[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 131 (Monday, July 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35576-35577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16847]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Environmental Impact Statement: Lamar County Alabama Water Supply
Development
AGENCIES: Tennessee Valley Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (COE) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
on water supply development for Lamar County, Alabama, located in west
central Alabama. This EIS will consider a range of alternatives to
provide an adequate and reliable water supply for the Lamar County
area. Alternatives to be considered will include one or a combination
of the following: construction of a surface impoundment on a tributary
of Yellow Creek; installation of one or more water pipelines from
existing reservoirs or streams, use of groundwater wells; direct
withdrawal and storage from Yellow Creek; the no action alternative;
and other alternatives identified during the scoping process. With this
notice, TVA and the COE invite comments on the scope of this EIS. This
notice is provided in accordance with the procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as TVA's and the
COE's implementing procedures.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS must be received at the
address below on or before December 15, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Dale V. Wilhelm, NEPA Liaison,
Tennessee Valley Authority, WT 8C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive,
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jack L. Davis, Manager, Water Resource Projects, Tennessee Valley
Authority, WT 10C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee
37902-1499, phone (615) 632-7183.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tennessee Valley Authority and Lamar
County in West Central Alabama are addressing the water supply needs
for the County, in order to assure a safe and reliable water supply for
the future.
At this time, Lamar County has abundant reserves of both surface
and groundwater which are sufficient to meet the needs for the County.
However, a county-wide study of development patterns, land use, and
potential for contamination of existing groundwater sources indicates a
high potential for contamination of groundwater from human activities.
One well at Sulligent, Alabama, in the northern part of Lamar County,
has already been abandoned as a result of groundwater contamination.
Any new water supply for Lamar County must: (1) Provide sufficient
water to serve an expected increased growth, (2) be of good water
quality and, (3) be from reliable water sources. It must be sufficient
to provide water during peak demands and drought cycles, and it must be
free of contamination. At the present time, groundwater, including the
County public water system (which depends 100 percent on groundwater)
and private wells, provides 93 percent of Lamar County's drinking
water. Currently, there is a potential for groundwater contamination
from natural sources and from human activities such as waste disposal,
use of pesticides, underground storage tanks, and spills. The
Tuscaloosa aquifer, on which the County depends almost exclusively for
its water needs, is overlaid by permeable soils that allow infiltration
and make the aquifer vulnerable to potential contamination. The water
from the primary groundwater well is also high in iron. For these
reasons, an alternative surface water supply is being considered.
TVA and Lamar County will evaluate alternatives to meet the water
supply needs of the area. These analyses of water supply needs will
include domestic, industrial, agricultural uses, and water quality. For
planning purposes, projected benefits and costs will be evaluated for a
30 to 50 year period, depending on the alternative under consideration.
Conservation effects on water use will also be considered.
The first step in the preparation of the EIS will be the
determination of the scope of the EIS. It is anticipated that the scope
will include possible construction of a surface impoundment on a
tributary of Yellow Creek, installation of one or more water pipelines
from existing reservoirs, in
[[Page 35577]]
stream flow withdrawals, pumped storage, or a combination of any of
these. Different design concepts will also be addressed. In addition,
as required by NEPA, the no action alternative will also be analyzed.
One alternative, construction of a surface impoundment directly on
Yellow Creek will not be considered at this time because of the
potential impacts to large areas of regulated wetlands. Potentially
important issues for discussion in the EIS include:
1. Effects on stream discharge, water quality, and availability;
2. Impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecology, including threatened
and endangered species and habitat loss;
3. Impacts on floodplains, wetlands, recreation, and existing land
uses; and
4. Socioeconomic, historic, archeological, and cultural effects
associated with completion of the project and alternatives to it.
This list is not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it intended
to be a predetermination of impacts. As scoping and preparation of the
EIS proceeds, other issues may be revealed which will necessitate
further analyses.
TVA and COE invite comments on the above issues. Comments are also
requested on environmental issues which should not be viewed as
important and which should not be discussed in detail in the EIS.
Sometime during the scoping period, a public meeting will be held
in Vernon (Lamar County) to receive comments about the scope of this
EIS. Details about this meeting will be announced in area newspapers.
Comments received at this meeting will be accorded the same weight as
written comments.
As noted, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Mobile
District) will participate in this EIS process as a joint lead agency.
Other Federal Agencies may also become cooperating agencies.
After the scoping process and the initial environmental analyses
are completed, TVA and COE will prepare a draft EIS. A Notice of
Availability of the draft EIS, soliciting public comments, will be
published in the Federal Register and area newspapers. Those persons
who choose not to comment on the scope of the document at this time,
but wish to receive a copy of the draft for their review and comment,
should write to the above address.
Dated: June 30, 1995.
Kathryn J. Jackson,
Senior Vice President/Resource Group.
[FR Doc. 95-16847 Filed 7-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-01-M
