Final Environmental Assessment Community Water Company of Green Valley Central Arizona Project Water Delivery System Pima County, Arizona U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Phoenix Area Office Glendale, Arizona July 2010 FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT COMMUNITY WATER COMPANY OF GREEN VALLEY CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT WATER DELIVERY SYSTEM PIMA COUNTY , ARIZONA PREPARED FOR U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PREPARED BY ERO RESOURCES CORPORATION DENVER , COLORADO WWW.ERORESOURCES .COM Interior and Reclamation Mission Statements The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and our commitments to island communities. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AAC Arizona Administrative Code ACC Arizona Corporation Commission ACHP Advisory Council on Historic Preservation ADEQ Arizona Department of Environmental Quality ADWR Arizona Department of Water Resources AF acre-feet AFY acre-feet/year AGFD Arizona Game and Fish Department AL Action Level ANC American Nevada Company ARS Arizona Revised Statutes ASLD Arizona State Land Department ASM Arizona State Museum AZPDES Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System BA Biological Assessment bgs below ground surface CAGRD Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District CAP Central Arizona Project CAWCD Central Arizona Water Conservation District CC&N Certificate of Convenience & Necessity CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations CNF Coronado National Forest CWA Clean Water Act CWC Community Water Company of Green Valley Corps U.S. Army Corps of Engineers DEA Draft Environmental Assessment EA Environmental Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ERO ERO Resources Corporation ESA Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended FEMA Federal Emergency Management Area FICO Farmers Investment Company FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact Freeport- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. McMoRan FR Federal Register FWCA Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act i FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gpm gallons per minute GSF Groundwater Savings Facility GVDWID Green Valley Domestic Water Improvement District I-19 Interstate 19 ITA Indian Trust Assets Listed species species listed as federally threatened or endangered under the ESA LLNB lesser long-nosed bat LOI Letter of Intent between CWC and Augusta Resource Corporation M&I municipal and industrial MCL Maximum Contaminant Level mg/l milligrams per liter MPO mine plan of operation NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards ND not detected NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NH Nogales Highway NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NR not reported NRHP National Register of Historic Places ONH Old Nogales Highway pCi/l picocuries per liter PAG Pima Association of Governments PDEQ Pima County Department of Environmental Quality P.L. Public Law PM 2.5 particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter PM 10 particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns in diameter PMR Pima Mine Road PMRRP Pima Mine Road Recharge Project PPC Pima pineapple cactus ppm parts per million Proposed Project CWC CAP water delivery system RDEA Revised DEA Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation RH Rural Homestead Rosemont Rosemont Copper Company ROW right-of-way SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition SDCP Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan Section 7 Section 7 of the ESA ii SHPO State Historic Preservation Office SMCL Secondary MCL Stantec Stantec Consulting, Inc. STD Standard STU Standard Testing Units TAMA Tucson Active Management Area TAPA Tucson Air Planning Area TDS total dissolved solids µg/l micrograms per liter µg/m3 micrograms per cubic meter µS/cm microsemens per centimeter USC Upper Santa Cruz USC/PUG Upper Santa Cruz Providers and Users Group USFS U.S. Forest Service USGS U.S. Geological Survey WWTP wastewater treatment plant iii Unit Conversion Guide For the reader’s convenience, the following table has been included to serve as a guide in converting measurements found in this document between U.S. measurements and metric. CONVERSION OF U.S. TO METRIC MEASUREMENTS U.S. Measurement Metric Measurement Distance 1 inch 2.54 centimeters 1 foot 0.31 meter 1 mile 1.61 kilometers Area 1 square foot 0.09 square meter 1 acre 0.41 hectare CONVERSION OF METRIC TO U.S. MEASUREMENTS Metric Measurement U.S. Measurement Distance 1 centimeter 0.39 inch 1 meter 3.28 feet 1 kilometer 0.62 mile Area 1 square meter 10.76 square feet 1 hectare 2.47 acres iv CONTENTS 1.0 Purpose and Need...................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Introduction and Background ...........................................................................2 1.2 Purpose and Need of Reclamation and CWC...................................................3 1.3 Project Location................................................................................................6 1.4 Public Involvement and Scoping......................................................................6 1.5 Relationship to Proposed Rosemont Mine .......................................................8 2.0 Description of Alternatives ..................................................................................... 10 2.1 Formulation and Evaluation of Alternatives...................................................10 2.2 No Action Alternative.....................................................................................11 2.3 Proposed Action (Preferred Alternative or Proposed Project) .......................12 2.4 Additional Action Alternatives.......................................................................17 2.4.1 North Parcel Recharge Site Alternative..............................................17 2.4.2 CAP Terminus Alternative .................................................................18 2.4.3 CAP Entitlements and CWC-Only Alternatives.................................18 2.5 Project Financing............................................................................................19 2.6 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Study .......................21 2.6.1 Direct Use of CAP Water ...................................................................21 2.6.2 Alternative Pipeline Routes ................................................................21 2.6.3 Alternative Recharge Sites .................................................................21 3.0 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences...................................... 25 3.1 Background for Cumulative Effects...............................................................25 3.1.1 Reasonably Foreseeable Actions ........................................................26 3.1.2 Actions Not Considered Reasonably Foreseeable for Cumulative Impact Analysis Purposes ...............................................27 3.1.3 Other Future Actions Not Considered for Cumulative Impact Analysis Purposes...............................................................................28 3.2 Air Quality......................................................................................................28 3.2.1 Affected Environment ........................................................................29 3.2.2 Environmental Consequences.............................................................32 3.2.2.1 No Action Alternative ....................................................... 32 3.2.2.2 Preferred Alternative......................................................... 32 3.2.2.3 North Parcel Recharge Site Alternative ............................ 33 3.2.2.4 CAP Terminus Alternative................................................ 33 3.2.2.5 CAP Entitlements Alternative........................................... 33 3.2.2.6 CWC-Only Alternative...................................................... 33 3.2.3 Cumulative Effects .............................................................................33 3.3 Land Use.........................................................................................................34 3.3.1 Affected Environment ........................................................................34 3.3.2 Environmental Consequences.............................................................36 3.3.2.1 No Action Alternative ....................................................... 36 3.3.2.2 Preferred Alternative......................................................... 36 3.3.2.3 North Parcel Recharge Site Alternative ............................ 37 v 3.3.2.4 CAP Terminus Alternative................................................ 37 3.3.2.5 CAP Entitlements Alternative........................................... 37 3.3.2.6 CWC-Only Alternative...................................................... 38 3.3.3 Cumulative Effects .............................................................................38 3.4 Biological Resources ......................................................................................38 3.4.1 Affected Environment ........................................................................38 3.4.1.1 Vegetation ........................................................................