[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66931-66932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31007]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Long-Term Refuge Water Service Agreements, Central Valley
Project, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental documents
(environmental assessments or environmental impact statements) and
notice of scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the lead Federal agency, proposes
to prepare environmental documents for entering into long-term Water
Service Contracts/Agreements to provide water supplies to wildlife
refuges in California's Central Valley, up to and including Level 4
water supplies. Certain actions may also require review under the
California Environmental Quality Act as well; it is anticipated that
joint NEPA/CEQA documents will be prepared.
The Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), Title 34 of
Public Law 102-575, requires the delivery of water to Central Valley
refuges pursuant to two 1989 federal reports, the Report on Refuge
Water Supply Investigations, Central Valley Hydrologic Basin,
California, and the San Joaquin Basin Action Plan/Kesterson Mitigation
Action Plan Report. The impacts of providing this additional water were
assessed in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
prepared for the CVPIA. As required by the CVPIA, Reclamation is now
proposing to enter into long-term water service agreements with the
refuges to allow the delivery of those quantities of water supplies
needed for full habitat management. The site-specific impacts of this
action will be considered in the environmental documents for the long-
term water service agreements, which will tier from the analysis
contained in the CVPIA PEIS.
The purpose of the public/agency scoping process initiated by this
Notice of Intent is to solicit comments from interested parties
regarding the scope of the environmental analysis and the potential
impacts that should be considered in the site-specific assessment being
undertaken in this tier of the environmental review. In preparing the
environmental documents, Reclamation will consider written and oral
comments on the project scope and potential impacts raised during the
scoping process.
DATES: Four scoping meetings will be held to solicit comments from
interested parties to assist in determining the scope of the
environmental analysis and to identify the significant issues related
to this proposed action. The meeting dates are:
December 13, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Willows
December 14, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Los Banos
December 15, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Oakland
December 16, 1999, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Sacramento
Written comments on the scope of the environmental documents should
be sent to Reclamation at the address below by January 7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
City of Willows Council Chambers, 201 North Lassen Street,
Willows, California
Merced County Spring Fairgrounds (Floral Room), 403 F
Street, Los Banos, California
Oakland Marriott City Center (Room 208), 1001 Broadway,
Oakland, California
Expo Inn-Hotel (Expo Room), 1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento,
California
Send written comments on the scope of the environmental documents
to: Bureau of Reclamation, Attn. Long-Term Refuge Water Service
Contracts/Agreements, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento CA 95825.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. If you
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mona Jefferies-Soniea, (916) 978-5068
or TTD (916) 978-5068.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reclamation would enter into long-term water
agreements with the agencies that manage the refuges: The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (for National Wildlife Refuges), The California
Department of Fish and Game (for state Wildlife Management Areas), and
The Grassland Water District (for lands within the Grassland Resource
Conservation District). At this time, it is envisioned that three
environmental documents would be prepared corresponding to the
following hydrologic regions:
The Sacramento River Basin, covering the Sacramento,
Delevan, Colusa, and Sutter National Wildlife Refuges and the Gray
Lodge Wildlife Management Area;
The San Joaquin River Basin, covering the Kesterson, San
Luis, and Merced National Wildlife Refuges; the Los Banos, Volta, and
Mendota Wildlife Management Areas; the Grassland
[[Page 66932]]
Resource Conservation District; and additional lands identified in the
San Joaquin Basin Action Plan; and
The Tulare Basin, covering the Kern and Pixley National
Wildlife Refuges.
Persons requiring special assistance services should contact Matt
Franck, CH2M HILL, at (916) 920-0212 ext. 272. Please notify Mr. Franck
as far in advance of the particular meeting as possible, but no later
than 3 working days prior to the meeting to enable Reclamation to
secure the services. If a request cannot be honored, the requester will
be notified.
Dated: November 23, 1999.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-31007 Filed 11-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-94-P
