Environmental statements; notice of intent: term operations,

[Federal Register: February 11, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 28)]

[Notices]

[Page 6911-6912]

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

[DOCID:fr11fe99-84]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Interim Plan for Long-Term Operations, Klamath Project, Oregon and California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on an interim plan for long-term operations of the Klamath Project (Project), pending completion of a water rights adjudication currently underway by the State of Oregon. Several alternative operational scenarios will be developed to define project operations in relation to Reclamation's legal responsibilities and obligations within the Klamath River Basin, including the Endangered Species Act, Tribal trust resources, senior water rights, Project water users' contractual rights, wildlife refuges, and other requirements mandated by law and within the authority of the Secretary of the Interior. The proposed action was the subject of a Notice of Intent (NOI) that was previously published in the Federal Register (62 FR 61343, Nov. 17, 1997). This supplemental NOI is being published because considerable time has passed without significant activity regarding development of the EIS.

DATES: Public meetings will be held in March 1999 to update participants on the status of the EIS activities and to solicit any additional issues. Notice of these meetings will appear at a future date.

[[Page 6912]]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Bernice A. Sullivan, EIS Program Manager, Mid-Pacific Regional Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825, telephone (916) 978-5113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Construction and development of the Project was authorized pursuant to the Act of February 9, 1905, ch. 567, 33 Stat. 714, which is part of the Reclamation Act of 1902, 43 U.S.C. 372 et seq., as amended and supplemented. The Project is located in Klamath County in Oregon, and Siskiyou and Modoc counties in California, occupying portions of the Klamath River and Lost River watersheds within the Klamath River Basin. Major project facilities include Link River, Clear Lake, and Gerber dams. The Project includes approximately 235,000 acres of agricultural lands, although roughly 200,000 acres of land are irrigated annually. In addition, four national wildlife refuges lie adjacent to or within Project boundaries, and receive water from or are associated with Project facilities. Pursuant to a 1956 contract with Reclamation, PacifiCorp operates the Link River Dam and several dams downstream of the Project for hydrolelectric power generation. The need for more certainty regarding project operations has been recently demonstrated by drought conditions in 1992 and 1994, listings of species under the Endangered Species Act, and the protection of Tribal trust resources pursuant to the United States' Federal trust responsibility. When completed, the interim plan for long-term operations will supersede annual operations plans and guide Project operations during the adjudication.

Public Scoping Process

Reclamation has developed a ``Summary of Klamath Project Operation Issues, January 1999,'' which documents the issues and concerns that the public has communicated to Reclamation through prior public involvement activities in the Klamath River Basin. During February 1999, Reclamation will solicit public review and comments on the summary to ensure that significant issues have not been overlooked.

Dated: February 5, 1999. Kirk C. Rodgers, Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 99-3344Filed2-10-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-94-P