[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4760-4762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2671]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
LaGrange County, Indiana Sewer District; Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement and Notice of Public Meeting.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
is issuing a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
related to the LaGrange County, Indiana Sewer District's proposal to
construct sanitary wastewater collection and treatment facilities for
residential population centers. The draft PEIS was prepared pursuant to
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et
seq.) in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508) and Farmers Home Administration's procedure (7 CFR
1940, subpart G, Environmental Program). RUS invites comments on
analyses performed by and addressed in the DPEIS.
[[Page 4761]]
The purpose of this draft PEIS is to evaluate the environmental
impacts of proposed alternative strategies to provide treatment of
sanitary wastewaters for residential population centers in LaGrange
County. Discussion of each alternative's impact on the human
environment, including risks to public health and safety, and effects
on the natural environment is presented. The proposed action is
necessary in order to respond to increased public health concerns and
the continuation of surface and ground water degradation caused by
inadequately treated wastewater effluent. This draft PEIS provides a
planning tool to County officials and citizens to help select the most
appropriate design and implementation strategy to address LaGrange
County's wastewater problems.
ADDRESSES/FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information contact
or for transmittal of written comments send to: Paul Neumann, State
Environmental Coordinator, USDA--RECD, RUS, 5975 Lakeside Blvd.,
Indianapolis, IN 46278, (219) 290-3109, and FAX (219) 290-3127. Copies
of the DPEIS will be available for public inspection, during normal
business hours at the following locations:
LaGrange Town Clerk, 107 S. High Street, LaGrange, IN 46761
Town of Topeka, ATTN: Duane Bontrager, 101 Main Street, Topeka, IN
46571
Town of Shipshewana, ATTN: Ruth Ann Downey, P.O. Box 486, 345 N. Morton
Street, Shiphewana, IN 46565
Town of Wolcottville, ATTN: Elizabeth Hodge, P.O. Box 325, 101 W. Race
Street, Wolcottville, IN 46795
The draft PEIS will be distributed to various Federal, State, and
local agencies, and elected officials. A limited number of copies of
the narrative will be available for distribution at the LaGrange Town
Clerk Office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: LaGrange County is a rural county of 30,000
residents located on the Michigan/Indiana border in northeastern
Indiana. The largest town in the county is LaGrange, with a population
of 4,000 residents. Most of the remaining citizens live in eight other
small towns or in residential developments surrounding many of the
County's numerous natural lakes. Eighty percent of LaGrange County's
land is currently used for agriculture. The remaining twenty percent is
either in use as residential or commercial development or is unsuitable
for agricultural production.
The citizens of LaGrange County have had for decades a mounting
problem being able to achieve effective treatment of their sanitary
wastewaters. The primary method of treating wastewater has been on-site
waste disposal systems. These systems are a cost effective and
efficient treatment method for treating wastewater provided they are
designed and installed properly and operate under suitable soil
conditions. However, LaGrange County and indeed, many parts of northern
Indiana, do not have the types of soils that are suitable for these
systems and, as a consequence, significant degradation of the County's
surface and ground water has occurred in the County from the disposal
of improperly treated wastewater effluent. Documented cases of water
quality degradation and transmittal of water-borne pathogens have been
recorded by State and County health officials. The significance of
potential public health concerns have prompted County officials to
initiate a resolution of this historic public health dilemma.
Citizens, in an effort to maintain safe and dependable water
supplies and to arrest the downward spiral of water quality
degradation, have requested their elected officials to provide a
dependable means of treating sanitary wastewaters. In response, elected
officials and community leaders created the LaGrange County Sewer
District and appointed a Sewer Board to govern it. The Sewer Board has
been empowered to make planning decisions and negotiate agreements that
will ultimately provide a more effective treatment of sanitary
wastewaters for County residents. The Sewer Board has taken actions to
organize and prioritize the County's sanitation needs by commissioning
engineering studies, holding monthly public meetings and interacting
with state regulatory agencies. After exploring several options to
finance the construction of the proposed system, the Sewer Board
formally submitted a request for financial assistance to the United
States Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service (RUS). The
RUS, Water and Waste Program provides financial assistance through loan
and grant programs to rural communities for development of water and
waste disposal systems and is considering this request as part of these
programs.
As part of the preliminary engineering studies commissioned by the
Sewer District, the County identified and prioritized 29 areas
according to their need for capital improvements to existing wastewater
treatment system. From this study the Sewer Board adopted a
prioritization and planning strategy which divided the County into five
regions; A through E. Each region was defined by a circle with a three
mile diameter, the center of which was located so as to encompass the
maximum number of areas identified as having a need for wastewater
treatment systems. Potential service areas within each region were
selected based on the severity of pollution, the number and density of
potential connections, the potential for regionalization, potential for
future development, and local support for the project. The following
regions are the population centers that have been determined to have
the greatest need for sanitary sewers: Region A--Oliver Lake, Dallas
Lake, Atwood Lake, Witmer Lake, Messick Lake and Westler Lake; Region
C--Towns of Howe and Ontario; North Twin Lake, South Twin Lake and
Cedar Lake; Region D--Shipshewana Lake and Stone Lakes; Region E--Town
of Mongo; Town of Emma and Emma Lake.
Once these populations centers were prioritized based on greatest
need and those which pose the greatest threat to water quality, the
Sewer Board explored technical and cost options to providing sewer
service to this areas. After weighing all of the options and project
alternatives, the County has selected what they feel is their preferred
technical approach and have been seeking not only financing for their
project, but regulatory concurrence from the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management.
Upon receipt of LaGrange County's request for financial assistance
and prior to funding the construction of their proposal and in
compliance with the NEPA, RUS prepared an analysis of the potential
environmental impacts of the County's proposal. Because of the
comprehensive nature and magnitude of the project proposal, RUS has
decided to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze
the proposal as a whole rather than segment the analysis for each
individual region as identified by the Sewer Board. At this stage of
the project no final decisions have been made as to project specifics--
that is, wastewater collection and conveyance systems, treatment
technologies, or discharge options of treated effluent. For this
reason, RUS has decided to prepare a broadly scoped programmatic EIS
(PEIS) where all the important environmental resources have been
identified in the defined ``service areas'' for the each region.
Analyses of the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts have been
performed for all identified resources in each region and are based on
the project alternatives RUS has decided to evaluate. The results of
these analyses are presented
[[Page 4762]]
in the appropriate section of the draft PEIS.
The preferred alternative is a decentralized wastewater collection
and treatment system for population centers using an engineered
wetlands treatment process. This alternative involves the use of
pressure or gravity collection systems to convey wastewater to multiple
engineered wetland treatment facilities. Collection and conveyance
technologies considered for this option will be the same as those
analyzed for the centralized treatment facility option. Treatment
alternatives for the engineered wetland treatment process option will
include land application (spray irrigation) of treated effluent
followed by surface water discharges into a receiving stream or
discharge into subsurface absorption basins.
Other project alternatives were identified in feasibility studies
conducted for LaGrange County Sewer District. These alternatives,
although viable, were not chosen as the preferred alternative. The
alternatives are: (1) No Action Alternative. This alternative continues
the use of on-site water disposal systems. This option would not
address the present public health concerns or the continued degradation
of the County's surface and ground water. (2) Centralized Wastewater
Collection and Treatment for all County Residents Using Conventional
Wastewater Treatment. This option would use either pressure or gravity
collection systems to convey wastewater to a centralized treatment
facility. Collection and conveyance alternatives analyzed for this
option include: small diameter gravity systems; small diameter pressure
systems using single connection effluent grinder pumps; and
conventional gravity collector lines connected to pressure lines.
Activated sludge process alternatives considered for this option
included: Oxidation ditches and extended aeration. This option, by far,
has the highest unit cost. (3) Centralized Wastewater Collection and
Treatment for All County Residents Except for Residents in Remote
Locations Using Conventional Activated Sludge Waste Treatment
Processes. This alternative involves providing sewage collection and
treatment services for all LaGrange County residents except those
located in isolated regions. This option would use the same collection
and treatment technologies as the option providing wastewater treatment
for all of LaGrange County. Cost savings over serving the entire county
would be realized because of the high unit cost of serving remote
residences.
Public Meeting
A public meeting to solicit review comments will be held on
February 23, 1996 at the LaGrange County Office Building, 114 West
Michigan Street, LaGrange, IN 46761 at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be
conducted by the RUS and the LaGrange County Sewer Board. All Federal
and State agencies and other interested parties are invited to
participate in the meeting and to offer comments on the DPEIS. Oral
statements will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer; however, to
ensure accuracy of the record all statements should be submitted in
writing. All statements, both oral and in writing, will become part of
the public record on this study. All written comments must be
postmarked by no later than April 8, 1996 to become part of the public
record.
Dated: February 1, 1996.
Wally Beyer,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-2671 Filed 2-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
