Environmental Impact Statement: Lamar County Alabama Water Supply Development

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement: Lamar County Alabama Water Supply

Development

AGENCIES: Tennessee Valley Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers (COE) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

on water supply development for Lamar County, Alabama, located in west

central Alabama. This EIS will consider a range of alternatives to

provide an adequate and reliable water supply for the Lamar County

area. Alternatives to be considered will include one or a combination

of the following: construction of a surface impoundment on a tributary

of Yellow Creek; installation of one or more water pipelines from

existing reservoirs or streams, use of groundwater wells; direct

withdrawal and storage from Yellow Creek; the no action alternative;

and other alternatives identified during the scoping process. With this

notice, TVA and the COE invite comments on the scope of this EIS. This

notice is provided in accordance with the procedural requirements of

the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as TVA's and the

COE's implementing procedures.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS must be received at the

address below on or before December 15, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Dale V. Wilhelm, NEPA Liaison,

Tennessee Valley Authority, WT 8C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive,

Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jack L. Davis, Manager, Water Resource Projects, Tennessee Valley

Authority, WT 10C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee

37902-1499, phone (615) 632-7183.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tennessee Valley Authority and Lamar

County in West Central Alabama are addressing the water supply needs

for the County, in order to assure a safe and reliable water supply for

the future.

At this time, Lamar County has abundant reserves of both surface

and groundwater which are sufficient to meet the needs for the County.

However, a county-wide study of development patterns, land use, and

potential for contamination of existing groundwater sources indicates a

high potential for contamination of groundwater from human activities.

One well at Sulligent, Alabama, in the northern part of Lamar County,

has already been abandoned as a result of groundwater contamination.

Any new water supply for Lamar County must: (1) Provide sufficient

water to serve an expected increased growth, (2) be of good water

quality and, (3) be from reliable water sources. It must be sufficient

to provide water during peak demands and drought cycles, and it must be

free of contamination. At the present time, groundwater, including the

County public water system (which depends 100 percent on groundwater)

and private wells, provides 93 percent of Lamar County's drinking

water. Currently, there is a potential for groundwater contamination

from natural sources and from human activities such as waste disposal,

use of pesticides, underground storage tanks, and spills. The

Tuscaloosa aquifer, on which the County depends almost exclusively for

its water needs, is overlaid by permeable soils that allow infiltration

and make the aquifer vulnerable to potential contamination. The water

from the primary groundwater well is also high in iron. For these

reasons, an alternative surface water supply is being considered.

TVA and Lamar County will evaluate alternatives to meet the water

supply needs of the area. These analyses of water supply needs will

include domestic, industrial, agricultural uses, and water quality. For

planning purposes, projected benefits and costs will be evaluated for a

30 to 50 year period, depending on the alternative under consideration.

Conservation effects on water use will also be considered.

The first step in the preparation of the EIS will be the

determination of the scope of the EIS. It is anticipated that the scope

will include possible construction of a surface impoundment on a

tributary of Yellow Creek, installation of one or more water pipelines

from existing reservoirs, in

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stream flow withdrawals, pumped storage, or a combination of any of

these. Different design concepts will also be addressed. In addition,

as required by NEPA, the no action alternative will also be analyzed.

One alternative, construction of a surface impoundment directly on

Yellow Creek will not be considered at this time because of the

potential impacts to large areas of regulated wetlands. Potentially

important issues for discussion in the EIS include:

1. Effects on stream discharge, water quality, and availability;

2. Impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecology, including threatened

and endangered species and habitat loss;

3. Impacts on floodplains, wetlands, recreation, and existing land

uses; and

4. Socioeconomic, historic, archeological, and cultural effects

associated with completion of the project and alternatives to it.

This list is not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it intended

to be a predetermination of impacts. As scoping and preparation of the

EIS proceeds, other issues may be revealed which will necessitate

further analyses.

TVA and COE invite comments on the above issues. Comments are also

requested on environmental issues which should not be viewed as

important and which should not be discussed in detail in the EIS.

Sometime during the scoping period, a public meeting will be held

in Vernon (Lamar County) to receive comments about the scope of this

EIS. Details about this meeting will be announced in area newspapers.

Comments received at this meeting will be accorded the same weight as

written comments.

As noted, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Mobile

District) will participate in this EIS process as a joint lead agency.

Other Federal Agencies may also become cooperating agencies.

After the scoping process and the initial environmental analyses

are completed, TVA and COE will prepare a draft EIS. A Notice of

Availability of the draft EIS, soliciting public comments, will be

published in the Federal Register and area newspapers. Those persons

who choose not to comment on the scope of the document at this time,

but wish to receive a copy of the draft for their review and comment,

should write to the above address.

Dated: June 30, 1995.

Kathryn J. Jackson,

Senior Vice President/Resource Group.

[FR Doc. 95-16847 Filed 7-7-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120-01-M