[Federal Register: January 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 6)]
[Notices]
[Page 1239-1240]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ja07-61]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[FES-06-53]
Transfer of Title to Facilities, Works, and Lands of the Gila
Project, Wellton-Mohawk Division, to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and
Drainage District, Yuma County, AZ (Wellton-Mohawk Title Transfer)
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability, Final Environmental Impact Statement,
Wellton-Mohawk Title Transfer.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared
a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to evaluate the potential
effects of the proposed Wellton-Mohawk Title Transfer. The title
transfer would transfer ownership and divest Reclamation of the
responsibility for the operation, maintenance, management, regulation
of, and liability for the identified project facilities and appurtenant
lands to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District
(District). This title transfer would consolidate management
responsibility with the District, thereby allowing them to have greater
authority in the management of growth and land-based issues in the
Wellton-Mohawk Valley, protect against encroachment on agriculture, and
consolidate ownership of lands, facilities, and the Gila River Flood
Channel.
ADDRESSES: To obtain a compact disc or paper copy of the FEIS, please
e-mail Christa Monaco at cmonaco@lc.usbr.gov or write Ms. Monaco at the
Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Regional Office, P.O. Box 61470,
Boulder City, NV 89006-1470. A copy of the FEIS is available for public
review and inspection on the Region's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/lc
under ``Latest News and Info'', or at the following locations:
Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District, 30570
Wellton-Mohawk Drive, Wellton, AZ, telephone: (928) 785-3351.
[[Page 1240]]
Dateland School Branch Library, Avenue 64 East, Dateland,
AZ, telephone: (928) 454-2243.
Foothills Branch Library, 11279 South Glenwood Avenue,
Yuma, AZ, telephone: (928) 342-1640.
Roll Branch Library, 5151 South Avenue 39 East, Roll, AZ,
telephone: (928) 785-3701.
Wellton Branch Library, 10425 Williams Street, Wellton,
AZ, telephone: (928) 785-9575.
Yuma County Main Library, 350 South 3rd Avenue, Yuma, AZ,
telephone: (928) 782-1871.
Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Area Office, 800 Calle Agua
Salada, Yuma, AZ, telephone: (928) 343-8139.
Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office, Annex
Building, corner of Nevada Highway and Park Street, Boulder City, NV,
telephone: (702) 293-8421.
Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67,
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, CO telephone:
(303) 445-2072.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Renee Kolvet, Project Lead, Lower
Colorado Regional Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 702-293-8443, fax 702-
293-8146 or e-mail: rkolvet@lc.usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Notice of
Availability was published in the Federal Register on September 4, 2003
(68 FR 52613). The public review period ended on October 29, 2003. All
comments received on the DEIS were carefully reviewed and considered in
preparing the FEIS. Where appropriate, responses to comments received
from interested organizations and individuals during the review period
are addressed in the FEIS.
The amount of land to be transferred has been reduced by
approximately 8,850 acres from that identified in the Proposed Action
of the DEIS. These changes were made to reflect the correct legal land
ownership status and in response to concerns raised during
consultations with tribal governments. No additional adverse
environmental impacts would result from the changes as documented in
the FEIS.
Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action until
at least 30 days after Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of
Availability of the FEIS is published in the Federal Register. After
the 30-day waiting period, Reclamation may complete a Record of
Decision (ROD) which would state the action that will be implemented
and would discuss all factors leading to the decision.
The FEIS will be used in the decision-making process pursuant to
the Wellton-Mohawk Transfer Act of June 2000 (Pub. L. 106-221), whereby
the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to transfer title to the
Wellton-Mohawk Division of the Gila Project works and facilities, and
certain federally-owned lands from the United States to the District.
The District is a political subdivision of the State of Arizona
constituted to own lands and facilities and to contract with
Reclamation for diversion of Colorado River water for delivery to its
landowners. Reclamation and the District signed a Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) in July 1998, as amended, which defines the methods and
principles of this title transfer process.
Two alternatives are evaluated in the FEIS: (1) The No Action
Alternative, under which facilities of the Wellton-Mohawk Division of
the Gila Project and lands within or adjacent to the Gila Project would
remain in Federal ownership, and (2) the Proposed Action/Preferred
Alternative under which Reclamation would transfer title to the
facilities of the Wellton-Mohawk Division of the Gila Project and lands
within or adjacent to the Gila Project to the District.
Dated: November 29, 2006.
Jayne Harkins,
Deputy Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. E7-177 Filed 1-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P