Alamogordo regional water supply project: final environmental impact statement

2012·73.7 MB·English

by  SWCA, Inc

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BLM LIBRARY
88066282
PREPARED BY BLM
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ALAMOGORDO
REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
VOLUME
1
US DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Las Cruces District Office
1800 Marquess Street
NM
Las Cruces 88005
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BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
The Bureau ofLandManagement is responsiblefor the balancedmanagement ofthepublic lands and
resources andtheir various values so that they are consideredin a combination that will best serve the
needs ofthe Americanpeople. Management is basedupon theprincipals ofmultiple use andsustained
yield, a combination ofuses that takes into account the long-term needs offuturegenerationsfor
renewable andnonrenewable resources. These resources include recreation, range, timber, minerals,
watershed, fish andwildlife, wilderness andnatural, scenic, scientific, andcultural values.
BLM/NM/PL-12-07-1793
United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
TAKE PRIDE*
l^isCruces DistrictOffice ERICA
1800 MarquessStreet
LisCruces, NewMexico 8800‘S
www.hlm.gov/nm
In ReplyReferTo:
1793(L03 10)
May 2012
Dear Reader:
Enclosed is the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) entitled: Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS)for the Alamogordo Water Supply Project, Otero County, New Mexico.
This document has been developed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969. The Bureau ofLand Management (BLM) prepared this document in consultation with
cooperating agencies, including Otero County and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This document
takes into account public comments received during the scoping effort as well as comments
received on the Draft EIS, which was published in August 2010.
The Final EIS has been prepared to analyze the potential impacts ofgranting a right-of-way to
the City of Alamogordo for the purpose ofconstructing and operation ofgroundwater wells and
conveyance system on 53.89 acres of BLM-administered land in Otero County, New Mexico.
The proposed well Field would be located at Snake Tank Road, east of U.S. Highway 54, and
approximately 13 miles north of the Village ofTularosa. The water produced from the wells
would be delivered to a desalination treatment facility located in Alamogordo through
approximately 32.5 miles ofhigh-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyvinyl chloride pipes
(PVC).
The Final EIS analyzed two alternatives: (1) No Action Alternative (Alternative A); and (2)
Proposed Action (Alternative B). The No Action Alternative described conditions expected to
occur if the City were to continue to rely on existing resources to meet current and future
drinking water demands. Under the No Action Alternative, there would be no new well field
development or additional water supply beyond the City’s existing firm water supply. The
Proposed Action consist offour components: (1) constructing and operating up to 10 brackish
groundwater wells at Snake Tank Road, (2) installing water transmission lines to Alamogordo,
(3) constructing a desalination facility in Alamogordo to treat 4,000 acre-feet per year (afy)
(3,200 afy potable) of water, and (4) constructing a booster pump station near the desalination
plant to deliver the water into the City of Alamogordo’s municipal distribution system.
The BLM has identified Alternative B as the agency-preferred alternative. This alternative
would reasonably accomplish the purpose and need for the Federal action while fulfilling the
BLM's statutory mission and responsibilities, giving consideration to economic, environmental,
and technical factors.
The EIS is not a decision document. Rather, it is a document that will inform the BLM's final
decision on whether to issue a right-of-way grant. It will also inform other regulatory agencies
for which permits will be required. The Final EIS is being released to inform the public and
2
interested parties of potential impacts associated with implementing the proponent's proposal,
as well as alternatives identified by the agencies. A Record of Decision will be released
following a 30-day comment period on the Final EIS. The Record of Decision will detail the
BLM's final decision as well as any required mitigation for the project.
Comments will be accepted for 30 days following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) publication of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. All timely written
comments on the Final EIS will be considered in the preparation of the Record of Decision.
Written comments on the FEIS may be submitted using any of the following methods:
• EMAIL: [email protected] Please include "Alamogordo Water
Supply Project” in the subject line of your e-mail message.
• MAIL: Alamogordo Water Supply Project
Douglas Haywood, Project Manager
BLM
Las Cruces District Office
800 Marquess Street
1
NM
Las Cruces, 88005.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying
information with your comments, be advised that your entire comments, including your personal
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. Although you may ask us
in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations and
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organization or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.
BLM
Printed copies of the Final EIS are available for review at the Las Cruces District Office
and the BLM New Mexico State Office. The document may also be viewed at the following
public libraries in Dona Ana and Otero Counties, New Mexico.
NM
• Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 East Picacho Ave., Las Cruces, 88001
NM
• Alamogordo Public Library, 920 Oregon Ave., Alamogordo, 88310
NM
• Tularosa Public Library, 515 Fresno St., Tularosa, 88352
You may also access the document on the Internet at:
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/fo/Las_Cruces_District_Office/alamogordo_regional.html
Sincerely,
Bill Childress
District Manager
Enclosure
1
10
CT
ALAMOGORDO REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LEAD AGENCY: USDI, Bureau ofLand Management (BLM)
COOPERATING AGENCIES: USDI, Bureau ofReclamation
Otero County, New Mexico
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Douglas Haywood, Project Manager
BLM
Las Cruces District Office
1800 Marquess Street
NM
Las Cruces 88005
[phone]
Email: [email protected]
COMMENTS:
BLM must receive written comments on the Alamogordo Regional Water Supply Project Final
Environmental Impact Statement within 30 days following the date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes this Notice ofAvailability in the Federal Register. You may use the following
methods for sending comments:
• Email: [email protected]
® FAX: [phone], Attention Douglas Haywood
• Mail: Bureau ofLand Management, Alamogordo Regional Water Supply Project,
NM
Attention: Douglas Haywood, Project Manager, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces,
88005.
ABSTRACT:
The City ofAlamogordo, New Mexico has submitted to the BLM an application for a right-of-
way (ROW) for the construction and use ofup to 10 groundwater wells in order to produce
approximately 4,000 acre-feet per year ofwater with supporting infrastructure on BLM-managed
public land in Otero County. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended, and supported by National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, the BLM will
ROW ROW
decide whether to grant the or grant the with modifications, and, ifso, under what
terms and conditions. The proposed action (Alternative B) by the City ofAlamogordo includes
obtaining unappropriated brackish groundwater from the Snake Tank Well Field, constructing
and operating 10 groundwater wells at Snake Tank Well Field, installing water transmission lines
to Alamogordo, and constructing a desalination facility and a booster pump station in
Alamogordo to treat the brackish groundwater to drinking water standards. Alternative A is the
“No Action” Alternative, as required by NEPA. The No Action Alternative describes conditions
expected to occur ifthere would be no new well field development or additional water supply
beyond the City’s current water supply.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ES-1
Introduction ES-1
Public Involvement ES-1
Purpose and Need Statement ES-2
Alternatives ES-2
—
Alternative A No Action ES-3
— .
Alternative B Proposed Action ES-3
.
Alternatives Eliminated from Further Consideration ES-4
.
Environmental Consequences ES-5
INTRODUCTION
1.0 1-1
...
1.1 Overview ... 1-1
1.2 Purpose and Need for Proposed Action ... 1-1
1.2.1 Proponent Need .... 1-2
1.2.2 Decisions to be Made ....1-3
1-
1.3 General Location ...1-3
1.4 Background and History ...1-5
1.4.1 History ....1-5
1.4.2 Related NEPA Documents .2..-.1-9
BLM
1.5 Relationship to Policies, Plans, and Programs ..1-9
1.6 Scope ofthis Environmental Impact Statement ..1-9
1.6.1 Public Scoping Process 1-10
.
1.6.2 Draft EIS Public Involvement 1-11
.
1.6.3 Issues Raised During the Public Scoping Process and Public Meetings 1-11
.
1.7 Authorizing Actions and Decisions 13
2.0 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES..... ..2-1
2.1 Introduction 2-1
..
2.2 Alternatives Considered in Detail 2-1
..
2.2.1 Alternative A -No Action ,...2-2
2.2.2 Alternative B - Proposed Action ...2-3
2.3 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Analysis 27
2.3.1 Alternatives For Well Field Locations .2-28
2.3.2 Alternative Water Resources .2-30
2.3.3 Alternative Water Treatment Technologies .2-38
2.3.4 Alternative Sites for Treatment Facilities .2-38
2.4 Summary Comparison ofEnvironmental Impacts 2-41
2.4.1 Alternative A - No Action .2-41
2.4.2 Alternative B - Proposed Action .2-41
AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
3.0 ..3-1
3.1 Introduction ..3-1
3.2 Resources Not Affected
Alamogordo WaterSupply Project Final EIS TOC-i
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Table ofContents
3.3 Affected Resources 3-3
3.3.1 Water Resources 3-3
3.3.2 Geology 3-15
3.3.3 Soils 3-16
3.3.4 Biological Resources 3-18
3.3.5 Cultural Resources 3-32
3.3.6 Indian Trust Assets 3-35
3.3.7 Socioeconomic Resources 3-35
3.3.8 Environmental Justice 3-38
3.3.9 Land Use 3-39
3.3.10 Energy Requirements 3-42
3.3.11 Transportation 3-44
3.3.12 Air Quality 3-45
3.3.13 Climate Change 3-46
3.3.14 Visual Resources 3-48
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES
4.0 4-1
4.1 Introduction 4-1
4.2 Environmental Consequences ofEach Alternative 4-1
4.2.1 Water Resources 4-1
4.2.2 Geology 4-9
4.2.3 Soils 4-10
4.2.4 Biological Resources 4-12
4.2.5 Cultural Resources 4-19
4.2.6 Indian Trust Assets 4-20
4.2.7 Socioeconomic Resources 4-20
4.2.8 Environmental Justice 4-22
4.2.9 Land Use 4-24
4.2.10 Energy Requirements 4-26
4.2.11 Transportation 4-27
4.2.12 Air Quality 4-29
4.2.13 Climate Change 4-33
4.2.14 Visual Resources 4-34
4.2.15 Cumulative Impacts 4-36
4.3 Mitigation Measures 4-5
4.3.1 Water Resources 4-5
4.3.2 Soils 4-52
4.3.3 Vegetation 4-52
4.3.4 Grazing 4-52
4.3.5 Wildlife 4-52
4.3.6 Cultural Resources and Historic Properties 4-53
4.3.7 Socioeconomic Resources 4-54
4.3.8 Environmental Justice 4-54
4.3.9 Transportation 4-54
Alamogordo WaterSupplyProject FinalEIS TOC-ii
Table ofContents
4.3. 0 Land Use 4-54
1
4.3.1 1 Energy Requirements 4-54
4.3.12 Air Quality 4-55
4.3.13 Visual Resources 4-55
4.4 Unavoidable Adverse Impacts 4-55
4.5 Short-Term Uses versus Long-Term Productivity 4-55
4.6 Irreversible and Irretrievable Commitment of Resources 4-55
CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION
5.0 5-1
5.1 U.S. Bureau ofLand Management 5-1
:
5.2 Cooperating Agencies 5-2
5.2.1 Otero County 5-2
5.2.2 U.S. Bureau ofReclamation 5-2
SWCA
5.3 and Subconsultants 5-2
5.4 Tribal Consultation 5-3
5.5 Public Involvement 5-4
REFERENCES
6.0 6-1
7.0 ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYM LIST 7-1
GLOSSARY
8.0 8-1
INDEX
9.0 9-1
Volume 2 - Appendixes
Appendix A NMOSE 2004 and 2005 Orders
Appendix B Recent Court Rulings
Appendix C Settlement Agreements
Appendix D Public Scoping Report
Appendix E DEIS Public Comments
Appendix F Technical Report #51 and #48
G
Appendix City ofAlamogordo Regional Desalination Project Plan of Development
NM1041
16
H
Appendix Water Resources Technical Report
Appendix I Tularosa Underground Water Basin Administrative Criteria for the
Alamogordo-Tularosa Area
Appendix J Hydrogeology Technical Report
K
Appendix Affected Environment Information by Resource
Appendix L BLM Letter to USFWS
M
Appendix Government to Government Letters
Appendix N Military Consultation Letters
Alamogordo WaterSupply Project FinalEIS TOC-iii
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Table ofContents
List of Figures
Figure 1-1. Project area overview 1-4
Figure 1-2. Groundwater resources 1-6
Figure 2- Alternative B components 2-4
1 .
Figure 2-2. Snake Tank Road proposed well field 2-6
Figure 2-3. Select wells and monitoring wells within the project area 2-9
Figure 2-4. Reverse osmosis treatment process 2-12
Figure 2-5. Preliminary process flow diagram 2-13
Figure 2-6. Conceptual footprint ofproposed desalination facilities 2-14
Figure 2-7. Snake Tank well field plan ofdevelopment schematic 2-1
Figure 2-8. Deep-injection well schematic 2-20
Figure 2-9. Maxwell Spring 2-26
Figure 2-10. Proposed well fields 2-29
Figure 2-11. Annual precipitation, El Paso, Texas, 1990-2005 2-31
Figure 2-12. Groundwater diversions near Alamogordo 2-35
Figure 2-13. Alternative facility locations for desalination facility 2-40
Figure 3- Affected environment location 3-2
1 .
Figure 3-2. Major drainages in Tularosa Basin 3-5
Figure 3-3. Major springs in Tularosa Basin 3-6
Figure 3-4. Tularosa Basin sub-basins 3-10
Figure 3-5. Fresh groundwater resources in the Tularosa Basin 3-12
Figure 3-6. Brackish groundwater resources in Tularosa Basin 3-13
Figure 3-7. Soil types in study area 3-17
Figure 3-8. Habitat for White Sands pupfish 3-3
Figure 3-9. Study area land uses 3-40
PNM
Figure 3-10. resources electrical transmission network 3-43
Figure 3-11. Annual Mean Temperature Change for Northern Latitudes (24 - 90° N) 3-48
Figure 4-1 Predicted dry wells in the Tularosa Basin by 2045 4-4
.
Figure 4-2. JSAI model drawdown predictions 4-6
NMOSE
Figure 4-3. model drawdown predictions 4-7
Figure 4-4. Groundwater Bow direction with Snake Tank well field pumping 4-8
Figure 4-5. Predicted drawdown from JSAI model and habitat for White Sands pupfish 4-18
Alamogordo WaterSupplyProject FinalEIS TOC-iv