Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for construction of the Proposed Delta Conveyance Project, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties, CA
| Published date | 20 August 2020 |
| Record Number | 2020-18197 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Army, Corps Of Engineers Department |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51420-51422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18197]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
construction of the Proposed Delta Conveyance Project, Sacramento, San
Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District (USACE),
as the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for construction
of the Delta Conveyance Project. The California Department of Water
Resources (DWR) is the project proponent and will be referred to
hereafter as the Applicant. The EIS will analyze the Applicant's
proposed action to construct new conveyance facilities in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) which includes intake facilities
on the Sacramento River, tunnel reaches and tunnel shafts, a southern
forebay and pumping plant, and south Delta Conveyance facilities that
would connect to the existing State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento Regulatory
Division, Attn: Mr. Zachary Simmons, 1325 J Street, Room 1350,
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and EIS can be answered by Mr. Zachary Simmons, at (916) 557-6746, by
email at [email protected]; or mail at U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Sacramento Regulatory Division, Attn: Mr. Zachary
Simmons, 1325 J Street, Room 1350, Sacramento, CA 95814-2922. Requests
to be placed on the electronic or surface mail notification lists
should also be sent to this address. For further information or media
inquiries, contact Mr. Paul Bruton at (916) 557-5166, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action requires permission from
USACE is required under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA).
In addition, the proposed work in navigable waters and discharge of
dredge or fill material into waters of the U.S. requires authorization
from USACE under Section 10 of the RHA of 1899 and Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act.
[[Page 51421]]
1. Proposed Action. The project requiring an EIS involves
construction of new conveyance facilities in the Delta that would
connect to the existing SWP infrastructure. USACE's jurisdiction is
limited to construction activities resulting in the discharge of dredge
or fill material within waters of the U.S., work or structures within
navigable waters, and modifications to the federal levees and
navigation projects. The scope of the USACE NEPA review for operations
of the new facilities is limited to potential effects to navigation and
long-term operations and maintenance of the modifications to federal
levees. The scope does not extend to the potential downstream effects
from the diversion of water through new intakes or to the overall SWP
and water deliveries.
The proposed action includes the construction of new intake
facilities, a tunnel, and a forebay. Two new intake facilities would be
located in the north Delta along the east bank of the Sacramento River
between the communities of Clarksburg and Courtland. The new conveyance
facilities would include a tunnel to convey water from the new intakes
to a pumping plant and new southern forebay on Byron Tract, immediately
west of the existing Clifton Court Forebay. A dual tunnel would connect
the new facilities to the existing State Water Project (SWP) Banks
Intake Canal in the south Delta. The new facilities would provide the
SWP with an alternate location for diversion of water from the Delta
and would be operated in coordination with the existing SWP south Delta
pumping facilities, resulting in a system also known as ``dual
conveyance'' because there would be two complementary methods to divert
and convey water. Under the proposed project, the new north Delta
facilities would be sized to convey up to 6,000 cubic feet per second
(cfs) of water from the Sacramento River to the SWP facilities in the
south Delta.
Because the proposed action would alter Federal levees and cross
under a federal navigation project, permission from USACE is required
under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) (33 U.S.C. 408)
(Section 408). In addition, the proposed work in navigable waters and
discharge of dredge or fill material into waters of the U.S. requires
authorization from USACE under Section 10 of the RHA (33 U.S.C. 403)
and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). Proposed
project elements requiring a permit under Section 404 and/or Section 10
include the construction of the intakes within the Sacramento River and
associated intake facilities which include setback levees, two tunnel
shafts, and temporary construction work areas. Project elements along
the tunnel corridor include 13 crossings of navigable waterways, eight
tunnel shafts, access roads and access road improvements, staging
areas, tunnel material storage areas, and a barge landing within the
Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (SDWSC) at Lower Roberts Island.
Project elements at the southern forebay facilities include
construction of the new Southern Forebay, three tunnel shafts, one
crossing of a navigable waterway, a pumping plant, outlet and control
structure, tunnel material storage area, and temporary construction
work areas. Proposed project elements requiring authorization under
Section 408 include the crossing under the SDWSC, the barge landing
within the SDWSC, and alterations to the Sacramento River Flood Control
Project (SRFCP) to construct the intakes within the Sacramento River,
associated intake facilities, and construction and maintenance of the
setback levees along the Sacramento River. Compensatory mitigation
would be required for unavoidable impacts to waters of the U.S. and
would be developed during the EIS process.
Construction of the overall conveyance project, if approved, would
take approximately 13 years, but the duration of construction at most
locations would vary and would not extend for this full construction
period. The future operation of the intakes after completion of
construction would not be within control or responsibility of the
Corps.
2. Alternatives. A number of project alternatives, including the no
action alternative and the Applicant's preferred alternative will be
evaluated in the EIS in accordance with NEPA (33 CFR part 230 (USACE
NEPA Regulations) and 33 CFR part 325, Appendix B (NEPA Implementation
Procedures for USACE Regulatory Projects). Current alternatives to be
analyzed include variations of the proposed project. Options include
two of three possible intake structures, multiple intake structure
designs based on impact footprint and fish screen designs, intake and
tunnel capacity between 3,000 to 7,500 cfs, and optimizing a tunnel
alignment to minimize impacts within either a central Delta or eastern
Delta corridor.
3. Scoping Process.
a. Affected Federal, State, regional, and local agencies; Native
American Tribes; other interested private organizations; and the
general public are invited to participate in the scoping process.
Comments can be submitted to the contacts identified above or submitted
via the website identified in 4. Scoping Meetings below.
b. The EIS will analyze the environmental effects of construction
on the aquatic environment and all other impacts that fall within the
USACE jurisdiction. Potentially significant issues to be analyzed in
depth include impacts to waters of the United States (including
wetlands), the federal flood control project, and air quality. Other
impacts include biological resources, special status species, hydrology
and water quality, land use, navigation, water supply, aesthetics,
recreation, and socioeconomic effects.
c. USACE has invited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to participate as cooperating agencies in the
preparation of the EIS. The Applicant is lead agency for the
preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the
California Environmental Quality Act for the proposed project. The two
environmental reviews will be completed as separate, but parallel
processes, and result in separate documents.
d. USACE will consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer
and with Native American Tribes to comply with the National Historic
Preservation Act, and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to comply with the
Endangered Species Act. USACE will also coordinate with the USFWS to
comply with the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and with NMFS to
comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.
4. Scoping Meetings. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and in
compliance with Army and USACE directives, no in-person public scoping
meetings will be held. Members of the public are invited to view
project information and a presentation on the USACE proposed action at
https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permitting/Environmental-Impact-Statements/. Comments may be submitted via the
website or through email or written comments submitted to the contacts
listed above.
5. Availability of the Draft EIS. The draft EIS is scheduled to be
available for
[[Page 51422]]
public review and comment in mid-2021.
Paul E. Owen,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2020-18197 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
