99-27253. Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56364-56365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27253]



[[Page 56364]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service
Bureau of Reclamation
[DES 99-46]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery 
Restoration

ACTION: Notice of availability for public comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a joint draft 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) 
for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration. The U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Hoopa Valley Tribe, and 
Trinity County prepared a DEIS/EIR to assist the Secretary of the 
Interior in developing recommendations for permanent instream fishery 
flow requirements, habitat restoration projects, and operating criteria 
and procedures for Trinity River Division of the Central Valley 
Project, California, necessary for the restoration and maintenance of 
natural production of anadromous fish in the Trinity River. Such 
recommendations are required by: the January 14, 1981, Secretarial 
Decision that initiated the Trinity River Flow Evaluation; the Trinity 
River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management Act (Pub. L. 98-541); and the 
Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Pub. L. 102-575).

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS/EIR must be received on or before 
December 8, 1999. Oral or written comments on this DEIS/EIR may be 
provided at any of the three public hearings. Joint NEPA/CEQA public 
hearings will be held from 1-3 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. for each of the 
following dates and locations:

Tuesday, November 16, 1999 at the Holiday Inn Appaloosa Room, 1900 
Hilltop Drive, Redding, California
Thursday, November 18, 1999 at the Sacramento Grand Ballroom, 629 J 
Street, Sacramento, California
Tuesday, November 23, 1999 at the Eureka Inn Colonnade Room, 518 7th 
Street, Eureka, California

    The Trinity County Board of Supervisors will also hold a CEQA 
meeting to receive public comment on December 7, 1999, from 7-9 p.m. at 
Trinity County Library, 211 N. Main St., Weaverville, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the DEIS/EIR should be addressed 
to Mr. Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room 
209, Arcata, CA 95521. Written comments may also be sent by facsimile 
to [phone]. Please see Additional Addresses in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for additional information on the availability of 
the DEIS/EIR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service, 
1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521 [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Construction of the Trinity River Division 
(TRD) of the Central Valley Project (CVP) was completed in 1963. The 
primary function of the TRD is to store Trinity River water for 
regulated diversion to the Central Valley of California for 
agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses. Construction and 
operation of the TRD resulted in the diversion of up to 90 percent of 
the average annual discharge in the Trinity River at Lewiston, and 
blocked access to 109 miles of salmon and steelhead spawning and 
rearing habitat. Reduced river flows, combined with excessive watershed 
erosion and encroachment of the river channel by riparian vegetation, 
caused major changes in the channel morphology resulting in the 
simplification and degradation of the remaining salmon and steelhead 
habitat of the Trinity River below the Lewiston. This, in turn, 
resulted in rapid declines of salmon and steelhead populations 
following completion of the TRD.
    In response to declining fisheries and degraded habitat conditions, 
the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) decided in 1981 to increase 
flows in the Trinity River ranging from 140,000 acre-feet to 340,000 
acre-feet annually, with reductions in dry and critically dry years. In 
addition, the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to undertake a 
Flow Evaluation Study to assess fish habitat at various flows, 
summarize the effectiveness of other instream and watershed restoration 
activities, and recommend appropriate flows and other measures 
necessary to better maintain favorable habitat conditions. The Flow 
Evaluation Study began in October 1984 and was completed in June 1999. 
In October 1984, the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management 
Act (Management Act) (Pub. L. 98-541) was enacted by Congress with the 
goal of restoring fish and wildlife populations to pre-TRD levels. The 
Act provided funding for construction, operation, and maintenance of 
the 11-item action plan developed by the Trinity River Task Force in 
1982.
    In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) (Public 
Law 102-575) was passed. Section 3406(b)(23) of the CVPIA provides, 
through the TRD, an instream release of not less than 340,000 acre-feet 
of water into the Trinity River to meet Federal trust responsibilities 
to protect fishery resources of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and to meet the 
fishery restoration goals of Management Act. The recommendations for 
mainstem Trinity River fishery restoration will be developed after 
appropriate consultations with Federal, State, Tribal, local agencies, 
and affected interests, and after completion of the Flow Evaluation 
Study.
    To restore the natural production of anadromous fish in the Trinity 
River in accordance with the 1981 Secretarial Decision, the Management 
Act, and the CVPIA, the DEIS/EIR analyzes the impacts of:
    (1) Increased instream releases into the Trinity River to provide 
anadromous fish habitat and restore fluvial processes,
    (2) Implementation of a channel rehabilitation program,
    (3) Implementation of a spawning gravel supplementation program,
    (4) Implementation of a watershed rehabilitation program, and
    (5) Implementation of an Adaptive Management Program.
    On October 12, 1994, a notice was published in the Federal Register 
(94 FR 25141) announcing the intent to prepare a joint EIS/EIR on the 
Mainstem Trinity River Fishery Restoration, and inviting comments on 
the scope of the EIS/EIR. Comments were received and considered and are 
reflected in the DEIS/EIR made available for comment through this 
notice.
    The DEIS/EIR is intended to accomplish the following:
    (1) Inform the public of the proposed action and alternatives;
    (2) Address public comments received during the scoping period;
    (3) Disclose the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental 
effects of the proposed action and each of the alternatives; and
    (4) Indicate any irreversible commitment of resources that would 
result from implementation of the proposed action.
    The Service invites the public to comment on the DEIS/EIR. All 
comments received will become part of the public record and may be 
released. The public will have 45 days to review and comment on this 
DEIS/EIR. Written comments regarding the DEIS/EIR should be addressed 
to Mr. Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room 
209, Arcata, CA 95521.

[[Page 56365]]

Written comments may also be sent by facsimile to [phone]. Oral 
or written comments on this DEIS/EIR may also be provided at any of the 
three public hearings. This notice is provided pursuant to Section 
102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508), and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970, 
as amended.
    The Technical Appendixes (TA) for this DEIS/EIR will be made 
available upon request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata 
Office, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521; [phone]. 
Documents cited in the DEIS/EIR will be available for viewing in 
Sacramento (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite 
W2606; 916-414-6464), Arcata (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th 
Street, Room 209; 707-822-7201), and Weaverville (Trinity County 
Library, 211 N. Main Street, Weaverville, California 96093, 530-623-
1373).

Additional Addresses

    Copies of the DEIS/EIR, or portions thereof, can be obtained at the 
following copy centers for duplication and mailing charges at the 
requesters expense: Sir Speedy, 601 North Market Boulevard, 350, 
Sacramento, California 95834, [phone]; Kinko's, 25 Stanyan Blvd, 
San Francisco, California 94118, [phone]; and Kinko's, 2021 
Fifth Street, Eureka, California 95501, [phone].
    The DEIS/EIR will be available at the Fish and Wildlife Service 
website at http://www.ccfwo.r1.fws.gov.
    Copies of the DEIS/EIR will be available on compact disc which, 
along with a summary, can be obtained by contacting the Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, California 95521, 
[phone]. The documents are also available for review at the 
following government offices and libraries:

Government Offices

    Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal California Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, California 95521, (707) 
822-7201; Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W2606 , Sacramento, California 95825, 
916-414-6464.

Libraries

    Alameda Free Library, 2264 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, California 
94501-4506, [phone]; Beale Memorial Library, 701 Truxtun Ave, 
Bakersfield, California, 93301, [phone]; Cesar Chaves Central 
Library, 605 N. El Dorado St, Stockton, California, [phone]; 
California State Library, Information and Reference Center, 914 Capitol 
Mall, Room 301, Sacramento, California 95814, [phone]; Colusa 
County Free Library, 738 Market Street, Colusa, California 95932-2398, 
[phone]; Contra Costa County Library, 1750 Oak Park Boulevard, 
Pleasant Hill, California 94523-4497, [phone]; Coos Bay Public 
Library, 525 W. Anderson Ave., Coos Bay, Oregon, 97420, [phone]; 
Del Norte County Library District, 190 Price Mall, Crescent City, 
California 95531-4395, [phone]; Fresno County Library, Central 
Branch, 2420 Mariposa St. Fresno, California, [phone]; Humboldt 
County Library, 1313 Third Street, Eureka, California 95501-1088, (707) 
269-1900; Humboldt State University Library, Humboldt State University, 
Arcata, California 95521, [phone]; Lake County Library, 1425 N. 
High Street, Lakeport, California 95453-3800, [phone]; Los 
Angeles Public Library, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, California, 
90071-2097, [phone]; Marin County Free Library, 3501 Civic 
Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903-4188, [phone]; 
Mendocino County Library-Ft. Bragg, 499 E Laurel St. Fort Bragg, 
California, 95437, [phone]; Mendocino County Library-Ukiah, 105 
N. Main Street, Ukiah, California 95482-4482, [phone]; Menlo 
Park Public Library, 800 Alma Street, Menlo Park, California 94025-
3460, [phone]; Merced County Library, 2222 M St., Merced, 
California, 95340, [phone]; Modesto Jr. College Library, 425 
College Ave, Modesto, California, 95350, [phone]; Monterey 
Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey, California, 93940, (831) 
646-3932; Sacramento Public Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento, 
California 95814-2589, [phone]; San Francisco Public Library, 
100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California 94102-4796, (415) 557-
4400; San Jose Public Library, 180 W. San Carlos Street, San Jose, 
California 95113-2096, [phone]; Santa Cruz Public Library, 224 
Church Street, Santa Cruz, California 95060-3873, [phone]; 
Shasta County Library, 1855 Shasta Street, Redding, California 96001-
0460, [phone]; Siskiyou County Free Library, 719 Fourth Street, 
Yreka, California 96097-3381, [phone]; Sonoma County Library, 
Third and E Streets, Santa Rosa, California 95404-4400, [phone]; 
Tehama County Library, 645 Madison Street, Red Bluff, California 96080-
3383, [phone]; Trinity County Free Library, 211 N. Main Street, 
Weaverville, California 96093-1226, [phone]; Willows Public 
Library, 201 N. Lassen St., Willows, California, 95988, 530-934-5156; 
Central Library, 801 SW. 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97205, (503) 
248-5123; and National Clearinghouse Library, 624 Ninth Street, NW, 
600, Washington, DC 20425, [phone].

    Dated: October 14, 1999.
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 99-27253 Filed 10-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P