[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 12562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5630]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

THE UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION


Central Utah Project Completion Act

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant Secretary--
Water and Science; Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation 
Commission; and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Announcement of Public Scoping for the proposed Provo River Delta 
Restoration, Utah County, Utah.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations at 40 CFR 1501.7, and authorities under the Endangered 
Species Act (15 U.S.C. 1536, et seq.), the Department of the Interior 
(Interior), Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission 
(Mitigation Commission), and the Central Utah Water Conservancy 
District (District), as Joint Lead Agencies, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), with public involvement, for the 
Provo River Delta Restoration Project. The restoration project is a 
recovery action within the approved species recovery plan.

DATES: Date and location for the public Scoping meeting will be 
announced locally. Public comments on Scoping issues will be accepted 
at the meeting, or in writing on or before April 30, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and 
Conservation Commission, 230 South 500 East, Suite 230, Salt Lake City, 
UT 84102-2045; or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Additional information may be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Mark Holden at (801) 524-3146, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Record of Decision for the Diamond Fork 
System Final Supplement to the Diamond Fork Power System Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS 99-25) 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 [Recovery Implementation Program] making 
`sufficient progress' towards recovery of June sucker.'' The June 
Sucker Recovery Implementation Program (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 (Chasmistes liorus) exists naturally only in Utah 
Lake and spawns naturally only 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. It is believed that 
first-year fish do not survive 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 entered Utah Lake. The conceptual restoration 
is to relocate the lower Provo River onto public and acquired private 
fee lands, and connect the river to a former bay of Utah Lake that will 
be restored to provide habitat conditions necessary for survival and 
recruitment of June sucker.
    A Draft Purpose and Need statement for the project will be 
presented and discussed at the Scoping Meeting as follows:

Need

     Functional habitat conditions in the lower Provo River and 
its interface with Utah Lake that are suitable for spawning, hatching, 
larval transport, survival, rearing and recruitment of June sucker to 
the adult stage.

Purposes

     Preserve and improve fish, wildlife, riparian and wetlands 
habitats at lower Provo River and its interface with Utah Lake;
     Expedite recovery of the endangered June sucker by re-
establishing essential June sucker habitat through restoration of the 
lower Provo River ecosystem at the Provo River-Utah Lake interface to a 
more natural condition (a delta);
     Provide recreational improvements and opportunities 
associated with the habitat restoration project; and
     Provide for continued development of the Central Utah 
Project (CUP).

    Dated: March 9, 2010.
Reed R. Murray,
Program Director, Central Utah Project Completion Act, Department of 
the Interior.
Michael C. Weland,
Executive Director, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation 
Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-5630 Filed 3-15-10; 8:45 am]
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