E9-5992. Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans.

AGENCY:

Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of Availability.

SUMMARY:

The following Water Management Plans are available for review:

• Banta-Carbona Irrigation District
• Fresno Irrigation District
• Westlands Water District

To meet the requirements of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and published the Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Criteria). For the purpose of this announcement, Water Management Plans (Plans) are considered the same as Water Conservation Plans. The above entities have developed a Plan, which Reclamation has evaluated and preliminarily determined to meet the requirements of these Criteria. Reclamation is publishing this notice in order to allow the public to review the plans and comment on the preliminary determinations. Public comment on Reclamation's preliminary (i.e., draft) determination is invited at this time.

DATES:

All public comments must be received by April 20, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Please mail comments to Ms. Laurie Sharp, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California, 95825, or contact at 916-978-5232 (TDD 978-5608), or e-mail at [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To be placed on a mailing list for any subsequent information, please contact Ms. Laurie Sharp at the e-mail address or telephone number above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We are inviting the public to comment on our preliminary (i.e., draft) determination of Plan adequacy. Section 3405(e) of the CVPIA (Title 34 Public Law 102-575), requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer an office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall “* * * develop criteria for evaluating the adequacy of all water conservation plans developed by project contractors, including those plans required by section 210 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982.” Also, according to Section 3405(e)(1), these criteria must be developed “* * * with the purpose of promoting the highest level of water use efficiency reasonably achievable by project contractors using best available cost-effective technology and best management practices.” These criteria state that all parties (Contractors) that contract with Reclamation for water supplies (municipal and industrial contracts over 2,000 acre-feet and agricultural contracts over 2,000 irrigable acres) must prepare Plans that contain the following information:

1. Description of the District.

2. Inventory of Water Resources.

3. Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Agricultural Contractors.

4. BMPs for Urban Contractors.

5. Plan Implementation.

6. Exemption Process.

7. Regional Criteria.

8. Five-Year Revisions.

Reclamation will evaluate Plans based on these criteria. A copy of these Plans will be available for review at Reclamation's Mid-Pacific (MP) Regional Office located in Sacramento, California, and the local area office. Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review.

Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

If you wish to review a copy of these Plans, please contact Ms. Laurie Sharp to find the office nearest you.

Dated: February 20, 2009.

Richard J. Woodley,

Regional Resources Manager, Mid-Pacific Region, Bureau of Reclamation.