Environmental statements; notice of intent: Central Valley Project, CA,

[Federal Register: November 30, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 229)]

[Notices]

[Page 66931-66932]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr30no99-115]

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.

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:

‹bullet› December 13, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Willows

‹bullet› December 14, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Los Banos

‹bullet› December 15, 1999, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Oakland

‹bullet› 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:

‹bullet› City of Willows Council Chambers, 201 North Lassen Street, Willows, California

‹bullet› Merced County Spring Fairgrounds (Floral Room), 403 F Street, Los Banos, California

‹bullet› Oakland Marriott City Center (Room 208), 1001 Broadway, Oakland, California

‹bullet› 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:

‹bullet› The Sacramento River Basin, covering the Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa, and Sutter National Wildlife Refuges and the Gray Lodge Wildlife Management Area;

‹bullet› 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

‹bullet› 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. 99-31007Filed11-29-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-94-P