NRCS Rescinds Environmental Impact Statement Notice for Wood River Watershed

Content

ACTION:

Notice; rescission.

SUMMARY:

NRCS, in cooperation with the Central Platte Natural Resources District, is issuing this notice to advise Federal, State,
and local government agencies and the public that USDA NRCS is rescinding the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Wood River Watershed in Buffalo, Custer, Dawson, Hall, and Merrick Counties, Nebraska, which
was published in the
Federal Register
on February 9th, 2023. The measures proposed in the Lower Wood River Watershed Plan were determined to serve a drainage area
that exceeds the statutory limit of 250,000 acres. No other feasible alternatives were identified during the planning process.
NRCS is rescinding the NOI because the project has been terminated and an EIS is no longer necessary.

DATES:

The NOI to prepare an EIS published in the
Federal Register
on February 9, 2023 at 88 FR 8400, is rescinded as of March 25, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melissa Baier, USDA-NRCS-NE Assistant State Conservationist for Water Resources and Easements; telephone: (402) 437-4065;
email: melissa.baier@usda.gov.

Individuals who require alternative means for communication should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Target
Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone (TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay service (both voice and
text telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NRCS, in cooperation with the Central Platte Natural Resources District, is issuing this notice to advise the public that
USDA-NRCS will not be preparing an EIS for the Lower Wood River Watershed Floodwater Reduction Project in Buffalo, Custer,
Dawson, Hall, and Merrick Counties, Nebraska. NRCS issued the NOI to prepare an EIS in the
Federal Register
on February 9th, 2023, at 88 FR 8400.

The primary purpose for this watershed planning effort was to provide flood prevention or flood risk reduction measures to
the communities and agricultural lands in the Wood River Watershed located in south-central Nebraska. Watershed planning is
authorized by the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, (Pub. L. 83-566), as amended, and the Flood Control
Act of 1944 (Pub. L. 78-534).

The watershed planning process evaluated several alternatives including levees, diversion channels, detention cells, and dams.
One feasible alternative was identified and carried forward for final analysis. The proposed action included construction
of a diversion channel to divert floodwater from the Wood River and convey it south to the Platte River.

Planning activities for the Lower Wood River Watershed have been terminated because the project area does not conform to the
statutory limits of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, (Pub. L. 83-566), as amended. The preferred
alternative works of improvement included a diversion channel that captured a drainage area of approximately 323,400 acres,
which exceeds the maximum watershed acreage of 250,000 acres allowable for Flood Prevention (Flood Damage Reduction) projects
as defined in Public Law 83-566. Planning did not identify any other feasible alternatives that meet the statutory limitations
of Public Law 83-566.

Questions concerning this notice of rescission should be directed to USDA NRCS through the contact provided above.

Robert Lawson, Nebraska State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service. [FR Doc. 2026-05783 Filed 3-24-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-16-P

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