NRCS will prepare a Plan-EIS as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality and the United States Department of Agriculture NEPA implementing regulations, consistent with PL‑566 and NRCS’s Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) for water and land related resources implementation studies and federal water resource investments. This Plan-EIS will analyze alternative solutions and potential effects of the Proposed Project. 

Project Description

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), with the Bear River Water Conservancy District and Bear River Canal Company as the project sponsors, is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Lower Bear River Watershed Plan in Box Elder County, Utah. The EIS is being funded through the NRCS Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program (Public Law 83-566). The primary purposes for watershed planning and preparation of the EIS are to:

• improve agricultural water management by addressing deficiencies in the agricultural water delivery system, improve reliability and efficiency, and develop secondary water systems for growing communities with limited water resources needed for sustainability and reliability within the watershed.
• protect the watershed to reduce flooding, erosion, sediment, and agriculture-related pollution, and maintain and enhance wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Project Location

The NRCS Utah State Office intends to prepare a Plan-EIS for the Lower Bear River Watershed Project located in Box Elder County, Utah around Tremonton, Elwood, Corinne, northwest Brigham City, and portions of unincorporated Box Elder County, Utah.

Project Schedule

The NRCS and project sponsors held a public scoping meeting on November 9, 2023, as part of the Plan-EIS to identify water resource concerns and share conceptual, locally proposed solutions to address them. Materials from the meeting are linked below.

NRCS published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in June 2024 to solicit additional public, agency, and Tribal comments to help determine the range of actions, alternatives, and effects to be evaluated and included in the Watershed Plan-EIS. Using these comments, the project team is currently writing the Draft Watershed Plan-EIS, which is anticipated to be available by winter 2025, and will include another public comment period.

Contact Information

Andy Neff —The Langdon Group / J-U-B ENGINEERS, Inc.

466 North 900 West

Kaysville, Utah 84037

Phone: 435-239-3467

Email: lowerbear@utwatershed.com 

Derek Hamilton—USDA-NRCS

125 S. State Street, Room 4010

Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1100

Phone: 801 524-4560

Email: derek.hamilton@usda.gov