[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47860-47862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22717]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Continuation of the Grassland Bypass Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and notice of public scoping
meetings.
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[[Page 47861]]
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the San Luis and
Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority) are preparing a joint EIS/
EIR, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to evaluate the proposal to
continue the Grassland Bypass Project (Project) until 2009. The purpose
of the proposed project is as follows:
1. To continue separating unusable agricultural drainage water from
wetland water supply conveyance channels and discharge from the
Grassland Drainage Area for the period 2001 to 2009; and
2. To facilitate drainage management that maintains the viability
of agriculture in the project area and promotes continuous improvement
in water quality in the San Joaquin River.
Existing drainage management in the Grassland Drainage Area is
based upon use of a segment of the San Luis Drain under terms and
conditions of a Use Agreement between the Authority and Reclamation.
Current drainage management is also regulated by Waste Discharge
Requirements (WDRs) issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board
and by the Basin Plan. The Use Agreement expires on September 30, 2001,
and the WDRs require submission of a Report of Waste Discharge for
discharges beyond that date. The proposed Project is needed to assure
that any future use of the San Luis Drain beyond September 30, 2001,
is: (1) Consistent with long-term drainage options, and (2) provides
for compliance with applicable water quality objectives.
DATES: A series of public scoping meetings will be held to solicit
public input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in
the EIS/EIR as follows:
Monday, September 27, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Los Banos CA
Wednesday, September 29, 1999, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Walnut
Creek CA
Thursday, September 30, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Sacramento
CA.
Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR may be mailed to
Reclamation at the address below by October 6, 1999. Comments received
after this date will be considered but may not be included in the
resulting EIS/EIR scope.
ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
Los Banos at the Miller-Lux Building, Floor 1, 830 6th Street,
Los Banos CA
Walnut Creek at the Walnut Creek City Hall, City Council
Chamber, 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek CA
Sacramento at the Best Western Expo Inn, Expo Conference Room,
1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento CA
Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR should be sent to Mr.
Michael Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area
Office, 2666 N. Grove Industrial Drive, Suite 106, Fresno CA 93727;
telephone: (559) 487-5039; fax (559) 487-5130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Delamore at the above address or
by telephone at (559) 487-5039.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project and the Grassland Drainage Area
are located in Merced and Fresno Counties in the Central Valley of
California. The Project is designed to improve water quality in the
channels used to deliver water to wetland habitat areas. Prior to 1996
when the interim project was implemented, subsurface agricultural
drainage water was conveyed through those channels, which limited their
availability to deliver fresh water to the wetlands.
The Project consolidates subsurface drainage flows on a regional
basis and utilizes a portion of the Federal San Luis Drain (Drain) to
convey the flows around wetland habitat areas. The Project collects
drainage water from the 97,000-acre Grassland Drainage Area and places
it into the Drain at a point near Russell Avenue (Milepost 105.72,
Check 19).
The original Grassland Bypass Project was for interim use of a
portion of the Drain for conveyance of drainage water through the
Grassland Water District and adjacent Grassland area. It was
implemented in November 1995 through an ``Agreement for Use of the San
Luis Drain'' (Agreement No. 6-07-20-w1319) between Reclamation and the
Authority. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI No. 96-1-MP) was
adopted by Reclamation for the original project, and environmental
commitments set forth in the FONSI were made an integral component of
the Use Agreement. The Use Agreement and its renewal in 1999 allow for
use of the Drain for a 5-year period that concludes September 30, 2001.
Continued use of the Drain after the term of the existing Use Agreement
requires additional environmental compliance with NEPA and CEQA.
In March 1996, the Grassland Area Farmers (GAF) formed a regional
drainage entity under the umbrella of the Authority to implement the
Project and manage subsurface drainage within the Grassland Drainage
Area. Participants include the Broadview Water District, Charleston
Drainage District, Firebaugh Canal Water District, Pacheco Water
District, Panoche Drainage District, Widren Water District, and the
Camp 13 Drainers (an association of landowners located in the Central
California Irrigation District). The GAF's drainage area is
approximately 97,000 gross acres of irrigated farmland on the westside
of the San Joaquin Valley and is known as the Grassland Drainage Area.
In September 1998, the GAF and the Authority developed a long-term
drainage management strategy and plan of implementation. The Long-Term
Drainage Management Plan for the Grassland Drainage Area (Plan) was
submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board as required by
Waste Discharge Requirement Order 98-171 for public review on September
30, 1998, and updated July 1, 1999. The Plan outlines several steps and
measures to achieve water quality objectives in the Basin Plan and
includes continuation of the Project. The long-term Plan consists of a
combination of both short-and long-term approaches (GAF and Authority,
September 1998). Presently, available mechanisms for the management and
control of subsurface drainage discharges are inadequate to both
maintain long-term viable agriculture and meet water quality objectives
for selenium (and possibly for salinity and other constituents). The
Project is needed in the short-term (2001-2009) to allow time for
additional research and evaluation of long-term options. The proposed
Project needs to be consistent with long-term drainage options and not
preclude any of these options from being implemented.
The Project also includes a monitoring program with biological,
water quality, and sediment components. Results of the monitoring
program are reviewed by an Oversight Committee quarterly, or as
necessary, to implement the Use Agreement. The Project would not
involve new construction or significant alteration of canals and other
drainage facilities, but instead would rely on existing canals and
waterways. Minor alterations of existing facilities would be necessary
in order to collect subsurface agricultural discharges from up to 5,000
acres of adjoining lands if these are added to a new Use Agreement. The
proposed project is a major component of the Authority's long-term
drainage management plan.
If special services are required at the meeting, please contact
Janet Harp at (916) 978-5112 as far in advance of the meeting as
possible, but no later than September 20, 1999, to enable the agency to
secure the needed services.
[[Page 47862]]
Dated: August 24, 1999.
Neil Stressman,
Acting Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 99-22717 Filed 8-31-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-94-P
