Cove Reservoir Watershed (Sponsor = Kane Co. Water Conservancy District)
Project Description
The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), with the Kane County Water Conservancy District as the project sponsor, is proposing to partially fund through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law [PL] 83-566), the Cove Reservoir Watershed located in Kane County, Utah. The proposed improvements include the construction of a new, approximately 6,055-acre-foot water storage reservoir (Cove Reservoir), principal and auxiliary spillways, a recreation area and boat ramp, a hydroelectric power plant, a transmission line, and an access road on private lands near Orderville, Utah. These improvements under consideration will address water conservation and agricultural and municipal demands and provide for increased opportunities for water-based recreation in the area while benefitting aquatic species habitat downstream.
NEPA Analysis
The project is being partially funded by the NRCS Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program (PL 83-566), which authorizes funding and technical assistance to construct projects that will address water conservation, aquatic species habitat, public safety, and other eligible concerns supporting existing agricultural land use. NRCS, as the lead federal agency, is initiating National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis in the form of a new Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessment (Plan-EA) to analyze this project’s impacts to the natural and human environment. 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
The project is currently in the Draft Plan-EA review period, and the public, organizations, and agencies are invited to provide comments on the proposed project. A public meeting which will describe the alternatives analyzed, potential impacts to the environment, and the Preferred Alternative for the project will be held. Details for the public comment period and public meeting are included below.
Scoping Public Comment Period
Open: Monday, November 25, 2020
Close: Thursday, December 31, 2020
Download the comment form here.
Public Meeting - Virtual
Project Documents
Draft Plan-EA
Scoping
Scoping Report
Contact Information
For further project information please contact:
Brian Parker – Transcon Environmental
1745 South Alma School Road, Suite 220
Phoenix, AZ 85210
(480) 807-0095 phone
bparker@transcon.com
or
Norm Evenstad – NRCS
125 S. State Street – Room 4420
Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1100
801-524-4569 phone
norm.evenstad@ut.usda.gov
NOTE: We will add other directories as we move through the NEPA planning process.
Updated: November 25, 2020
