[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5757-5758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2403]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact for the Delta-Clearwater Remediation 
Project, Delta Junction, AK

AGENCY: Alaska State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has prepared 
an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, to construct the Delta-Clearwater Remediation 
Project, authorized under the Watershed Protection, Watershed Surveys, 
and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (Pub. L. 83-566, 83d Cong., 68 Stat. 
666), as amended. Upon review and analysis of potential environmental 
impacts, the State Conservationist (Alaska) found that the project 
would not result in a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment. Therefore, a FONSI was issued and no environmental impact 
statement is required.

DATES: The Final EA and FONSI are available for review through March 8, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Public review copies are available at the following 
locations:
    1. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Palmer State Office, 800 
West Evergreen, Suite 100, Palmer, AK 99645.
    2. Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1420.5 Alaska Highway, 
Jarvis Office Building, Delta Junction, AK 99737.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Final EA and FONSI, or 
additional information on matters related to the project, can be 
obtained by contacting Mr. Phil Naegele, Assistant State 
Conservationist (Operations), USDA Natural Resources Conservation 
Service, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 100, Palmer, AK 99645. Telephone: 
(907) 761-7758.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural 
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is proposing a watershed 
remediation project within the Rhoads Creek and Granite Creek sub-
watersheds of the Delta-Clearwater River. The project would involve 
removing the structural watershed control measures installed by NRCS in 
2001 and remediation of the site to prevent further erosion and 
channelization of surface water flows. The project is located in 
portions of Sections 27, 28, 33, 34, and 35 of Township 11 South, Range 
12 East, and Sections 3 and 4 of Township 12 South, Range 12 East, of 
the Fairbanks Meridian, near Mile 1408 of the Alaska Highway (Latitude 
63.914[deg] North, Longitude 145.388[deg] West).
    NRCS, in cooperation with the Salcha-Big Delta Soil and Water 
Conservation District (SWCD), Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
(ADF&G), Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and the 
Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR), conducted a watershed 
planning effort which was completed in 1995. This plan included 
structural and non-structural measures intended to reduce sediment 
deposition into the Delta-Clearwater River and Clearwater Bog as well 
as reducing flood and sediment damage to cropland, the Alaska Highway, 
local roads, and recreation areas. A supplement to this plan was 
completed in 1998 in order to address a reduction in the infiltration 
rate from the original estimate to that identified during field tests.
    Phase I of construction, initiated in September 1999, consisted of 
approximately 5,000 linear feet of infiltration basin along with side 
inlets and training dikes installed at Mile 1408 Road on the south side 
of the Alaska Highway. Construction of Phase I was completed in July 
2001. Flow events during and after construction identified numerous 
problems with the project as designed. In response to these issues, a 
formal engineering investigation was completed in 2002. The report 
recommended a revised planning effort analyzing a wide variety of 
alternatives. An extended planning effort involving the project 
sponsors, other local, State and Federal agencies, and the general 
public was conducted between 2003 and 2008. The proposed project is the 
outcome of this 5-year multi-agency planning effort.
    The proposed project would restore the entire project site as 
closely as practical to pre-project topography and conditions. Site 
restoration would involve removing the training dikes, filling the side 
inlets, filling the infiltration basin, removing the built-up portion 
of 1408 Road, providing a reasonable planting medium on the restored 
surface of the site, either seeding or relying on natural regeneration, 
removal of the flow splitting channels near the Alaska Highway, and 
purchasing flood easements for affected private property.
    It is currently anticipated that topsoil material for site 
restoration would be obtained from berm piles located on nearby 
agricultural land. These berms are remnant from the land clearing 
efforts that were part of the original State of Alaska Delta 
Agricultural Projects, and contain topsoil mixed with high 
concentrations of organic matter and some woody debris. Using the berm 
material has numerous benefits as a planting medium. The high 
concentration of organic matter provides both soil fertility and 
moisture retention

[[Page 5758]]

benefits. The berms also serve as seed banks for native vegetation, and 
the woody debris can be used on the restored site to disrupt overland 
flow. The berms screened for removal and use will be selected based on 
criteria that are currently being developed by NRCS. Berms which are 
growing species which are listed on the State of Alaska list of noxious 
weeds (11 AAC 34.020) will be eliminated from consideration, and no 
berms will be removed from lands currently enrolled in the Cropland 
Reserve Program.
    The cost of this alternative is roughly estimated at $8 to $10 
million dollars. Even with site restoration, some short-term 
maintenance will be required if the recently restored site is damaged 
by flow events. While it will be relatively expensive to restore the 
project site, the re-planning team considered the expense justifiable 
in light of current conditions and public concerns. This justification 
is premised on the reduction of erosion from the existing project site 
by removing the training dikes and side inlets that concentrate inflow 
to the basin, as well as removing the artificially steep flow gradient 
into the existing basin. In addition, restoration efforts would involve 
removing the built-up 1408 Road. The road currently functions as a 
levee and concentrates flow from the infiltration basin to the Alaska 
Highway.
    Agency scoping letters for the proposed project were sent on July 
10, 2009, with a scoping meeting and site visit conducted on August 5, 
2009. The Draft Environmental Assessment was made available for public 
and agency review on September 17, 2009, with a public open house being 
held in Delta Junction on September 28, 2009. A follow-up meeting with 
agencies was held on September 29, 2009 also in Delta Junction. Details 
regarding the public and agency involvement are discussed in the Final 
Environmental Assessment.
    Based on the information in the Final Environmental Assessment the 
proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting 
the quality of the human environment, and a Finding of No Significant 
Impact was issued on January 11, 2010.

    Signed in Palmer, Alaska, on January 11, 2010.
Robert N. Jones,
State Conservationist (Alaska).
[FR Doc. 2010-2403 Filed 2-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-2D-P