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Bureau of Reclamation Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Clean Water Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program; Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Clark County, NV; Notice of Availability
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: October 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 192)]
[Notices]
[Page 58237-58239]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05oc05-93]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Bureau of Reclamation Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Clean Water Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program; Lake
Mead National Recreation Area; Clark County, NV; Notice of Availability
Summary: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the corresponding Council of
Environmental Quality implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-08),
the National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation, as lead agencies
for the Department of the Interior, announce the availability of the
Clean Water Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program (SCOP)
Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Consistent with applicable laws
and National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation regulations and
policies, the Draft SCOP EIS describes and analyzes four alternatives
including the no action alternative.
The Draft SCOP Environmental Impact Statement evaluates the
potential environmental impacts associated with three action (pipeline)
alternatives, as well as a No-Action (no pipeline) Alternative. The
three action alternatives include an Effluent Interceptor (EI) and Lake
Conveyance System (LCS) that would collect and convey the highly
treated effluent from the three treatment facilities to the Las Vegas
Wash at a point upstream of Lake Las Vegas or to Lake Mead. The action
alternatives would allow for flexible management of the highly treated
effluent. A controlled amount of effluent would continue to be
discharged to the Las Vegas Wash at each facility or at the EI
Terminus. The discharge amount, velocity, and direction from the LCS
diffuser would also be flexibly operated depending on the conditions of
Lake Mead.
[[Page 58238]]
The Draft SCOP EIS evaluates effects of the alternatives on both
visitor experience and park resources including: surface water
hydrology, groundwater, water quality, biological resources/endangered
species, cultural resources, recreation, land use, air quality, noise,
socioeconomics, and other appropriate resource issues identified during
the public scoping phase. An impairment analysis was also conducted for
the portion of the proposed actions located on land administered by the
National Park Service (NPS).
Purpose and Need For Federal Action: The purpose of implementing
the proposal is to put into operation a treatment and conveyance system
that will allow for flexible management of wastewater flow in the Las
Vegas Valley, while maintaining water quality standards. Clark County,
Nevada is one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S., and it is
projected that the population in the area will be approximately
3,130,000 by 2035. The quantity of effluent treated and discharged in
the Las Vegas Valley will increase as the population of the Valley
increases. The treatment and conveyance facilities must accommodate the
additional flows while continuing to meet current or future water
quality standards for the Las Vegas Wash, Las Vegas Bay, and Lake Mead.
The Clean Water Coalition proposes to build and implement a system
that provides maximum flexibility for management of treated effluent to:
? Meet current and future water quality standards for known
pollutants, and as yet unknown standards for additional contaminants
that may be regulated in the future;
? Protect and enhance the Lake Mead National Recreation Area
(LMNRA) by continuing to meet beneficial uses and recreational and
resource values of the LMNRA, while more than doubling the treated
effluent flows discharged to Lake Mead;
? Recognize Lake Mead's likely lowering water levels, which
are important because the amount of mixing and dilution available in
the inner Las Vegas Bay are also decreasing as the Lake level
decreases; and
? Avoid possible impacts to source-water quality at the
Southern Nevada Water System intake structures.
Alternatives To Be Considered: The alternatives in the Draft SCOP
EIS include expansions of the three treatment plants and the continued
discharge of current and projected effluent flows to the Las Vegas
Wash, with the use of conventional treatment processes to meet water
quality standards (no action alternative); and construction and
operation of a pipeline that would transport highly treated effluent
from the three treatment facilities to a receiving area underwater
within the Colorado River system (three action alternatives).
In addition to the No Action Alternative, the NPS and Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) have analyzed the potential impacts of three action
alternatives: the Boulder Islands North Alternative, the Boulder
Islands South Alternative, and the Las Vegas Bay Alternative. Under the
No Action Alternative, the Clean Water Coalition would not construct
pipelines to transport effluent from the treatment facilities. The
three treatment agencies (City of Las Vegas, City of Henderson, and
Clark County Water Reclamation District) would expand their facilities
to handle the increasing quantities of wastewater through 2050.
Current, conventional treatment processes and plant optimization would
be used to meet the requirements set by the Nevada Division of
Environmental Protection through the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permitting program. Facility expansions and
modifications would occur on lands currently owned by the City of Las
Vegas, Clark County, and City of Henderson.
Under the Boulder Islands North Alternative and the Boulder Islands
South Alternative, the three treatment agencies would expand their
facilities to handle the increasing quantities of wastewater through
2050, and current, conventional treatment processes and plant
optimization would be used to meet water quality requirements. A
pipeline would be constructed to convey highly treated effluent from
the three treatment facilities to an alternate discharge location in
the vicinity of the Boulder Islands in Lake Mead. The majority of the
Boulder Islands North LCS and the Boulder Islands South LCS would be
installed in a tunnel through the River Mountains.
Under the Las Vegas Bay Alternative, the three treatment agencies
would expand their facilities to handle the increasing quantities of
wastewater through 2050, and current, conventional treatment processes
and plant optimization would be used to meet water quality
requirements. A pipeline would be constructed to convey highly treated
effluent from the three treatment facilities to an alternate discharge
location in the Las Vegas Bay in Lake Mead.
Public Review and Comment: The Draft SCOP EIS will be available for
public review for 60 days following the publication in the Federal
Register of the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of the filing
of this document (immediately upon confirmation of this date it will be
announced on the LMNRA Web site and via local and regional press
media). The NPS and BOR will hold public meetings to obtain oral
comments during a two-week period in October 2005, as follows:
? October 17, Henderson Convention Center, 200 S. Water
Street, Henderson, NV from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
? October 18, West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead
Blvd., Las Vegas, NV from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
? October 19, West Flamingo Senior Center, 6255 W. Flamingo
Road, Las Vegas, NV from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
? October 20, Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive,
Las Vegas, NV from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
? October 24, Powerhouse Visitors Conference Center, 120 W.
Route 66, Kingman, AZ from 6-8 p.m.
? October 25, Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. 5th Street,
Tempe, AZ from 6-8 p.m.
? October 26, Hilton Suites, 10 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ
from 6-8 p.m.
? October 27, Radisson in Mission Valley, 1433 Camino Del
Rio South, San Diego, CA from 6-8 p.m.
? October 28, Hyatt Regency Conference Center, 285 N. Palm
Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA from 6-8 p.m.
All written comments on the Draft SCOP EIS must be postmarked or
transmitted not later than 60 days after the EPA's notice of the filing
published in the Federal Register; upon confirmation of this date it
will be announced on the LMNRA Web site and via local and regional
press media. Comments are to be addressed to the SCOP EIS Project
Manager, PBS&J and may be sent either electronically to
eis@cleanwatercoalition.com, via facsimile at (702) 990-7262, or by
mail to 2270 Corporate Circle, Suite 100, Henderson, NV 89074.
Please note that names and addresses of people who comment become
part of the public record. If individuals commenting request that their
name or/and address be withheld from public disclosure, it will be
honored to the extent allowable by law. Such requests must be stated
prominently in the beginning of the comments. There also may be
circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold from the record a
respondent's identity, as allowable by law. As always: the NPS will
make available to public inspection all submissions from organizations
or businesses and from persons identifying
[[Page 58239]]
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations and
businesses; and, anonymous comments may not be considered.
Copies of the Draft SCOP EIS may be obtained by contacting SCOP EIS
Project Manager, PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle, Suite 100, Henderson, NV
89074 (or e-mailing to eis@cleanwatercoalition.com or telephone (702)
263-7275 extension 3014). The document will also be posted on the
Internet at http://www.cleanwatercoalition.com, 
as well
as made available at public libraries in the following locations:
Nevada--Boulder City Library, Las Vegas Public Library, Searchlight
Library, Community College of Southern Nevada, Sahara West Library,
Mesquite Library, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, James I. Gibson
Library, Clark County Library, James R. Dickinson Library, Moapa Valley
Library, Green Valley Library, Sunrise Public Library, Laughlin Library.
Arizona--Burton Barr Central Library, Tempe Public Library,
University of Arizona Library, Meadview Community Library, Mohave
County Library.
Utah--Washington County Library.
California--Environmental Services Library in San Diego, Palm
Springs Public Library.
For further information about the public meetings or for obtaining
copies of the document, please contact the SCOP EIS Project Manager,
PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle, Suite 100, Henderson, NV 89074; e-mail
eis@cleanwatercoalition.com; or call (702) 263-7275 extension 3014. For
additional information regarding the alternatives to be considered or
other matters pertaining to the conservation planning and environmental
impact analysis process, please contact: Mr. Michael Boyles, National
Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way,
Boulder City, NV 89005, telephone (702) 293-8978; or Mr. Anthony Vigil
(LC-2621), Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City Nevada
89006-1470, telephone (702) 293-8674.
Decision: After public review of the Draft SCOP EIS, the National
Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation will carefully assess and
consider all written comments and information obtained at the public
meetings. A Final SCOP EIS will be prepared, which at this time is
anticipated to be completed during summer 2006. Subsequent to release
of the Final SCOP EIS and following a 30-days ``no action'' waiting
period a Record of Decision will be prepared.
Dated: September 22, 2005.
Robert W. Johnson,
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
Dated: September 22, 2005.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 05-19960 Filed 10-4-05; 8:45 am]
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