[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64884-64885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32155]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Flow Objectives for the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP), 
California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement/environmental impact report.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as 
amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), in cooperation with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposes to prepare a 
joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/
EIR) on the water made available on the San Joaquin River and its 
tributaries to provide pulse flows at Vernalis during April and May and 
to help meet anadromous fish flow objectives. The San Joaquin River 
Group Authority (Authority) will be the lead agency under the 
California Environmental Quality Act.
    Reclamation proposes to contract for water on the San Joaquin River 
and its tributaries under Pub. L. 102-575, Title 34, Section 3406(b)(3) 
of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). The water would 
be made available to Reclamation from the San Joaquin River Group 
Authority (Authority). The purpose of the proposed project is to use 
the water to provide a pulse flow at Vernalis during April and May and 
other flows identified by the CVPIA water acquisition program. This 
water is needed to support the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP) 
which is being implemented to provide protective measures for fall-run 
chinook salmon and to gather scientific information on the effects of 
various flows in the lower San Joaquin River, Central Valley Project 
and State Water Project export pumping rates, operation of a fish 
barrier, and survival of salmon smolts through the Delta. Water is 
needed also to provide environmental benefits in the lower San Joaquin 
River, San Joaquin River tributaries, and Delta. The EIS/EIR will 
address potential impacts to the environment which may result from the 
modified flows in the San Joaquin River and its tributaries.
    Reclamation and the Authority seek public input on alternatives, 
concerns, and issues to be addressed in the EIS/EIR. A series of 
scoping meetings will be held to receive oral and written comments.

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held as follows:
     Tuesday, January 6, 1998, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the 
Miller-Lux Building, First Floor, 830 Sixth Street, Los Banos, 
California, 93635.
     Wednesday, January 7, 1998, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the 
Fairfield Community Center, Studio C, 1000 Kentucky Street, Fairfield, 
California, 94533.
     Thursday, January 8, 1998, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the 
Modesto Irrigation District, (South Entrance) Multi-Purpose Room, 
Second Floor, 1231 Eleventh Street, Modesto, California, 95354.
    Written comments on the project scope should be sent to Reclamation 
by January 13, 1998. Comments received after this date will be 
considered, but will not be included in the resulting scoping report.
    The draft EIS/EIR should be available for public review in 
September or October 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to 
Michael Delamore, Program Manager, South-Central California Office, 
2666 N. Grove Industrial Drive, Suite 106, Fresno, California, 93727; 
or Dan M. Fults, Friant Water Users Authority, 1521 I Street, 
Sacramento, California, 95814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Delamore, telephone (209) 487-
5039, fax (209) 487-5130; or Mr. Fults, telephone (916) 441-1931, fax 
(916) 441-1581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In May 1995, the State Water Resources 
Control Board (State Board) adopted a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) 
for the San Francisco/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. The WQCP 
included water quality and flow objectives pertaining to the San 
Joaquin River basin. During 1997, Reclamation purchased water within 
the San Joaquin River system to help meet the WQCP's defined flow 
objectives. The science supporting the flow objective for the San 
Joaquin River as measured at Vernalis has been disputed. In an effort 
to clarify the science for the flow objective and resolve the dispute, 
the San Joaquin River interests collaborated to identify feasible 
actions to protect the San Joaquin River's fish resources and to 
implement the State Board's fishery objectives. This collaboration led 
to a scientifically-based adaptive fishery management plan known now as 
VAMP. This VAMP Agreement provides the basis for the project 
information described below.
    The VAMP will be implemented through experimental flows on the San 
Joaquin River and export pumping flow rates with an Old River fish 
barrier during the 1-month period each year, from approximately April 
15 to May 15, in the spring of each year. Additional attraction flows 
are targeted for October. The experimental design of the VAMP will use 
the water identified by this action in various regimes, depending upon 
smolt survival and passage through the Delta.
    In addition to the total water from the VAMP Agreement, an 
additional amount of water may be contracted for release at any time 
during the year. The EIS/EIR will analyze the impacts of a maximum 
amount of water in any year over the period 1999-2009 for release to 
the San Joaquin River and its tributaries.

[[Page 64885]]

(Specific quantities of water from the VAMP Agreement and from willing 
sellers are currently under negotiation and will be identified in the 
EIS/EIR.)
    Issues or resources that may be affected by the proposed project 
that will be evaluated in the EIS/EIR are the following: surface water, 
groundwater, biological resources (vegetation, wildlife, fisheries), 
land use (including agriculture), recreation, cultural resources, and 
environmental justice. Impacts to other resources would be evaluated if 
public scoping determines the need for such an evaluation. Cumulative 
impacts and other short-term and long-term impacts required by CEQA and 
NEPA will be evaluated as well.
    The Draft EIS/EIR will analyze a range of alternatives that 
include, but are not limited to, the no-action alternative and other 
flow regimes in support of VAMP and related San Joaquin River flows 
under Section 3406(b)(3). The impact analysis may include combinations 
of one or more alternatives as well as other alternatives identified 
during the public scoping process. Alternatives to the proposed project 
have not yet been identified and will depend upon the results of public 
scoping. Alternatives to be evaluated in depth in the EIS/EIR need to 
be consistent with the project purpose described above.

    Dated: December 2, 1997.
Kirk C. Rodgers,
Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 97-32155 Filed 12-8-97; 8:45 am]
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