[Federal Register: February 26, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 38)]
[Notices]
[Page 8924]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26fe03-76]
[[Page 8924]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Humboldt Project Conveyance, Pershing and Lander Counties, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2) (c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Humboldt
Project Conveyance. Reclamation will be conducting public scoping
meetings to elicit comments on the scope and issues to be addressed in
the draft EIS. Reclamation is also seeking written comments, as noted
below. The draft EIS is expected to be issued in early 2004. Public
notification will occur for all scoping meetings to be held for this
draft EIS.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be
considered should be sent to Reclamation at the address below by June
15, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Caryn Huntt DeCarlo,
Bureau of Reclamation, Lahontan Basin Area Office, 705 N. Plaza, Room
320, Carson City, NV 89701; or by telephone at 775-884-8352; or faxed
to 775-882-7592 (TDD 775-487-5933).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caryn Huntt DeCarlo, Bureau of
Reclamation, at the above address and telephone number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Humboldt Project (Project) is located
along the Humboldt River in northwestern Nevada. Reclamation began the
Project construction in 1935, and in 1941 the first water was delivered
to the agricultural lands from storage in Rye Patch Reservoir. The
Pershing County Water Conservation District (PCWCD) assumed operation
of the Project in 1941. PCWCD has had several Project repayment
contracts with Reclamation that have all been repaid. Project features
include Battle Mountain Community Pasture, Rye Patch Dam and Reservoir,
and the Humboldt Sink. Battle Mountain Community Pasture, located near
Battle Mountain, is approximately 30,000 acres and is managed for
grazing by the PCWCD under a lease agreement with Reclamation. Rye
Patch Reservoir is located 26 miles upstream from Lovelock, is 21 miles
in length, and has a capacity of 190,000 acre-feet. The State of Nevada
manages the recreation at the reservoir under a management agreement
with Reclamation and the PCWCD. The Humboldt Sink is also part of the
Project and is managed by the State of Nevada under a management
agreement with Reclamation.
Reclamation is preparing an EIS to analyze the action of conveying
title of the Humboldt Project and associated lands to several entities.
The conveyance is authorized under title VIII of Public Law 107-282.
The preliminary estimate of acres of conveyance is as follows: PCWCD
48,700 acres (portions of Rye Patch Reservoir and the Battle Mountain
Community Pasture); Pershing County 960 acres (portion of the Humboldt
Sink area); Lander County 1,100 acres (portion of the Battle Mountain
Community Pasture); and the State of Nevada 19,700 acres (portions of
Rye Patch Reservoir, Humboldt Sink, and in the Battle Mountain
Community Pasture).
The environmental impacts of the Project conveyance and associated
alternatives will be assessed in the EIS. The environmental review in
the EIS will focus on the potential for Project conveyance to cause
adverse environmental impacts to natural and cultural resources such as
recreation, endangered species and other fish and wildlife, and
historic resources.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There
may also be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.
Dated: January 31, 2003.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 03-4456 Filed 2-25-03; 8:45 am]