The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Oregon announces the availability of a Final Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Powder Valley Water Control District (PVWCD) Infrastructure Modernization Project.

The project is in Union County, Oregon and would modernize District-owned irrigation infrastructure by piping and retiring select open ditches and installing fish screening and passage improvements. The project would replace 3.3 miles of open ditch with pipeline, replace several ditches with a single, more efficient 3.4-mile pipeline, and retire 6.7 miles of ditches that are no longer needed. The project would save water, make water deliveries more reliable, support fish and streams, and help local farms and ranches better withstand drought.

The project is a joint effort between NRCS Oregon and PVWCD, as the project sponsor, in coordination with other agencies, Tribes and the public. The project may be partially funded through the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program, administered by NRCS and authorized by Public Law 83-566.

Pursuant to Section 106(b)(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (as amended through Public Law 119-21), and NRCS National Environmental Policy Act Regulations (7 CFR 650), NRCS gives notice that a FONSI has been issued and an environmental impact statement is not being prepared for this project.

The environmental assessment of this federally assisted action indicates that the project will not cause significant local, regional, or national impacts on the environment. As a result of these findings, Greg Becker, NRCS State Conservationist, has determined that the preparation and review of an environmental impact statement is not needed for this project.

This Notice has been forwarded to various Federal, State and local agencies and interested parties. The FONSI and other supporting planning documents are available at the Powder Valley project webpage here.

No administrative action on implementation of the proposal will be taken for 30 days from the publication date of this Notice.

For more information, contact Gary Diridoni, NRCS, at (503) 414-3092 or gary.diridoni@usda.gov.