Dry-Redwater Rural Water Plans Public Meetings

The Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to hold three public meetings the week of Oct. 14, to discuss the Dry-Redwater Rural Water Project with the public and federal, state and local agencies in accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

These meetings are intended to provide agencies, interested stakeholders and the public with the opportunity to:

• Share information developed in the recently circulated Draft EA for the Rural Water Project under consideration by Reclamation and the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority.

• Ask questions regarding the content of the EA and/or the NEPA process.

• Provide comments on the EA.

• Understand the next steps on the NEPA process

• Hear an update on Reclamation’s ongoing feasibility study. Meetings will be held: Oct. 15, 4 to 6 p.m., Bureau of Reclamation Montana Area Office, 2900 4th Avenue North, 2nd Floor Conference Room (Conf. A), Billings.

Note: Attendees must bring a government issued ID to gain access to the building. Federal law prohibits the possession of firearms or other dangerous weapons in federal facilities by all persons not specifically authorized by 18 U.S.C 930. Violators will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment for periods up to five years.

Meetings are at: Oct. 16, 10 a.m. to noon, VFW Post #7886, Main Street, Jordan.

Oct. 16, 4 to 6 p.m., McCone County Extension Building Fairgrounds Road, Circle.

Reclamation has worked closely with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority since 2006 to address water supplies in northeastern Montana. The passage of the 2006 Rural Water Supply Act authorized Reclamation and DRWA to initiate a feasibility study intended to provide safe drinking water to communities within the DRWA service area. These initial planning and project design efforts continued through 2016. Passage of the Clean Water for Rural Communities Act of 2020 re-focused Reclamation’s and DRWA’s efforts to move this project forward.

In November 2023, Reclamation held public meetings as part of the NEPA scoping process. These meetings provided information that has been incorporated into the Draft EA currently in circulation for public review and comment (https://www.usbr. gov/gp/mtao/dry-redwater/).

Comments on the EA will be taken into consideration when preparing the Final EA. Concurrent with preparation of the Draft EA, Reclamation has been working on a feasibility study and anticipates completing the study in January 2025.