[Federal Register: March 7, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 44)]
[Notices]
[Page 10256-10257]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07mr07-156]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Bureau of Reclamation
Final Environmental Impact Statement for Clean Water Coalition
Systems Conveyance and Operations Program Lake Mead National Recreation
Area, Clark County, NV; Notice of Availability
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 and the corresponding Council of Environmental
Quality implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the National
Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation, as lead agencies for the
Department of Interior, announce the availability of the Clean Water
Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program (SCOP) Final
Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS). The SCOP Final EIS
completes the evaluation of potential environmental impacts associated
with a proposed pipeline alternative, two additional pipeline
alternatives, and the baseline No Action alternative (and also presents
a Process Improvements option derived from the No Action Alternative).
The purpose of implementing the proposal is to put into operation a
treatment and conveyance system that will allow for flexible management
of wastewater flow in the Las Vegas Valley, while maintaining water
quality standards. Clark County, Nevada is one of the fastest growing
counties in the U.S., with a projected population in the area of
approximately 3,130,000 by 2035. The quantity of effluent treated and
discharged in the Las Vegas Valley will increase with the Valley
populations. The treatment and conveyance facilities must accommodate
the additional flows while continuing to meet current or future water
quality standards for Las Vegas Wash and Bay, and Lake Mead.
The Final EIS evaluates effects of the alternatives on both visitor
experience and park resources including: surface water hydrology,
groundwater, water quality, biological resources/endangered species,
cultural resources, recreation, land use, air quality, noise,
socioeconomics, and other appropriate resource issues identified during
the public scoping phase. An impairment analysis was also completed by
the National Park Service (NPS) for the portion of the proposed actions
that would impinge upon this unit of the National Park System.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the Final EIS may be obtained by
contacting the SCOP EIS Project Manager, PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle,
Suite 100, Henderson, NV 89074 (or e-mailing to
eis@cleanwatercoalition.com). The Final EIS will also be made available
at public libraries in the following locations: Nevada: Boulder City
Library, Las Vegas Public Library, Searchlight Library, Community
College of Southern Nevada, Sahara West Library, Mesquite Library,
University of Nevada-Las Vegas, James I. Gibson Library, Clark County
Library, James R. Dickinson Library, Moapa Valley Library, Green Valley
Library, Sunrise Public Library, Laughlin Library. Arizona: Burton Barr
Central Library, Tempe Public Library, University of Arizona Library,
Meadview Community Library, Mohave County Library. Utah: Washington
County Library. California: Environmental Services Library in San
Diego, Palm Springs Public Library. Finally, the document will also be
available via the Internet at http://www.cleanwatercoalition.com and
http://www.nps.gov/lame/docs.html. For questions concerning release of
the Final EIS, please contact: Mr. Michael Boyles, National Park
Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder
City, NV 89005, telephone (702) 293-8978; or Mr. Anthony Vigil (LC-
2621), Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, NV 89006-
1470, telephone (702) 293-8674.
Please note that all information received in support of preparing
the EIS becomes part of the public record. Our practice is to make
comments, including names, home addresses, home phone numbers, and e-
mail addresses of respondents, available for public review. Before
including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment--including your personal
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can 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.
Public Involvement and Other Agency Coordination: The NPS, along
with the Bureau of Reclamation, began the conservation planning and
environmental impact analysis process for SCOP in 2002. The Notice of
Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on
July 26, 2002. In addition to the NOI, notices were published in local
and regional newspapers announcing public scoping meetings, which were
held in August of 2002 in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV, Kingman and
Phoenix, AZ, and San Diego and Palm Springs, CA. Postcards including a
brief description of the proposed project and the locations and dates
of the public meetings were mailed to all interested parties in Nevada,
Arizona, and California. The Draft EIS was released for public review
(and also distributed to the area libraries listed above) in late
September 2005; the EPA's announcement of availability of the Draft EIS
was noticed in the Federal Register on October 7, 2005. Nine public
comment meetings were held during October, 2005 in the same cities in
which the initial public scoping sessions were conducted. The public
comment period on the Draft EIS ended December 6, 2005. Over 500 oral
and written comments were received. The Final EIS contains responses to
all comments received and incorporates additional information obtained
during the review period.
Implementation of SCOP will require a permit from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, which regulates construction and dredging of
navigable waters of the
[[Page 10257]]
U.S. It will also require a right-of-way permit from the Bureau of Land
Management for those portions of the alignment which cross lands under
that agency's jurisdiction. Coordination with Native Americans occured
in 2002 and 2004. Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is in process, as are
consultations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act.
Proposal and Alternatives: The SCOP Final EIS evaluates the
potential environmental impacts associated with three pipeline
alternatives, a Process Improvements Alternative, and the No-Action
Alternative (the three pipeline alternatives and No Action alternatives
were presented in the Draft EIS). The Boulder Islands North Alternative
is the ``environmentally preferred'' alternative and remains the
``agency preferred'' alternative. However, based on public comments,
the pipeline alternatives have been slightly modified and the Process
Improvements Alternative has been added.
The pipeline alternatives have been revised to limit the total
phosphorus loading discharged to Lake Mead and the Las Vegas Wash to
not exceed the current wasteload allocation of 334 pounds per day on an
average annual basis during ordinary conditions. In addition, details
regarding the Boulder Basin Adaptive Management Plan have been included
in the description of the pipeline alternatives. The Process
Improvements Alternative has been added to the EIS. Although the
Process Improvements Alternative meets the definition of ``No Action''
described in CEQ's Forty Questions, and is considered an extension of
the original ``No Action'' alternative, it is analyzed and presented in
the Final EIS as a separate alternative at the request of the public.
Additions to the EIS resulting from public comments also include
sections addressing the potential impacts to downstream users; a more
extensive review of the studies and literature that are available
regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals and
personal care products, and a discussion of the treatment capabilities
of the plants and the effectiveness in removal of these substances; and
a description of the destratification of Lake Mead and its effect on
water quality.
Decision Process: The National Park Service and Bureau of
Reclamation will prepare separate Records of Decision no sooner than 30
days following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's
notice of availability in the Federal Register. Following approval of
the selected actions, the officials responsible for implementation are
the Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreational Area and the
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
Dated: November 14, 2006.
Robert Walsh,
Acting Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
Dated: November 20, 2006.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service.
Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the
Federal Register on March 2, 2007.
[FR Doc. 07-1049 Filed 3-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-A7-P