News Release Archive

A and B Irrigation District Pumping Plant Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Released

Media Contact: Annette Ross, (208) 378-5322, 01/29/2015 14:37
John Petrovsky, jpetrovsky@usbr.gov

For Release: January 29, 2015

BURLEY, Idaho - The Bureau of Reclamation issued the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the proposed A&B Irrigation District Pumping Plant #2 Jan. 29.

The Final EA includes a no action alternative and three alternatives that would permit delivery of surface water diverted from the Snake River. Each of the three action alternatives would improve inefficiencies and bring surface water to areas previously served by ground water wells.

The District, located in Rupert is part of Reclamation's Minidoka Project, North Side Pumping Division. The District serves approximately 82,600 acres of irrigated land and is split into two major irrigated areas - Unit A (served by surface water from the Snake River) and Unit B (served by groundwater wells tapping the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer).

For several decades, water levels in Unit B wells have steadily declined. The District's proposed solution is to install a second pumping plant and associated distribution pipelines to provide supplemental water to lands with failing groundwater in Unit B and to eliminate delivery constraints in the original Unit A configuration.

"The District has been continually adapting its water delivery systems at great expense," said District Manager Dan Temple. "This project will increase deliveries to users short of water and reduce overall withdrawals from the aquifer to help offset water level declines in the Snake Plain Aquifer."

The Draft EA (May 2014) identified the Alternative 2 configuration of the pumping plant location and pipeline route as the preferred alternative. However, based on public input received on the Draft EA, Reclamation reanalyzed which alternative pumping plant and pipeline location would best meet project objectives, including keeping project cost within a feasible range while minimizing potential adverse effects on local landowners and residents. The result was a change of the preferred alternative for the pumping plant location and pipeline alignment to Alternative 3. This change reduced potential effects on landowners both near the proposed pumping plant and across the river.

The Final EA is available on Reclamation's Pacific Northwest Regional Office webpage at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ea/idaho/abpumplant/index.html . Hard copies or CD-ROM versions of the report may also be obtained free of charge by contacting Mr. John Petrovsky at jpetrovsky@usbr.gov, by mail at the Bureau of Reclamation, Snake River Area Office, 230 Collins Road, Boise, Idaho, 83702 or by phone at (208) 383-2224.

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Relevant Link:

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ea/idaho/abpumplant/index.html