[Federal Register: March 17, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 51)]
[Notices]
[Page 13017]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr05-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Record of Decision for the Proposed Leasing of Lands at Fort
Bliss, Texas for the Proposed Siting, Construction, and Operation by
the City of El Paso of a Brackish Water Desalination Plant and Support
Facilities
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the execution of a Record
of Decision (ROD) to grant an easement to the City of El Paso, El Paso
Water Utilities (EPWU), for land in the South Training Areas of Fort
Bliss for construction and operation of a desalination plant and
support facilities, including wells, pipelines, and disposal sites for
the residual brine, referred to as concentrate, resulting from the
desalination process. The ROD was signed on March 7, 2005, pursuant to
the completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) dated
December 2004.
ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the ROD, contact John F. Barrera (915)
568-3908 or write to: Fort Bliss Directorate of the Environment, ATTN:
IMSW-BLS-Z, Building 624, Pleasanton Road, Fort Bliss, TX 79916-6812.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John F. Barrera, (915) 568-3908.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The desalination plant is needed to provide
an additional reliable source of potable water for the City of El Paso
and Fort Bliss. Currently, both EPWU and Fort Bliss pump fresh
groundwater from the Hueco Bolson Aquifer. Ongoing withdrawals of fresh
groundwater from the bolson exceed the aquifer's recharge rate. Pumping
of fresh groundwater by EPWU, the Army, Ciudad Juarez, and others has
resulted in declining groundwater levels in the bolson. Brackish
groundwater is intruding into the aquifer's freshwater area and has the
potential to affect existing water wells on Fort Bliss and in other
areas of El Paso. The desalination plant will treat brackish (salty)
water from the Hueco Bolson Aquifer to provide potable water for use by
the city and Fort Bliss.
The FEIS addressed the potential environmental effects of the
proposed project and analyzed seven alternatives in detail; six action
alternatives and the No Action Alternative. The six action alternatives
comprised alternative combinations of three candidate sites for the
desalination plant itself--Sites 1, 2, and 3--and two alternatives for
disposing of the concentrate, deep-well injection and evaporation
ponds. The Army has decided to grant an easement to EPWU to implement
Alternative 3, consisting of desalination plant Site 3, an undeveloped
site near Montana Avenue east of El Paso International Airport, and
disposal of the concentrate through deep-well injection at a location
in the northeast corner of the South Training Areas of Fort Bliss near
the Texas-New Mexico border.
In reaching this decision, the Army considered its own needs for a
reliable source of potable water, compatibility with its training
mission, and the environmental consequences associated with each
alternative. The Army decided not to select the No Action Alternative
because it fails to address the issues of declining freshwater supplies
and impending brackish groundwater intrusion on Fort Bliss wells. Among
the action alternatives, the Army selected deep-well injection as the
preferred concentrate disposal method because it is the preferred
method of EPWU and, with the protection provided by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality permitting process, appears to have
less potential for adverse environmental impacts than the evaporation
ponds. The three desalination plant sites do not differ materially in
their compatibility with the Army's mission or their environmental
effects; therefore, the Army selected Site 3 because it is EPWU's
preferred site due to its proximity to roads and utilities, as well as
to EPWU's water distribution system.
All practicable means of avoiding or minimizing environmental harm
have been adopted through site selection and mitigation measures. The
desalination plant site does not contain sensitive cultural or
biological resources, and a desalination plant is compatible with near-
by land uses. Mitigation measures to be implemented by EPWU to further
reduce the potential for adverse environmental impact include the
following:
1. Using dust suppression measures during ground disturbance to
prevent erosion and wind-blown dust.
2. Installing pressure monitors in the concentrate pipeline to
detect leaks or catastrophic failures and developing an emergency
action plan to minimize the release of concentrate during an accident
or equipment failure.
3. Designing the access road to the desalination plant site to
minimize impact to traffic flow on Montana Avenue.
4. Establishing a procedure for EPWU to coordinate access to the
injection wells and concentrate pipelines with Fort Bliss to ensure
required maintenance can be performed with minimal interference with
the Army's mission at Fort Bliss.
These mitigation measures will be included as conditions of the
easement to be granted by the Army to EPWU.
Hugh M. Exton, Jr.,
Director, SWRO, Installation Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 05-5326 Filed 3-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M