[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 136 (Monday, July 18, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-17329] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: July 18, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Southern Nevada Water Authority Treatment and Transmission Facility, Clark County, NV AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement and notice of scoping meetings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) proposes to construct an intake structure, water treatment plant and associated transmission pipelines to treat and convey Colorado River water from Lake Mead to the Las Vegas Valley. Studies and analysis have indicated that there is a need for the additional Treatment and Transmission Facility (TTF). Reclamation proposes to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the additional impacts associated with the construction of the facilities. A series of public meetings are planned to provide information and receive oral comments from interested parties. DATES AND ADDRESSES: There will be five public meetings:August 22, 1994, 7 p.m., Boulder City Hall, City Council Chambers, 401 California Avenue, Boulder City, NV. August 24, 1994, 2 p.m., Cashman Field Center, Meeting Rooms 101-102, 850 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV. August 24, 1994, 7 p.m., Cashman Field Center, Meeting Rooms 101-102, 850 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV. August 30, 1994, 6:30 p.m., North Las Vegas City Library, Community Room, 2300 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas, NV. September 1, 1994, 7 p.m., Henderson Convention Center, 200 South Water Street, Henderson, NV. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Walker, Chief, Environmental Compliance and Technical Services Branch, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, Nevada 89006-1470, Telephone: (702) 293-8526; or Michael D. Noah, EIS Manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority, 1850 East Flamingo Road, Suite 234, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119, Telephone: (702) 732-7954. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Las Vegas Valley currently relies on the Southern Nevada Water System (SNWS) to provide 85 percent of the Valley water supply. Because the SNWS is currently the only major water supply system serving southern Nevada's population of nearly 1 million residents and over 20 million visitors each year, planning efforts have been initiated to identify the necessary elements required to develop a back-up water treatment and transmission facility to provide relief capacity. The goal of the planning efforts for a SNWA TTF project is: To develop a reliable and demand-responsive municipal water system that will supplement the existing Southern Nevada Water System during periods of curtailed production or system failure, and provide the State of Nevada full access to its Colorado River water entitlement. The results of supply and demand projections for the SNWA service area suggest that summer shortages due to insufficient facility capacity could occur as soon as the summer of 1996 unless system improvements are made. Improvements to the SNWS, and the groundwater pumping and distribution systems, may prolong the ability of the SNWA purveyors to provide adequate water supplies to the year 2000. Planning efforts have focused on identifying potential projects that provide reliable, efficient, and environmentally acceptable alternatives to supply water drawn from Lake Mead and delivered to the Las Vegas Valley. The alternatives contain three major components: a raw water intake structure, a water treatment plant, and a transmission system. Preliminary analyses have been conducted on each of these major project components to identify and evaluate possible configurations of the project. The results of these studies have defined three primary groups, or ``families,'' of project alternatives grouped geographically into Northern, Central, and Southern Families. The Northern Family includes intake locations in the north shore of Las Vegas Bay to Callville Bay. Studies indicate that the water quality at Callville Bay is adequate, but visual impacts resulting from the construction of an intake and new overhead power lines to service the treatment plant could pose significant environmental constraints. Treatment of water from Las Vegas Bay would be more expensive than water from the mainstream of the Colorado River or Lake Mead, because the Bay is affected by its proximity to existing and proposed wastewater treatment plant outfalls. The Central Family of alternative alignments includes an intake at or near the existing SNWS intake. Evaluation of this alternative benefits from a vast amount of water quality data collected during ongoing SNWS research. However, proximity to the SNWS would likely expose the SNWA-TTF to any catastrophic event that could impair the SNWS, thus defeating one of the primary goals of developing an independent back-up system. The Southern Family alternative includes intake sites at either Promontory Point or Hoover Dam. This alternative alignment is benefited by its accessibility to an available power supply, and its distance from wastewater discharge. While the Hoover Dam intake alternative is potentially less environmentally damaging, approvals from Reclamation to alter the design of Hoover Dam must be secured for this option to be viable. Preliminary analyses have been conducted for project need, water demand, geotechnical and seismic conditions, water quality, intake depth, water treatment facility, water delivery system requirements, and power supply alternatives. Planning analyses will continue throughout the course of the project. To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed action are addressed and that all significant issues are identified, comments or questions concerning this action and the EIS should be directed to the contact provided above. Dated: July 11, 1994. Robert W. Johnson, Acting Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region. [FR Doc. 94-17329 Filed 7-15-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-94-P