Ashley Valley Watershed (Sponsor=Uintah County) - Utah
The project is funded through authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act.
Project Description
The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), with Uintah County as the project sponsor, is proposing to partially fund watershed protection measures through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law [PL] 83-566). The work measures are being proposed within the Ashley Valley Watershed to:
- prevent flood damages,
- further the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of irrigation and flood waters, and
- further the conservation and proper utilization of agricultural land.
NEPA Analysis
NRCS, as the lead federal agency, initiated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis in the form of a Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan-EA) to analyze impacts to the natural and human environment from this project. The Plan-EA will comply with the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations at 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 which require an evaluation of potential environmental impacts associated with federal projects and actions.
Current Status
- Public Meetings for the Draft-EA were held on June 14, 2022, and July 27, 2022. A third Public Meeting to review updates to the Draft-EA based on comments received from the community was held on November 15, 2022.
- On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Uintah County issued the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Final Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan-EA). See details below.
- The project is moving into the design phase, and construction is anticipated to begin in Fall 2023.
A hard copy of the Final Plan-EA is available for review at the Uintah County Library at 204 East 100 North, Vernal, UT.
Contact Information
Andy Neff – The Langdon Group / JUB
466 North 900 West
Kaysville, Utah 84037
Phone: (435) 213-2872
Email: email@ashleywatershed.com
Norm Evenstad – USDA-NRCS
125 S. State Street – Room 4010
Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1100
801-524-4569 phone
norm.evenstad@usda.gov