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CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) invites the public to review and comment on a draft environmental impact statement and proposal by the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District. The conservancy district proposes to develop water rights held in western Beaver County and to transport the water to the existing water conservancy district system in Iron County. The BLM has issued the Pine Valley Water Supply Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a 45-day public comment period.

“We have been working closely with local communities and other organizations to develop an analysis based in sound science, as well as environmental, social, and cultural resource issues,” said BLM Cedar City Field Manager Paul Briggs. “Public input will help the BLM ensure we are considering all possible impacts to the lands, resources, and the programs that we manage. We also have a responsibility to assess the potential effects on the heritage and history of the many people and Tribal nations who use these lands and resources.”

The Conservancy District applied for temporary construction and 30-year rights-of-way grants over BLM-administered lands in Beaver and Iron counties, Utah. Their right-of-way application proposes production wells, monitoring wells, buried transmission pipeline, and above-ground power lines. There are also eight existing monitoring wells on BLM-administered lands drilled under a previous authorization that would be included in a new 30-year right-of-way grant, if approved. Additionally, the proposed project includes a solar energy field on private land and a 10-million-gallon underground water storage tank. 

The BLM will publish a notice of availability for the draft environmental impact statement in the Federal Register on Jan. 7. The documents are available for review on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1503915/510. Information about public meetings and other public involvement opportunities will be posted at least 15 days in advance on the ePlanning website. The BLM is accepting comments through Feb. 22, 2022, to help ensure that alternatives and potential impacts of the proposal are considered. Substantive public comments help the BLM finalize a decision.

If you do not have digital access to the documents and would like to request to view a copy, please call the Cedar City Field Office for more information at (435) 865-3000, Monday through Friday, except holidays. 

To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments by Feb. 22, 2022. Please note that the most useful comments are specific and contain new technical or scientific information relevant to the proposed action. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process. Please reference “PVWS” when submitting comments.

Written comments may be emailed or mailed. 

• Email: pvwsproject@gmail.com (BLM NEPA contractor email)
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: PVWS, 176 DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

For additional information, please contact Brooklynn Cox, Cedar City Field Office Realty Specialist, at (435) 865-3073 or pvwsproject@gmail.com. People who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.