83 FR 3019 - United States and Mexico; United States Section; Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Channel Maintenance Alternatives at Thurman I and II Arroyos in Hatch, NM, Rio Grande Canalization Project

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 14 (January 22, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3019-3020]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00943]


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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION


United States and Mexico; United States Section; Notice of 
Availability of a Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for Channel Maintenance Alternatives at Thurman I 
and II Arroyos in Hatch, NM, Rio Grande Canalization Project

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment 
(EA).

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    Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA); the Council on Environmental Quality Final 
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508); and the USIBWC 
Operational Procedures for Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, published 
in the Federal Register September 2, 1981, (46 FR 44083); the USIBWC 
hereby gives notice that the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact for Channel Maintenance Alternatives at 
Thurman I and II Arroyos in Hatch, NM, Rio Grande Canalization Project 
is available. This EA evaluated potential environmental impacts of the 
No Action Alternative and two alternatives for the construction of 
sediment control projects at Thurman I and II Arroyos, two ephemeral 
tributaries of the Rio Grande, located in Hatch, Do[ntilde]a Ana 
County, New Mexico within a portion of the Rio Grande Canalization 
Project protective levee system. The Preferred Alternative, Alternative 
C: Sediment Basins, calls for the construction of a sediment basin at 
each arroyo with a concrete end wall. Permits would be required from 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for dredge and fill of Waters of the 
United States, per the Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 401. Potential 
impacts on natural, cultural, and other resources were evaluated. 
Mitigation has been proposed for permits for construction. A Finding of 
No Significant Impact (FONSI) has been prepared for the Preferred 
Alternative based on a review of the facts and analyses contained in 
the EA.
    Notice of the draft EA was published in the Federal Register on 
October 17, 2017 (Federal Register Notice, Vol. 82, No. 199, Page 
48253) and provided a thirty (30) day comment period. An environmental 
impact statement will not be prepared.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Verdecchia, Natural 
Resources Specialist, USIBWC, 4171 N. Mesa, C-100; El Paso, Texas 
79902. Telephone: (915) 832-4701, email: [email protected].

[[Page 3020]]

    Availability: The electronic version of the Final EA/FONSI is 
available on the USIBWC web page: https://www.ibwc.gov/EMD/EIS_EA_Public_Comment.html.

    Dated: January 8, 2018.
Matt Myers,
Chief Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2018-00943 Filed 1-19-18; 8:45 am]
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