Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Jackson County Water Association, Jackson County Lake Project and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

the Jackson County Water Association, Jackson County Lake Project and

Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent and notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), announces its intent to

prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.)

in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508) and

Agency regulations 7 CFR 1940-G. The primary scope of the EIS is to

evaluate the environmental impacts of and alternatives to the Jackson

County Water Association's applications for financial assistance to

provide water supply for the residents of Jackson and surrounding

counties. This project, known as the Jackson County Lake (Project), is

one of the initiatives developed for the Kentucky Highlands Empowerment

Zone. The project proposes to construct a 115 foot tall dam on the

Laurel Fork of the Rockcastle River in Jackson County, Kentucky

creating a 640 acre lake, storing approximately 28,440 acre feet of

water. Included in the proposal is a raw water intake, pumps, water

treatment plant upgrade from 1.0 million gallons per day (MGD) to 2.0

MGD, and pipelines necessary for transporting raw water to the Jackson

County Water Association's water treatment plant for treatment and

distribution to residents in Jackson County and portions of Lee,

Madison, Owsley, and Rockcastle Counties. In addition to improving the

water supply of the areas specified above, the Project will serve to

meet a stated goal of the Kentucky Highland Empowerment Zone's

Strategic Plan for increasing local recreational and tourism

opportunities in the Jackson County area.

The RUS has received two pre-applications from the Jackson County

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Water Association for the (1) Phase IV Water Plant Expansion Project

and (2) Jackson County Lake Project. The first application requests

financial assistance solely from RUS and the second application

requests financial assistance from the RUS, Appalachian Region

Commission, Kentucky Department of Transportation, Kentucky Highland

Empowerment Zone, and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In

accordance with 40 CFR 1501.5, Lead Agencies, the RUS will be the lead

Agency for the EIS and under consideration and negotiation for

cooperating agencies are the U.S. Forest Service; the Department of the

Army, Corps of Engineers, Nashville District; Jackson County EZ

Community, Incorporated; and the Jackson County Water Association, as

recipient for Community Development Block Grant funds. Since the

activities encompassed by both applications are so interconnected, the

Project shall be, for the purposes of the National Environmental Policy

Act, considered as one action.

With this notice, RUS invites any affected Federal, State, and

local Agencies and other interested persons to comment on the scope,

alternatives, and significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the

EIS. The public scoping meeting will be held on August 21, 1997, at the

Jackson County Courthouse, McKee, KY, at 7:00 pm.

Public participation is an integral component of the environmental

review process for Federal actions. Public participation will be

especially important during the scoping phase of the project. RUS and

the cooperating agencies will be seeking information, comments, and

assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other

individuals who may be interested in or affected by the proposed

action. This input will be used in preparing the draft EIS. Comments

submitted during the scoping process should be in writing. The comments

should describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the

commenter has with the proposal.

The draft EIS (DEIS) will be filed with the U. S. Environmental

Protection Agency (USEPA) and will be available for public comment by

the Summer or Fall of 1998. At that time, the USEPA will publish a

notice of the availability of the DEIS in the Federal Register and the

applicant and EZ officials will publish notices in local newspapers.

The comment period will be 45 days from the date the USEPA publishes

their Federal Register notice of the availability of the DEIS.

RUS and the cooperating agencies, believe it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public

participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of

the DEIS must structure their participation in the environmental review

of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the agencies to the

reviewer's position and contentions, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.

v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519. 553(1978). Also environmental objections that

could be raised at the DEIS stage but that are not raised until after

the completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by the

courts, City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 1016 1022 (9th Circuit,

1986) and Wisconsin Hertitage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338

(E.D.Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important

that those interested in this proposed action participate at each

opportunity for public involvement so that substantive comments and

objectives are made available to the Federal agencies involved at a

time when they can meaningfully consider them and respond to them

accordingly.

To assist the involved Federal agencies in identifying and

considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the

DEIS should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if the

comments refer to the specific pages or chapters of the DEIS. Comments

may also address the adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may

wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental

Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

After the comment period ends on the DEIS, the comments will be

analyzed, considered, and responded to by the agencies involved in

preparing the final EIS (FEIS). The FEIS is scheduled to be completed

approximately 30 days after the end of the comment period on the DEIS.

The public will again have the opportunity to review and comment on the

FEIS. Upon completion of a 45 day public comment period, the RUS will

document its decision regarding the Project and reasons for the

decision in a Record of Decision.

Those persons who choose not to comment on the scope of the

document at this time but desire a copy of the DEIS should send their

names and addresses to Mark S. Plank at the address listed below.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS will be accepted 15

days after the public scoping meeting is held.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mark S. Plank, USDA, Rural

Utilities Service, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Stop 1571,

Washington, D.C., 20250-1571, telephone (202) 720-1649 or fax (202)

720-0820 or Thomas G. Fern, State Director, USDA, Rural Development

State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503,

(606) 224-7300 or fax (606) 224-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Letcher, Vernon Brown, or Ken

Slone, USDA, Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite

200, Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300 or Mark S. Plank, at the

address and telephone number above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Subchapter C, Part I

(Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities and Rural Development

Investment Areas) of Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act of 1993, Jackson County, Kentucky, is located in an area designated

as an Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) (see Federal

Register Vol. 60, No. 24, February 6, 1995). The purpose of the EZ/EC

initiative is to empower rural communities and their residents to

create opportunities for economic development as part of a Federal-

State-local and private sector partnership. The proposed action is an

integral component of the EZ/EC initiative as identified in the

Kentucky Highland Empowerment Zone's Strategic Plan. The proposed

action will improve the area's water supply necessary for promoting

economic development in the area. At the present time the water supply

for the area consists of the existing Tyner Lake. Water withdrawals

from Tyner Lake are at near capacity and raw water emergency situations

occur during periods of low rainfall.

Prior to submitting applications to RUS and other Federal and state

agencies for financial assistance, local and Jackson County Empowerment

Zone officials held a series of public meetings exploring alternative

project sites for the Project, which has been an ongoing proposal since

the early to mid 1980s. Project sites that have been at one time or

another considered are as follows: Horse Lick Site No. 1; Laurel Fork/

Indian Creek Site No. 1; Laurel Fork/Highway 290 Bridge Site No. 2; War

Fork Site No. 1; War Fork/Hughes Fork Site No. 2; South Fork/ Highway

89 Site No. 4 (small lake); South Fork/Highway 89 Bridge Site No. 4

(large lake); South Fork/War Fork Site No. 3A

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(small lake); and South Fork/War Fork No. 3A (large lake). Preliminary

studies concluded that the Horse Lick and Water Fork watershed should

be preserved due to environmental sensitivities. Of the sites

previously considered, local officials are proposing that the preferred

alternative sites for an impoundment structure are located within the

Laurel Fork watershed. There are two primary dam sites to be

considered--(1) Laurel Fork near the confluence with Indian Creek and

(2) Laurel Fork near the Highway 290 Bridge. The EIS proposes to

document the extensive analyses already performed and evaluate in

detail the two sites that have been designated as preferred

alternatives by local officials. Which ever site is chosen, the

applicant and Empowerment Zone officials will be required to secure a

construction permit from the Kentucky Department for Environmental

Protection, Division of Waters and a Section 10, Rivers and Harbor Act

permit from the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers.

Dick Mansfield,

Assistant Administrator, Water and Environmental Programs.

[FR Doc. 97-20336 Filed 7-31-97; 8:45 am]

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