DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - Rural Utility Service Central Iron County Water Conservancy District: Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment – Amendment 2 AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA ACTION: Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment - Amendment SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, is issuing an environmental assessment (EA)-Amendment in connection with possible impacts related to a project proposed by Central Iron County Water Conservancy District (CICWCD). The Original proposal for construction of improvements to the CICWCD water system Main water system, and their Cedar Highlands stand-alone water system required scope changes that require an amendment to the original EA. The EA amendment includes the following project areas: 1)The Iron Springs Well and Waterline, located west of Cedar City in Northern Cedar iron Springs Gap Aquifer Area. 2) BZI Innovation Park, 6.5 miles southeast of the Iron Springs Well location. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Nelson, State Environmental Coordinator, USDA Rural Development, Salt Lake Office,125 south State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84138, phone: 385-602-9441, email: jay.nelson@usda.gov SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed project is amended and would consist of the following: The Central Iron County Water Conservancy District (CICWCD) provides culinary water to 4,535 residents through 1,562 connections in Cedar City, Utah. The central water system comprises seven wells and five tanks. The two proposed projects include drilling wells and constructing well houses west of Cedar City with connecting water lines to existing CICWCD water lines. These two projects are the Iron Springs Well and Water Line and the BZI Innovation Park Well. Ensign Engineering and Land Surveying, an engineering and environmental consultant, prepared an environmental assessment amendment for RUS that describes the project, assesses the proposed project's environmental impacts, and summarizes as applicable any mitigation measures used to minimize environmental effects. RUS has conducted an independent evaluation of the environmental assessment and believes that it accurately assesses the impacts of the proposed project. No significant impacts are expected as a result of the construction of the project. Questions and comments should be sent to RUS at the address provided. RUS will accept questions and comments on the environmental assessment for [14] days from the date of publication of this notice. Any final action by RUS related to the proposed project will be subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant Federal environmental laws and regulations and completion of environmental review procedures as prescribed by 7 CFR Part 1970, Environmental Policies and Procedures. A general location map of the proposal can be obtained by email rhoward@ensignutah.com. UPAXLP March 25, April 1 2026 LNVS0485298