Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Notice of Scoping Meetings, on a Proposed Replacement Raw Water Pipeline in Mesa County, Colorado

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[CO-070-5101-CO12]

Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) and Notice of Scoping Meetings, on a Proposed Replacement Raw

Water Pipeline in Mesa County, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) and Notice of Scoping Meetings, on a proposed Replacement Raw

Water Pipeline in Western Colorado.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Grand Junction Resource Area office,

Grand Junction District, will be directing the preparation of a NEPA

document. The NEPA document will be an EIS. The document will be

prepared by a third party contractor, and will address impacts of the

Plateau Creek Pipeline Replacement project proposed by the Ute Water

Conservancy District (Ute Water). The project is a raw water conveyance

system proposed on private and public lands in Mesa County, Colorado to

replace a deteriorated and under sized pipeline currently approved

under BLM ROW grant C 081282.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until 4:00 PM, MST, on

September 23, 1996. A public scoping meeting/workshop will be held from

3:00-7:00 PM on August 28, 1996, at the Two Rivers Convention Center,

159 Main Street, Grand Junction, Colorado.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Grand Junction Area Manager,

Bureau of Land Management, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506, ATTN:

Plateau Creek Pipeline Replacement Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Stevens, (970) 244-3009.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The existing Plateau Creek Pipeline is an

essential part of the Ute Water system which provides water to more

than 55,000 Grand Valley residents. The Ute Water service area includes

most of the Grand Valley area surrounding the City of Grand Junction,

Colorado, and extends from east of the Town of Palisade to within 5

miles of the Colorado-Utah stateline. Ute Water is a political

subdivision of the State of

[[Page 41421]]

Colorado formed under the Water Conservancy Act of 1937, and is

considered to be a quasi-municipal entity. In order for Ute Water to

meet its commitment of providing a reliable, cost effective, high

quality water source, replacement of the pipeline is necessary.

Water is conveyed via a 24-inch-diameter pipeline approximately 14

miles along Plateau Creek Canyon and adjacent to Interstate Highway 70

to Ute Water's treatment plant located on Rapid Creek, near the Town of

Palisade. As of 1994, the pipeline was no longer able to provide an

adequate flow rate to meet the peak day customer demands. The pipeline

is presently subject to frequent breaks due to deteriorated pipe

condition, and is unreliable due to its location within geologic

hazards and stream erosion areas. The Bureau of Land Management and Ute

Water had performed scoping to : (1) identify interested stakeholders

and agencies, (2) define key issues, and (3) identify initial project

alternatives for preparation of an Environmental Assessment. The

initial filing of the Notice of Intent was on March 14, 1995. On the

basis of subsequent information and comments provided to the BLM it was

determined that issues and concerns would best be analyzed in an EIS.

During the initial scoping, 16 alternatives were developed. These

include seven alternatives along the Plateau Creek corridor, three

different alternatives involving use of water from nearby utilities, a

Colorado River pump station alternative, two alternatives for supplying

water from the Kannah Creek watershed, two alternatives for supplying

water from the Whitewater Creek watershed, and a No Action alternative.

Groundwater alternatives and conservation actions will be addressed in

the EIS. Four of the initially considered alternatives, selected on the

basis of screening criteria described in Section 404(b) of the Clean

Water Act, are proposed for evaluation in the EIS. These are:

Alternative A--Replacement of the pipeline on an alignment parallel

to Plateau Creek such that impacts to all resources are minimized.

Alternative B--Replacement of the pipeline parallel to Plateau

Creek entirely within the existing state highway 65 and 330 rights-of-

way.

Alternative C--Replacement of the pipeline in either alignment A or

B with a smaller pipeline. This alternative includes provisions for

construction of a booster station at the mouth of Plateau Canyon to be

built at a future date to meet long-term demands.

Alternative D--A ``no federal action'' alternative. Major issues

identified during the scoping include: (1) wetlands and riparian areas,

(2) threatened and endangered species, (3) Prime and Unique Farmlands,

(4) water depletion issues, and (5) impacts to State highway 65.

Preliminary review by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS), and Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) indicates

that the anticipated impacts within the project area may be entirely

mitigable, and may be limited to temporary disturbance.

The tentative project schedule is:

Begin Public Comment Period--August 1996

Complete Draft EIS--March 1997

Record of Decision--June 1997

Complete Final Design--April 1998

Begin Construction--June 1998

The BLM's scoping process will include: (1) Identification of

additional issues to be addressed; (2) Identification of additional

viable alternatives, (3) Notification of interested groups, individuals

and agencies so that additional information concerning these issues can

be obtained, and (4) Review of the information obtained to date.

The scoping process will be initiated by publication of this NOI in

the Federal Register and issuance of a news release announcing the

start of the process; letters of invitation to participate in the

scoping process, and distribution of a scoping document describing the

proposed action, alternatives and significant issues being considered

is available upon request.

Mark T. Morse,

District Manager.

[FR Doc. 96-20175 Filed 8-07-96; 8:45 am]

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