LEGAL NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT
USDA FOREST SERVICE
MANTI-LA SAL NATIONAL FOREST, MONTICELLO RANGER DISTRICT
MONTICELLO CITY CULINARY WATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
The USDA Forest Service has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) and draft decision notice and finding of no significant impact (DN/FONSI) for the Monticello City Culinary Water Improvement Project The proposed action is to be located on the Monticello Ranger District, east of the Abajo Mountains, in central San Juan County, Utah. The Responsible Official for this decision is Barbara Van Alstine, Forest Supervisor and the Objection Reviewing Officer is Brant Petersen, Acting Intermountain Deputy Regional Forester.
The Responsible Official is planning to implement the proposed action which proposes to improve the existing culinary water system components and develop a new culinary water source and pipeline. The system would be developed to meet current State of Utah Division of Drinking Water rules and requirements.
The EA and draft DN/FONSI for the Monticello City Culinary Water Improvement Project are available upon request at the Monticello Ranger District office, 397 N Main St, Monticello, UT 84535 as well as the Manti-La Sal National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/manti-lasal/projects/68390 . Additional information regarding this proposed action can be obtained from Marie Berglund, District NEPA Planner at 435-851-5538 or by e-mail at marie.berglund@usda.gov
The Monticello City Culinary Water Improvement Project is an activity implementing a land management plan. This activity is subject to pre-decisional objection under subparts A and B of 36 CFR Part 218. A final decision will not be made until after the requirements of 36 CFR 218.12 have been met.
Objections, including attachments, must be filed with the appropriate reviewing officer within 45 calendar days following publication of this notice in the ETV News, the newspaper of record. The publication date in the newspaper of record is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection. Objectors should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. It is the objector’s responsibility to ensure timely filing of a written objection with the reviewing officer pursuant to 36 CFR 218.9.
Objections will only be accepted from those who have previously submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project during scoping or other designated opportunities for public comment in accordance with 36 CFR 218.5(a). Issues raised in objections must be based on previously submitted timely, specific written comments regarding the proposed project unless the issue is based on new information arising after the designated comment opportunities.
The objection must contain the minimum content requirements specified in 36 CFR 218.8(d) and incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided in 36 CFR 218.8(b). Objections that do not adhere to these requirements make review of an objection difficult and are conditions under which the reviewing officer may set aside an objection pursuant to 36 CFR 218.10. All eligible objections are available for public inspection.
The preferred method for submitting comments is through the public participation portal on the project webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/manti-lasal/projects/68390 . Click on “Comment/Object on Project” in the Get Connected box.
Written objections may be submitted via regular mail to: USFS Intermountain Regional Office, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401. Electronic submissions must be submitted in a format that is readable with optical character recognition software (e.g., Word, PDF, Rich Text) and be searchable. Hand delivery of written objections can be made during normal working hours to the Intermountain Regional Office, Hansen Federal Building, Room 4016, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401. It is the responsibility of objectors to ensure their objection is received in a timely manner (36 CFR 218.9).
Note: any person who wishes to fax an objection, contact Scarlett Vallaire, Administrative Review Coordinator via phone at 801-989-6605 or email at scarlett.vallaire@usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Published in the ETV Newspaper on June 10, 2026.
