
such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
Native American tribal consultations will be conducted in accordance
with policy, and tribal concerns will be given due consideration.
Federal, state and local agencies, along with other stakeholders that
may be interested or affected by the BLM's decisions on this proposal,
are invited to participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may
request or be requested by the BLM to participate as a cooperating
agency.
Before including your address, 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 may
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 1501.7.
Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-21140 Filed 9-28-17; 8:45 am]
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