Proposed Long-term Contract Renewal, Angostura Irrigation District, Angostura Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, South Dakota

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Proposed Long-term Contract Renewal, Angostura Irrigation

District, Angostura Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, South

Dakota

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact

statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to sec. 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation

(Reclamation) will prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)

on the proposed renewal of a long-term contract (LTC) with the

Angostura Irrigation District (District) for water supply, repayment of

construction costs, and payment of operation and maintenance costs. A

series of public information/scoping meetings will be scheduled in

connection with the development of the EIS. These meetings will be

scheduled to inform the public of the status of contract renewal; to

inform the public of the NEPA and LTC processes; and, to solicit from

the public significant issues that should be analyzed in the draft EIS.

DATES: Five scoping meetings have been scheduled for this action. See

Supplementary Information section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: Five scoping meetings have been scheduled for this action.

See Supplementary Information section for meeting addresses.

Comments and questions concerning this notice should be addressed

to Mr. Kenneth Parr, Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, Newell

Field Office, P.O. Box 226, Newell, SD 57760.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth Parr, Bureau of

Reclamation, telephone: (605) 456-2695; e-mail: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The existing contract expired in December

1995. In July 1996, Reclamation signed an interim contract for the

Angostura Unit (Unit). The interim contract will expire in July 1999.

This 3-year period is intended to allow Reclamation sufficient time to

conduct the NEPA process and negotiate an LTC.

The purpose of this action is to provide for the continued

beneficial use of federally developed water associated with the Unit in

southwestern South Dakota. Reclamation is proposing to renew the LTC

with the District in accordance with current law and policy while

examining all reasonable alternatives to balance contemporary surface

water needs within the Basin.

The Angostura Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, is located

at the southeastern edge of the Black Hills in southwest South Dakota.

The Unit consists of a Dam, Reservoir and surrounding uplands, and

associated irrigation distribution system. The Dam impounds the

Cheyenne River near Angostura Canyon.

The Unit was originally authorized by the Water Conservation and

Utilization Act of 1939. The Flood Control Act of 1944 reauthorized the

Unit, and construction of the Dam began August 23, 1946, and was

completed December 7, 1949. The Unit was authorized as a multipurpose

facility for irrigation, flood control, power generation, recreation,

and fish and wildlife benefits. The first delivery of water to the

District was in 1953 and full service water was available to 12,218

acres of irrigable lands in 1956. The power plant constructed with the

dam was abandoned in 1959 due to an inadequate water supply.

In May 1951, Reclamation executed the initial contract with the

District for water service from Angostura Reservoir and repayment of

delivery system construction costs. The water service provisions of the

contract provided a 40-year water supply which began in 1956 and

expired in December 1995. The repayment and operation and maintenance

provisions of the contract were initiated in 1966 following a 10-year

development period and do not expire. In 1996, Reclamation negotiated a

3-year interim contract with the District.

Recreation and land management activities at the Reservoir are

currently the responsibility of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish

and Parks (SDGF&P) under a Memorandum of Understanding with

Reclamation. SDGF&P has documented a continual, steady increase in

recreational visitation at Angostura.

The Angostura Unit is within the lands ceded to the United States

by the Great Sioux Nation in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The

Cheyenne River forms the northwest boundary of the Pine Ridge Indian

Reservation and the southern boundary of the Cheyenne River Sioux

Indian Reservation. These conditions indicate the potential presence of

Indian Trust Assets. The Oglala, Cheyenne River, and Lower Brule Sioux

Tribes have responded to

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Reclamation's requests for consultations. These Tribes have expressed

an interest in the management and protection of Federal reserved water

rights.

Management of the Unit affects many of the environmental,

recreational, agricultural, and economic resources of the region. The

NEPA process required prior to negotiation of a new LTC will provide an

opportunity to review the multipurpose benefits of the Reservoir.

Meetings

The following scoping meetings have been scheduled for this action:

April 23, 1997, Wednesday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Rapid City,

SD, Howard Johnson Convention Center.

April 24, 1997, Thursday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Hot Springs,

SD, Mueller Civic Center.

April 29, 1997, Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Lower Brule

Indian Reservation, SD, Tribal Convention Center.

April 30, 1997, Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Eagle Butte,

SD, Cheyenne River Super 8 Motel.

May 1, 1997, Thursday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Kyle, SD, Oglala

Lakota College.

Dated: March 6, 1997.

Greg Gere,

Acting Area Manager, Dakotas Area Office.

[FR Doc. 97-6678 Filed 3-14-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-94-P