[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15227-15228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8423]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Intent To Prepare a Joint Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Pine Flat Dam Fish and 
Wildlife Habitat Restoration Investigation, California

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), lead agency under 
the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Kings River Conservation 
District (KRCD), lead agency under the California Environmental Quality 
Act, intend to prepare a joint document to evaluate the environmental 
effects of the proposed habitat restoration in the vicinity of Pine 
Flat Dam.
    The study purpose is environmental restoration. The investigation 
will analyze several measures evaluated in the reconnaissance phase 
study, and will identify a feasible fish and wildlife restoration plan. 
Measures to be evaluated include construction of a multi-level intake 
structure at Pine Flat Dam, water transfers, and riparian restoration 
downstream of Pine Flat Dam.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
An issues-scoping meeting for the investigation is scheduled for April 
24, 1996, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control 
District, 5469 East Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA 93727. Please address any 
questions regarding the EIS/EIR to Ms. Patricia Roberson, Planning 
Division, Environmental Resources Branch, Corps of Engineers, 1325 J 
Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-2922. She can also be reached by telephone 
at (916) 557-6705.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Project Location

    (a) The study area, the Kings River basin, is located in the 
southeasterly portion of the San Joaquin Valley (see figure 1). The 
Kings River basin is bounded on the north by the San Joaquin River 
basin and on the south by the Kaweah River basin. The Kings River 
originates high in the Sierra Nevada and flows in a southwesterly 
direction as it leaves the foothills and enters the San Joaquin Valley. 
Below Pine Flat Dam, the Kings River flows divide into numerous 
channels which converge into a single channel before bifurcating into 
Kings River North and Kings River South. Kings River North flows into 
the San Joaquin River and Kings River South flows into the Tulare Lake.
    (b) Pine Flat Dam, completed by the Corps in 1954 and situated 
about 25 miles east of the City of Fresno, impounds Kings River flows 
for flood control, water conservation, recreation, and hydroelectric 
power generation. Pine Flat Lake has a capacity of about one million 
acre-feet at gross pool. Downstream of Pine Flat Dam, the Corps 
constructed levees, channel improvements, and weirs to control flood 
flows.

2. Proposed Action and Alternatives

    (a) The Corps and KRCD, the non-Federal sponsor, are conducting a 
feasibility investigation to identify and evaluate alternative measures 
to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the vicinity of Pine Flat Dam.
    (b) The feasibility report and EIS/EIR will include the 
alternatives analyzed in the 1994 reconnaissance report and carried 
forward for analysis in the feasibility phase. These alternatives 
include the no-action alternative and the following restoration 
measures: (1) A multi-level intake structure designed to fit over the 
existing penstock intakes and allow water to be withdrawn from higher 
reservoir elevations; (2) riparian restoration at a site near the 
Friant-Kern Canal siphon on the Kings River; and (3) a water transfer 
plan that would exchange Central Valley Project water and Pine Flat 
water to augment instream flows below Pine Flat Dam in late summer and 
fall.

3. Environmental Consequences

    (a) The lead agencies have identified potential environmental 
effects of the proposed action in the following areas:
     aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitats
     fish and wildlife populations
     esthetics, recreation opportunity and use
     air quality
     water quality
     cultural resources
     threatened and endangered species

4. Scoping Process

    a. ``Scoping'' is a process to identify the actions, alternatives, 
and effects to be evaluated in an environmental document. The public is 
invited to assist the lead agencies in scoping this EIS/EIR. The 
process provides an opportunity for the public to identify significant 
resources within the study area that may be affected by the project. To 
facilitate this involvement, a public scoping meeting will be held in 
Fresno on April 24, 1996 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fresno 
Metropolitan Flood Control District, 5469 East Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA 
93727. A summary of the meeting will be made. Individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are also encouraged to submit written 
scoping comments by May 10, 1996.
    b. After the draft EIS/EIR is prepared, it will be circulated to 
all interested parties for review and comment. Public meetings will be 
held to receive verbal and written comments. All comments will be 
considered and responded to in the final EIS/EIR.

5. Availability

    The draft EIS/EIR is scheduled to be distributed for public review 
and comment in 1998. All persons interested in receiving the draft 
document should contact Ms. Trina Farris at 557-6777.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

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[FR Doc. 96-8423 Filed 4-4-96; 8:45 am]
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