[Federal Register: April 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 21155-21156]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ap08-91]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
South Valley Facilities Expansion Project--Clark County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS) and notice of scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), together with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS) as
cooperating agencies, is preparing an EIS pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act to evaluate the effects of the South Valley
Facilities Expansion (SVFE) Project (Project), as proposed by the
Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). The SNWA has applied for
temporary and permanent rights-of-way to construct water treatment and
conveyance facilities on public land administered by Reclamation, BLM,
and NPS in Clark County, Nevada.
DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held from 4:30 to 8 p.m., with a
half-hour presentation at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
May 5, 6, and 7, 2008, to receive oral and written input on the scope
of issues to be addressed in the EIS such as alternatives, resources,
and other concerns. Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be
submitted by May 23, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ms. Laureen Perry (LC-2631), Bureau
of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, PO Box 61470, Boulder City, NV
89006-1470, or to svfe-eis@lc.usbr.gov, or fax to 702-293-8418. The
public scoping meetings will be held at the following locations:
Monday, May 5, 2008: Valley View Recreation Center, 500
Harris Street, Henderson, NV 89015.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008: Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community
Center, 2020 West Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, NV 89012.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008: Wingate Hotel, 3041 St. Rose
Parkway, Henderson, NV 89052.
[[Page 21156]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laureen Perry at 702-293-8020, or
at the above address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Evolving water use patterns in the southern
area of the Las Vegas Valley and the need to increase the reliability
and flexibility of the SNWA water supply system have resulted in the
proposal to redistribute, treat, and convey existing water supplies to
meet the water demand projections and use patterns in this area. The
proposed SVFE Project would increase treatment and conveyance capacity
to allow SNWA to redistribute existing water supplies to locations
identified by the City of Henderson and the Las Vegas Valley Water
District to meet projected water demands and to increase the
flexibility and reliability of the SNWA system to meet seasonal and
regional water needs. The Project consists of two major elements: (1)
An expansion of raw water transmission and treatment facilities (the
treatment element), and (2) construction of a new transmission system
to convey treated water to the southern area of the Las Vegas Valley
(the conveyance element).
The raw water transmission and treatment element of the Project
includes upgrades and additional facilities to redistribute raw water
from existing sources at Lake Mead to the River Mountains Water
Treatment Facility (RMWTF); expansion of treatment capacity within the
existing footprint of the RMWTF; and enhancement of existing pumping
station capacity and water filtration rates.
The conveyance element would include construction of approximately
26 miles of underground pipeline (72- to 114-inch diameter) from the
RMWTF to a location west of Interstate 15 in the vicinity of Cactus
Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Appurtenant facilities would include a
40-million gallon storage reservoir, rate-of-flow control stations, and
a pumping station. Currently, the South Valley Lateral transmits water
supplies to the southern Las Vegas Valley. The conveyance element of
the SVFE Project would increase SNWA's management flexibility and
system reliability by supplying water to locations identified by the
City of Henderson and Las Vegas Valley Water District, and through a
planned interconnection with the South Valley Lateral, would allow
areas to be served from either lateral if needed as a result of
maintenance, repair, or power outage.
Potential project alternatives include different pipeline
alignments, different pipeline construction methods (trench excavation
and tunneling), and different locations for pumping stations, storage
reservoir, and appurtenant facilities. Alignments being considered for
the treatment element of the Project include following the existing raw
water pipeline from the vicinity of Lake Mead to the RMWTF, or a new
route under the River Mountains. One alignment being considered for the
conveyance element includes a southern route from the RMWTF that heads
south and then west and generally parallels the southern corporate
limits of the City of Henderson, the northern boundary of Sloan Canyon
National Conservation Area, and north of the Henderson Executive
Airport to Gillespie Street. The northern conveyance alignment heads
west from the RMWTF to U.S. Highway 95 where the alignment may go
either north or south around Black Mountain. The route continues west
and generally parallels Interstate 215 to St. Rose Parkway and to
Maryland Parkway where the route turns south and then west to Gillespie
Street. At Gillespie Street both the northern and southern alignments
head south to St. Rose Parkway and north to Silverado Ranch Boulevard
to new distribution facilities, and west across Interstate 15 to the
terminus in the vicinity of Cactus Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Maps
of the potential alternative alignments will be available for review at
the public scoping meetings, may be requested from Ms. Laureen Perry
(at the above address), or may be viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/
region/g2000/envdocs.html.
Special Assistance for Public Scoping Meeting
If special assistance or other accommodation is needed, please
notify Ms. Laureen Perry at 702-293-8020, or at svfe-eis@lc.usbr.gov,
or by mail at the above address as far in advance as possible to secure
the needed services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will
be notified.
Public Disclosure
Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address,
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should
be aware that your entire comment, including personal identifying
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may
request in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, Reclamation cannot guarantee it will be
able to do so.
Dated: March 20, 2008.
Jayne Harkins,
Deputy Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. E8-8380 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
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