Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 140 /Wednesday, July 22, 1998 / Notices 39275

Third Avenue, Walla Walla, WA. 99362,

phone 509–527–7266.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

reconnaissance study completed in June

1993, by the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers, Walla Walla District

recommended a feasibility level study to

evaluate the feasibility of completing

the levee system and restoring fish and

wildlife resources. The study area

included the levee system and adjacent

lands affected by the project, within the

500-year flood plain along a 25 mile

reach of the Snake River. To reduce the

cost of the feasibility study, the scope of

the study was reduced to determining

the feasibility of providing

environmental restoration on four

priority sites exhibiting the greatest

potential for restoration. Based on the

reduced scope, environmental impacts

of the proposed project will be

documented in an EA.

Alternatives: Alternatives that could

be implemented at the four sites

include:

a. Channel restoration to rehabilitate

fisheries.

b. Island protection measures to

preserve riparian island values.

c. Island restoration measures to

restore riparian island values.

d. Fish habitat creation through

stream structure alteration.

e. No action.

Public Meeting: A public information

meeting for the EA will be held in

Jackson, Wyoming in January 1999.

Date, time and location will be

publicized.

Availability: The Draft EA should be

available in December 19993.

Donald R. Curtis, Jr.,

LTC, EN Commanding.

[FR Doc. 98–19480 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of

Engineers

Intent to Prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for the Wichita

River Basin Portion of the Red River

Chloride Control Project (RRCCP),

Texas and Oklahoma

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The purpose of the EIS is to

address alternatives and modifications

to the authorized plan for chloride

control in the Wichita River Basin to

provide improved water quality at Lake

Kemp, Texas.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions or comments concerning the

proposed action should be addressed to

Mr. David L. Combs, Chief,

Environmental Analysis and

Compliance Branch, Tulsa District, U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 61,

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74121–0061,

telephone 918–669–7188.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Wichita River Basin portion was

authorized as part of a larger chloride

control project by the Flood Control Act

of 1966, approved 7 November 1966,

Public Law 89–789, SD 110; as modified

by the Flood Control Act approved 31

December 1970, Public Law 91–611; and

as amended by the Water Resources

Development Acts of 1974 (Public Law

93–251) and 1976 (Public Law 94—587).

Section 1107 of the Water Resources

Development Act of 1986 amended the

above authorization to separate the

overall project into the Arkansas River

Basin and the Red River Basin and

authorized the Red River Basin for

construction subject to a favorable

report by a review panel on the

performance of Area VIII. The review

panel submitted a favorable report to the

Public Works Committee of the House

and Senate in August 1988 indicating

that Area VIII was performing as

designed. The portion of the authorized

project on the upstream forks of the

Wichita River consists of collection

Areas VII, VIII, and X and Truscott Lake.

The authorized plan consisted of four

low flow dams for collection of brineladen waters, two brine storage lakes for

holding concentrated brine solutions,

and the necessary pumps and pipelines

to transport brine solutions from the low

flow dams to the brine storage lakes.

Facilities constructed to date include

the Areas VIII and X low flow collection

facilities, Truscott Brine Lake, and a

pipeline from the Area VIII collection

facility to the Truscott Brine Lake.

Approximately 10,000 acres of lands

have also been purchased at the Crowell

Brine Lake site near Crowell, Texas. The

Crowell Brine Lake component will not

be constructed, but the lands will be

used for fish and wildlife mitigation

requirements associated with

completion of the Wichita River Basin

facilities. The EIS will evaluate the

impacts associated with construction

and operation of only the Wichita River

Basin chloride control facilities.

Reasonable alternatives to be

considered include various

combinations of constructed facilities in

combination with plans for deep well

injection, construction of the Area VII

collection facility, abandonment of the

Area X collection facility, an increase in

the size of Truscott Brine Lake, and no

action.

Significant issues to be addressed in

the EIS include: (1) hydrological,

biological, and water quality issues

concerning fish, aquatic invertebrates,

algae/biofilm, aquatic macrophytes,

wetland/riparian ecosystem of the

Wichita River, Lake Kemp, and Red

River above Lake Texoma to the

confluence of the Wichita River; (2) the

Lakes Kemp and Texoma components,

including chloride/turbidity

relationships, chloride/fish

reproduction issues, chloride/plankton

community issues, chloride/nutrient

dynamics issues, and impacts on

recreational values; (3) a selenium (Se)

component addressing Se

concentrations and impacts on biota; (4)

alternative studies involving

constructed facilities and remaining

facilities to be constructed; (5) manmade brines and associated reduction

(6) mitigation as it relates indirectly to

habitat losses resulting from irrigated

cropland and direct impacts resulting

from construction of project

components; (7) Section 401 water

quality issues; (8) impacts on the

commercial bait-fishery of the upper

Red River; (9) Federally-listed

threatened and endangered species; and

(10) unquantifiable/undefined impacts.

Scoping meetings for the project are

planned to be conducted in August

1998. News releases, informing the

public and local, state,and Federal

agencies of the proposed action will be

published in local newspapers.

Comments received as a result of this

notice and the news releases will be

used to assist the Tulsa District in

identifying potential impacts to the

quality of the human or natural

environment. Affected Federal, state, or

local agencies, affected Indian tribes,

and other interested private

organizations and parties may

participate in the Scoping process by

forwarding written comments to the

above noted address or attending the

Scoping meetings.

The draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be

available for public review and

comment by 1 August 1999. Any

comments and suggestions should be

forwarded to the above noted address no

later than 1 October 1999 to be

considered in the DEIS.

Timothy L. Sanford,

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer.

[FR Doc. 98–19478 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

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