Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 117 / Friday, June 17, 2022 / Notices 36451 

and hard of hearing (TDD) may call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800– 

877–8339, 24 hours a day, every day of 

the year, including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hecla 

Mining Company has withdrawn from 

consideration the current Plan of 

Operations for the Montanore Project 

which eliminates the need for the 

current draft Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

Dated: June 13, 2022. 

Deborah Hollen, 

Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National 

Forest System. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13089 Filed 6–16–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service 

[Docket No. NRCS–2022–0004] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Central Oregon Irrigation District 

Pilot Butte Canal Infrastructure 

Modernization Project, Deschutes 

County, Oregon 

AGENCY: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

SUMMARY: The Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS) Oregon 

State Office announces its intent to 

prepare an EIS for the Central Oregon 

Irrigation District (COID) Pilot Butte 

Canal (PBC) Project in the proximity of 

Redmond and Bend, Oregon. The EIS 

process will examine three alignment 

alternatives for replacing the existing 

PBC with a piped and pressurized 

system. The purpose of the new system 

is to promote irrigation water 

conservation in COID-owned 

infrastructure, improve water delivery 

reliability to COID patrons, and reduce 

long-term operation and maintenance 

costs. NRCS is requesting comments to 

identify significant issues and potential 

alternatives, information, and analyses 

relevant to the proposed action from all 

interested individuals, Tribes, and 

Federal, State and local agencies and 

jurisdictions. 

DATES: We will consider comments that 

we receive by July 18, 2022. Comments 

received later will be considered to the 

extent possible. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments in response to this notice. 

You may submit your comments 

through one of the methods below: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for docket ID NRCS–2022–0004. Follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments; or 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Craig 

Horrell, District Manager, Central 

Oregon Irrigation District, 1055 SW Lake 

CT, Redmond, OR 97756. 

All comments received will be posted 

and made publicly available on 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

Diridoni, telephone: (503) 414–3092; 

email: gary.diridoni@usda.gov. In 

addition, for questions related to 

submitting comments: StingRay 

Communications—ShanRae Hawkins, 

telephone: (541) 390–6411; email: 

shanrae@hellostingray.com; or the PBC 

Project website at: www.coidpiping.com. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

should contact the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at 

(202) 720–2600 (voice). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need 

The PBC Project would be 

implemented as agricultural water 

management, as authorized under 

Sections 3 and 4 of Public Law 83–566. 

The primary purpose of agricultural 

water management on PBC is 

conservation of irrigation water in 

COID-owned infrastructure, 

improvement of water delivery 

reliability to COID patrons, and 

reduction in long-term operation and 

maintenance costs on approximately 21 

miles of the COID-owned canal. The 

PBC Project is needed to address water 

loss in COID conveyance systems and 

water delivery, operation, and 

maintenance inefficiencies. Specifically, 

the PBC Project will address water loss 

due to seepage and evaporation. It will 

also support local agricultural land use 

and increase public safety for PBC. The 

need for watershed planning is 

established and implementation of 

management actions are authorized 

under Public Law 83–566, the 

Watershed Protection and Flood 

Prevention Act of 1954, as amended, 

and Public Law 78–534, the Flood 

Control Act of 1944. Further context for 

the need for watershed planning in 

COID is provided below. 

COID was largely developed over 100 

years ago to provide irrigation water to 

patented lands in the Central Oregon 

Region. COID operates and maintains a 

combined total of over 700 miles of 

open and unlined main and lateral 

canals that serve approximately 50,000 

acres of irrigated lands that stretch north 

from Bend, Oregon to the Crooked 

River, and east to Powell Butte. COID’s 

PBC also conveys water to the Lone Pine 

Irrigation District located on the north 

side of the Crooked River east of 

Terrebonne, Oregon and to the North 

Unit Irrigation District’s (NUID) main 

canal near Smith Rock. 

The volcanic nature of the Central 

Oregon geology presents fractured 

basalt, cinder and varied substrates that 

result in a propensity for seepage losses 

in many areas of COID’s canal system. 

Optimization of water use in the Central 

Oregon basin is critical to maintaining 

the balance of water use as societal and 

environmental needs continue to change 

over time. Within the Basin over the 

next 30 years the irrigation districts will 

be increasing streamflow in the 

Deschutes River system to protect 

threatened species, which leaves less 

water available to support agricultural 

production. The saved water that would 

be made available by modernizing 

COID’s conveyance system would be 

critical to supporting agricultural 

production. Additionally, 

modernization will result in other 

benefits such as energy conservation, 

increased hydropower opportunities, 

reduced operations, and maintenance 

costs, increased operational efficiencies 

and increased public safety. 

Consistent with its System 

Improvement Plans (2016, 2017) and 

Capital Plan (2018), COID developed the 

Smith Rock-King Way Infrastructure 

Modernization Project Final Watershed 

Plan-Environmental Assessment 

(Watershed Plan-EA) for which NRCS 

issued a Finding of No Significant 

Impact in 2020 (https://oregonwater

shedplans.org/central-oregon-id). The 

Watershed Plan-EA included piping the 

north end of PBC; fully piping the G– 

4 Lateral; partially piping the J-Lateral; 

and constructing the L-Lateral crossing 

of the NUID Canal. With completion of 

the work identified in the 2020 Final 

Watershed Plan-EA, water would also 

be conveyed from COID’s system to 

NUID. The proposed alternatives 

analyzed under this EIS would extend 

improvements to PBC that are currently 

being completed under the 2020 Smith 

Rock-King Way Watershed Plan-EA. 

Preliminary Proposed Action and 

Alternatives Including No Action 

The proposed action considered 

under this EIS would complement 

projects already being completed under 

an approved 2020 Final Watershed-Plan 

EA and FONSI. These projects are 

located along PBC beginning around NE 

17th Street in Redmond, Oregon and 

continuing to PBC’s diversion point in 

Bend, Oregon. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
36452 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 117 / Friday, June 17, 2022 / Notices 

1See https://sam.gov/content/assistance-listings. 

Three Proposed Action Alignment 

Alternatives will be evaluated to replace 

the existing PBC within the PBC Project 

area with a piped and pressurized 

system. The Proposed Action Alignment 

Alternatives would be within the same 

alignment except for the areas discussed 

below. Additionally, a No Action 

alternative will be considered. 

Alternative 1—Proposed Action 

Alignment 1. This alternative includes 

placing new pipe wholly within the 

existing open channel of PBC, including 

the section adjacent to Juniper Ridge, 

which is listed on the National Register 

of Historic Places (NRHP). 

Alternative 2—Proposed Action 

Alignment 2. This alternative would 

differ from Alternative 1 in that it would 

avoid the NRHP-listed portion of PBC 

by piping a section between Yeoman 

Road and Cooley Road largely within 

NE 18th Street. 

Alternative 3—Proposed Action 

Alignment 3. This alternative would 

differ from Alternatives 1 and 2 in that 

it would avoid the NRHP-listed portion 

of PBC by piping a section between 

Yeoman Road and Cooley Road largely 

within Old Deschutes Market Road. 

Alternatives 2 and 3 would leave the 

NRHP-listed segment of canal in place 

and permanently dewatered. 

Alternative 4—No Action Alternative. 

Under the No Action Alternative, COID 

would continue to operate and maintain 

its existing canals and pipelines in their 

current condition. This alternative 

assumes that modernization of COID’s 

infrastructure would not be reasonably 

certain to occur, as funding at the scale 

necessary to modernize COID’s 

remaining infrastructure is not 

anticipated from other sources. The No 

Action Alternative would be a 

continuation of COID’s standard 

operations and maintenance. The No 

Action Alternative would not meet the 

PBC Project’s purpose and need. 

Summary of Expected Impacts 

Preliminary evaluation of the 

proposed action indicates that impacts 

may primarily be local within COID. 

These may include short-term impacts 

such as impacts to vegetation, soils, 

noise, and traffic. In the long-term the 

proposed action is expected to have 

impacts to visual resources (views of the 

open canal from adjacent properties) 

and is expected to have beneficial 

impacts by reducing water loss and 

increasing water delivery reliability. 

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations 

The following permits and other 

authorizations are anticipated to be 

required: 

• Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 

Permit. CWA implementation of the 

proposed federal action may require a 

CWA section 404 permit from the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

• CWA Section 401 Permit. The PBC 

Project may also require water quality 

certification under section 401 of CWA. 

• CWA Section 402. Permitting under 

section 402 of CWA (National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System Permit) 

may be required. 

• County and City Permits. 

Implementation of the proposed federal 

action would require local building and 

land use permits from Deschutes County 

and the Cities of Redmond and Bend. 

Schedule of Decision-Making Process 

A Draft EIS (DEIS) will be prepared 

and circulated for review and comment 

by agencies and the public for at least 

45 days per 40 CFR 1503.1, 1502.20, 

1506.11, and 1502.17, and 7 CFR 

650.13. DEIS is anticipated to be 

published in the Federal Register in 

2023, approximately 9 months after 

publication of this NOI. A Final EIS is 

anticipated to be published within 6 

months of completion of the public 

comment period for the DEIS. 

NRCS then will decide whether to 

implement one of the alternatives as 

evaluated in the EIS. A Record of 

Decision will be completed after the 

required 30-day waiting period and will 

be publicly available. The responsible 

federal official and decision maker for 

the NRCS is Ron Alvarado, Oregon State 

Conservationist. 

Public Scoping Process 

Public scoping meetings have been 

and will be held to present the PBC 

Project and further develop the scope of 

DEIS. A preliminary public scoping 

meeting was held online at 6 p.m. on 

Wednesday, October 20, 2021. It is 

anticipated that one additional scoping 

meeting will be held after this NOI is 

published. Comments received for both 

scoping meetings, including the names 

and addresses of those who comment, 

will be part of the public record. A 

recording of the first scoping meeting 

and the presentation materials are 

available on the PBC Project website: 

www.coidpiping.com. The date, time, 

and location for the second meeting also 

will be announced on the PBC Project 

website. 

Identification of Potential Alternatives, 

Information, and Analyses 

NRCS invites agencies and 

individuals who have special expertise, 

legal jurisdiction, or interest in the 

COID PBC Project to provide comments 

concerning the scope of the analysis and 

identification of potential alternatives, 

information, and analyses relevant to 

the Proposed Action. 

Authorities 

Estimated federal funds required for 

the construction of the proposed action 

would exceed $25 million and the 

proposed action will therefore require 

congressional approval per the 2018 

Agriculture Appropriations Act 

amended funding threshold. In 

accordance with 7 CFR part 650.7(a)(2), 

an EIS is required for projects requiring 

congressional approval. This document 

is published pursuant to the NEPA 

regulations regarding publication of a 

notice of intent to issue an 

environmental impact statement (40 

CFR 1501.9(d)). This EIS will be 

prepared to evaluate potential 

environmental impacts as required by 

section 102(2)(C) of NEPA; the Council 

on Environmental Quality regulations 

(40 CFR parts 1500–1508); and NRCS 

regulations that implement NEPA in 7 

CFR part 650. Watershed planning is 

authorized under the Watershed 

Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 

1954, as amended, (Pub. L. 83–566) and 

the Flood Control Act of 1944 (Pub. L. 

78–534). 

Federal Assistance Programs 

The title and number of the Federal 

assistance program as found in the 

Assistance Listing 1 (formerly referred to 

as the Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance) to which this document 

applies is 10.904 Watershed Protection 

and Flood Prevention. 

Executive Order 12372 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs,’’ requires consultation with 

State and local officials that would be 

directly affect by proposed Federal 

financial assistance. The objectives of 

the Executive order are to foster an 

intergovernmental partnership and a 

strengthened federalism, by relying on 

State and local processes for State and 

local government coordination and 

review of proposed Federal financial 

assistance and direct Federal 

development. This program is subject to 

the provisions of Executive Order 

12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and USDA civil rights 

regulations and policies, USDA, its 

Agencies, offices, and employees, and 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 117 / Friday, June 17, 2022 / Notices 36453 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family or 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (for example, 

braille, large print, audiotape, American 

Sign Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or (844) 433–2774 (toll-free 

nationwide). Additionally, program 

information may be made available in 

languages other than English. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, AD– 

3027, found online at https://

www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint and 

at any USDA office or write a letter 

addressed to USDA and provide in the 

letter all the information requested in 

the form. To request a copy of the 

complaint form, call (866) 632–9992. 

Submit your completed form or letter to 

USDA by mail to: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410 or email: OAC@

usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Ronald Alvarado. 

Oregon State Conservationist, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13031 Filed 6–16–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

[Docket No. RUS–22–TELECOM–0028] 

Notice of Request for Extension of a 

Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice; comment requested. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to request 

Office of Management and Budget’s 

(OMB) approval for an extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection in support of the 

Telecommunications Infrastructure 

Loan program. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by August 16, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Woolard, Special Projects 

Coordinator, Rural Development 

Innovation Center—Regulations 

Management Division, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, South 

Building, Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Telephone: (202) 720–9631. Email 

susan.woolard@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) requires that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an 

existing information collection that the 

Agency is submitting to OMB for 

extension. 

Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

this collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the 

Agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (c) Ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

Ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical or other technological 

collection techniques, or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments may be sent by the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and, in the lower 

‘‘Search Regulations and Federal 

Actions’’ box, select ‘‘RUS’’ from the 

agency drop-down menu, then click on 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select RUS–22–TELECOM–0028 to 

submit or view public comments and to 

view supporting and related materials 

available electronically. Information on 

using Regulations.gov, including 

instructions for accessing documents, 

submitting comments, and viewing the 

docket after the close of the comment 

period, is available through the site’s 

‘‘User Tips’’ link. 

Title: Part 1737, Pre-Loan Policies and 

Procedures Common to Insured and 

Guaranteed Telecommunications Loans. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0079. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: USDA, Rural Utilities 

Service (RUS) makes mortgage loans 

and loan guarantees to finance 

telecommunications, electric, and water 

and waste facilities in rural areas with 

a loan portfolio that totals more than 

$58 billion. In addition to providing 

loans and loan guarantees, one of the 

objectives of RUS is to safeguard loan 

security until the loan is repaid. 

Accordingly, RUS manages loan 

programs in accordance with the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 

et seq, as amended, (RE Act), and as 

prescribed by Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A–129, Policies 

for Federal Credit Programs and NonTax Receivables, which states that based 

on a review of a loan application, 

agencies must determine that an 

applicant complies with statutory, 

regulatory, and administrative eligibility 

requirements for loan assistance. 

Section 201 of the RE Act authorizes the 

RUS Administrator to make loans to 

qualified telephone companies for 

providing telephone service to the 

widest practicable number of rural 

subscribers. The reporting burden 

covered by this collection of 

information consists of forms, 

documents and written burden to 

support a request for funding for a 

Telecommunications Infrastructure 

loan. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 37.04 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Businesses, not-forprofit institutions and others. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

43. 

Total Annual Responses: 309. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 7.19. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 11,445 hours. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Susan Woolard, 

Special Projects Coordinator, Innovation 

Center—Regulations Management 

Division, at (202) 720–9631. Email: 

susan.woolard@usda.gov. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1