[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 99 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 28406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13665]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Water and Science
Central Utah Project Completion Act
Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision on the Provo River
Restoration Project Final Environmental Impact Statement documenting
the Department of Interior's approval for the Utah Reclamation
Mitigation and Conservation Commission to proceed with the construction
of the Proposed Action Alternative.
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary--Water and Science,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Provo River Restoration Project
Record of Decision.
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SUMMARY: On April 1, 1998, Patricia J. Beneke, Assistant Secretary--
Water and Science, Department of the Interior, signed the Record of
Decision (ROD) which documents the selection of the Proposed Action
Alternative (Riverine Habitat Restoration Alternative) as presented in
the Provo River Restoration Project Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS), MC FES 97-01, filed December 23, 1997. The ROD
approves the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission
(Mitigation Commission) proceeding with construction of the Provo River
Restoration Project (PRRP) and authorizes Department of the Interior
agencies to assist the Mitigation Commission with this project. The
Department of the Interior and the Mitigation Commission served as the
Joint Lead Agencies in the preparation of the NEPA compliance
documents.
The FEIS for the PRRP considered three action alternatives
(including the Proposed Action), as well as the No Action Alternative,
for river restoration. The Assistant Secretary determined that the
Proposed Action Alternative provides the greatest amount of mitigation
and enhancement benefit among all alternatives considered.
Construction of the PRRP will restore a more natural steam channel
along about 10 miles of the Provo River between Jordanelle Dam and Deer
Creek Reservoir through the Heber Valley in Wasatch County, Utah. The
project will fulfill Interior's environmental commitments made in the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 1987 Final Supplement to the Final
Environmental Impact Statement, Municipal and Industrial System of the
Bonneville Unit, Central Utah Project (INT FES 87-8). These commitments
are now binding upon the Mitigation Commission. The selected
alternative will fulfill the environmental commitments by: acquiring
lands in public ownership along the Provo River thereby increasing
public access for angling and other low impact recreation, restoring
aquatic habitats to increase game fish populations, eliminating fish
migration barriers and aquatic habitat impacts currently associated
with operating irrigation diversion facilities, and providing public
management of newly acquired lands to maximize public recreation
benefits.
During preparation of the FEIS, the Mitigation Commission consulted
formally on listed species with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.A.
Sections 1531 to 1544, as amended). In a letter dated December 10,
1997, the FWS indicated that the Proposed Action Alternative selected
by this ROD is not likely to adversely affect listed or proposed
species or designated or proposed critical habitats. Interior and the
Mitigation Commission will continue to consult with FWS prior to and
during construction to avoid actions that may affect proposed or listed
species, or their proposed or designated critical habitat.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information on matters
related to this Federal Register notice can be obtained at the address
and telephone number set forth below:
Mr. Ralph G. Swanson, Program Coordinator, CUP Completion Act Office,
Department of the Interior, 302 East 1860 South, Provo UT 84606-7317,
Telephone: (801) 379-1254.
Dated: April 23, 1998.
Ronald Johnston,
Program Director, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 98-13665 Filed 5-21-98; 8:45 am]
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