82 FR 47245 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Alkali Creek Reservoir Project, Big Horn County, Wyoming

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 195 (October 11, 2017)

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), through the Worland Field Office, Worland, Wyoming, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Alkali Creek Reservoir Project (Project). The BLM, through this Notice, is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47245-47247]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21965]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYR01000 L14400000.ER0000 17X; WYW-165353]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Alkali Creek Reservoir Project, Big Horn County, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 
as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), through the 
Worland Field Office, Worland, Wyoming, intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Alkali Creek 
Reservoir Project (Project). The BLM, through this Notice, is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues.

DATES: Comments may be submitted in writing until November 13, 2017. In 
order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be received 
prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days after the 
last public meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will provide 
additional opportunities for public participation, as appropriate. The 
dates and locations of any scoping meetings will be announced at least 
15 days in advance through the local news media, newspapers, and the 
BLM ePlanning Web site at: http://rebrand.ly/AlkaliCreekReservoirEIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 307-347-5128.

[[Page 47246]]

     Mail: NEPA Coordinator, BLM Worland Field Office, 101 S 
23rd Street, Worland, Wyoming 82401.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal are available for public 
review at the BLM Worland Field Office and on the BLM ePlanning Web 
site at: http://rebrand.ly/AlkaliCreekReservoirEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Holly Elliott, Planning & 
Environmental Coordinator, telephone: 307-347-5100; address: 101 S 23rd 
Street, Worland, Wyoming 82401; email: [email protected]. Persons who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mrs. Elliott during 
normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours. You may call either 
of these numbers to have your name added to the project mailing list.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice initiates the public scoping 
process for the EIS. The BLM intends to prepare an EIS to support the 
decision making for the proposed Project and conduct a public scoping 
period to seek input on the preliminary issues identified regarding 
this proposal. The proposed Project is located in the Sixth Principal 
Meridian, Wyoming.

T. 49 N., R. 90 W.,
    Sec. 3, lot 5;
    Sec. 4, lot 15;
    tracts 39, 40, 41, 42E, 42F, 76, 91.
T. 50 N., R. 89 W.,
    tracts 37, 40, 42, 43.
T. 50 N., R. 90 W.,
    sec. 26, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 27, lots 1, 4 thru 8, and NE1/4SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 33, lot 1, and NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 34, NW\1/4\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 34, lots 1 thru 9;
    Sec. 35, lots 5, 6, and SW\1/4\NW\1/4\;
    tracts 37, 39, 40, 41, 42A thru 42D, 43A thru 43D.

    The areas described, including both Federal and nonpublic lands, 
aggregate 640 acres.

    The proposed action may require an amendment to the Worland Field 
Office Resource Management Plan (RMP), approved September 2015.
    By this Notice, the BLM is complying with requirements in 43 CFR 
1610.2(c)to notify the public of potential amendments to land use 
plans. If a land use plan amendment is necessary, the BLM will 
integrate the land use planning process with the NEPA process for this 
project.
    The Wyoming Water Development Office (WWDO) proposes to fund and 
construct a reservoir near Hyattville, Wyoming. The proposed 
construction would create a 294-acre reservoir on Alkali Creek. The 
reservoir would impound approximately 7,994 acre-feet of water under 
normal conditions and 9,872 acre-feet when under flood conditions. The 
reservoir would provide late-season irrigation water for portions of 
the Nowood River Watershed. The irrigation pool would be available 
either directly or through exchange for irrigation water.
    The proposed Project construction would disturb approximately 78 
acres in the immediate vicinity of the proposed project location, which 
includes the embankment, spillways, Anita Ditch and Anita Supplemental 
Ditch improvements, access road, and parking area.
    Preliminary issues include: Impacts to wetlands and cultural sites 
(properties), visual resources, Greater sage-grouse habitat, public 
health and safety, recreation, ground and surface waters, mineral 
development, and wildlife habitat.
    The BLM seeks resource information and data for public land values 
(e.g., air quality, cultural and historic resources, fire/fuels, 
fisheries, forestry, lands and realty, non-energy minerals and geology, 
oil and gas, paleontology, rangeland management, recreation, soil, 
water, and wildlife) in the project area. Preliminary planning criteria 
for the potential RMP amendment include: The amendment will recognize 
valid existing rights; planning decisions will cover public land and 
split-estate lands that the BLM administers; the planning process will 
be collaborative and multi-jurisdictional in nature; the environmental 
analysis will consider a reasonable range of alternatives; the BLM will 
consider current and potential future uses of public lands through the 
development of reasonably foreseeable future development and activity 
scenarios based on technical analysis of historical, existing, and 
projected levels of use; and decisions in the amendment will comply as 
appropriate with all applicable laws, regulations, policy, and 
guidance.
    You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing 
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the 
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To 
be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 30-day 
scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by 
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis 
as a cooperating agency.
    The BLM will evaluate any authorizations and actions proposed in 
the EIS to determine if they conform to the decisions in the current 
and proposed land use plans. Any proposed actions that would change the 
scope of resource uses, terms and conditions, and decisions of these 
plans may require an amendment of an affected plan.
    To provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposal 
and associated information, as well as any proposed plan amendments, 
the BLM will host meetings before November 13, 2017. The BLM will 
notify the public of meetings and any other opportunities for the 
public to be involved in the process for this proposal at least 15 days 
prior to the event. Meeting dates, locations and times will be 
announced by a news release to the media, individual emailings, and 
postings on the project Web site.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address or other 
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware 
that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.


[[Page 47247]]


    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-21965 Filed 10-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P