18940 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

[RC0ZCUPCA0, 155R0680R1, 

RR.17549897.2015101.02] 

THE UTAH RECLAMATION 

MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION 

COMMISSION 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Water and Science; Notice of 

Availability of the Final Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Provo River 

Delta Restoration Project 

AGENCY: Central Utah Project 

Completion Act, Interior; Utah 

Reclamation Mitigation and 

Conservation Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Interior, Utah Reclamation Mitigation 

and Conservation Commission, and the 

Central Utah Water Conservancy 

District, as Joint Lead Agencies, have 

prepared and made available to the 

public a Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) that discloses the 

effects of the Provo River Delta 

Restoration Project (Project) which is a 

recovery action within the approved 

June Sucker Recovery Plan of 1999. 

DATES: The Joint Lead Agencies will not 

make a decision on the proposed action 

until at least 30 days after the release of 

the FEIS. After the 30-day waiting 

period, The Department of the Interior 

and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation 

and Conservation Commission will each 

complete a separate Record of Decision. 

These documents will state the action 

that will be implemented and will 

discuss all factors leading to the 

decision. 

ADDRESSES: Send written 

correspondence or requests for copies to 

Mr. Richard Mingo, Utah Reclamation 

Mitigation and Conservation 

Commission, 230 South 500 East Suite 

230, Salt Lake City, UT 84102; or by 

email to rmingo@usbr.gov. The FEIS is 

accessible at the following Web sites: 

www.cupcao.gov, 

www.provoriverdelta.us, 

www.mitigationcommission.gov, and 

www.cuwcd.com. See the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

locations where copies of the FEIS are 

available for public review. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Richard Mingo, 801–524–3146; or by 

email to rmingo@usbr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Department of the Interior’s 

Record of Decision for the Diamond 

Fork System Final Supplement to the 

Diamond Fork Power System Final 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

signed September 29, 1999, commits the 

Joint Lead Agencies to ‘‘. . . participate 

in the development of a Recovery 

Implementation Program for June 

sucker.’’ Moreover, ‘‘. . . [a]ny future 

development of the Bonneville Unit of 

CUP [Central Utah Project] will be 

contingent on the RIP [June Sucker 

Recovery Implementation Program 

(JSRIP)] making ‘sufficient progress’ 

towards recovery of June sucker.’’ The 

Utah Reclamation Mitigation and 

Conservation Commission signed its 

own Record of Decision for the 

Diamond Fork System Project on 

November 19, 1999. The JSRIP was 

established in 2002, and the Joint Lead 

Agencies are participants. The goals of 

the JSRIP are to recover June sucker so 

that it no longer requires protection 

under the Endangered Species Act and 

allow continued operation of existing 

water facilities and future development 

of water resources for human uses 

within the Utah Lake Basin in Utah. 

The June sucker exists naturally only 

in Utah Lake and spawns primarily in 

the lower Provo River, a Utah Lake 

tributary. Monitoring indicates young 

June sucker hatching in the lower Provo 

River do not survive to the adult stage 

due to habitat inadequacies in the lower 

Provo River and its interface with Utah 

Lake related to flow, food supply, and 

shelter. A compounding factor is likely 

predation by nonnative fishes. Dredging 

and channelization for flood control has 

eliminated the shallow, warm, complex 

wetland habitat at the mouth of the 

Provo River where it enters Utah Lake. 

Proposed Federal Action 

The Project would restore the lower 

Provo River to a more natural deltaic 

ecosystem. The delta and associated 

habitat would provide needed habitat 

for the recovery of the endangered June 

sucker. These improvements would be 

accomplished through the 

implementation of one or any 

combination of the action alternatives 

and/or options analyzed in the FEIS. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Project has been identified as an 

essential action needed to recover the 

endangered June sucker. It would 

restore functional habitat conditions in 

the lower Provo River and its interface 

with Utah Lake that are needed for 

spawning, hatching, larval transport, 

survival, rearing and recruitment of 

young into the population on a selfsustaining basis. 

The purposes of the Project are to: 

• Implement the specific criteria of 

the June Sucker Recovery Plan to restore 

a naturally functioning Provo River 

delta ecosystem essential for 

recruitment of June sucker; 

• provide recreational improvements 

and opportunities associated with the 

Project; 

• adopt flow regime targets for the 

lower Provo River and provide delivery 

of supplemental water to the lower 

Provo River, including additional 

conserved water. 

The FEIS describes and analyzes the 

potential effects of three action 

alternatives, a no action alternative, and 

two options for the existing Provo River 

channel. 

No Action Alternative 

This alternative considers the 

consequences of taking ‘‘no action’’ with 

respect to the purpose and need of the 

Project. Under the No Action 

Alternative, the planned Project would 

not be implemented, but remaining 

actions in the June Sucker Recovery 

Plan and JSRIP would proceed as 

planned, subject to National 

Environmental Policy Act compliance 

as appropriate. Private lands would not 

be acquired for the Project. 

Alternative A 

Alternative A would maximize the 

available rearing and spawning habitat 

for June sucker. The acquisition 

boundary for this alternative 

encompasses 507.3 acres. 

Alternative B—Agency Preferred 

Alternative 

Alternative B was developed with 

substantial involvement from study area 

landowners and other stakeholders. It is 

the agency preferred alternative. It 

would reduce the amount of private 

land required for the Project and 

preserve the highest-value agricultural 

land, while still meeting June sucker 

spawning and rearing habitat 

improvement needs. The acquisition 

boundary for this alternative 

encompasses 310.3 acres. 

Alternative C 

Alternative C would exclude most of 

the existing peat wetlands located on 

the east and north sides of the Project 

area from restoration activities but, as a 

consequence, would be constructed on 

the higher-value agricultural lands. 

Alternative C would meet June sucker 

spawning and rearing habitat 

improvement needs for the Project by 

using lands to the south of these 

wetlands. The acquisition boundary for 

this alternative encompasses 298.3 

acres. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices 18941 

Existing Provo River Channel Options 

Two options were considered for use 

of the existing Provo River Channel. 

Either of the two options could be 

paired with any of the three action 

alternatives. Option 1 would leave the 

existing Provo River Channel open to 

Utah Lake, allowing for fluctuating 

water levels at various times of the year. 

Option 2 would maintain the existing 

channel at a relatively constant 

elevation by constructing a small dam at 

the downstream mouth of the channel 

near Utah Lake State Park. Under both 

options, an aeration system would be 

installed and operated to improve water 

quality and a minimum flow of 10 cubic 

feet per second would be provided to 

the existing Provo River channel which 

would be retained and managed for 

recreational and aesthetic purposes. 

A Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

was published in the Federal Register 

on February 28, 2014 (79 FR 11511). 

The comment period on the DEIS ended 

on April 29, 2014. The FEIS contains 

responses to all comments received and 

reflects comments and any additional 

information received during the review 

period. 

Copies of the FEIS are available for 

public review at: 

• Department of the Interior, Central 

Utah Project Completion Act Office, 302 

East 1860 South, Provo, Utah 84606– 

7317 

• Utah Reclamation Mitigation and 

Conservation Commission, 230 South 

500 East Suite 230, Salt Lake City, Utah 

84102 

• Central Utah Water Conservancy 

District, 355 West University Parkway, 

Orem, Utah 84058–7303 

Libraries 

• Provo City Public Library, 550 

North University Avenue, Provo, Utah 

84601 

• Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 

East 400 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 

84111 

Dated: March 10, 2015. 

Reed R. Murray, 

Program Director, Central Utah Project 

Completion Act Office, Department of the 

Interior. 

Dated: March 10, 2015. 

Michael C. Weland, 

Executive Director, Utah Reclamation 

Mitigation and Conservation Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08035 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4332–90–P 


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