[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 107 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 30512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14799]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Proposed Water Service Contract, El Dorado County Water Agency,
El Dorado County, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental
impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) and notice of
scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended) and Section 21061 of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) and El Dorado County Water Agency (Agency) intend to
prepare a joint EIS/EIR for a water service contract from the Central
Valley Project, California.
The proposed project consists of a water supply contract for the
Agency under which Reclamation would provide up to 15,000 acre-feet/
year from Folsom Reservoir. The Agency's provisional plans, subject to
review and potential revision during the EIS/EIR process, are to divide
this water equally between El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) and
Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD). EID proposes to take
its supply from Folsom Reservoir. GDPUD proposes to take its supply
either from Folsom Reservoir or upstream by way of a water exchange
with Placer County Water Agency (PCWA). The GDPUD diversion facility is
proposed to either be co-located with a PCWA site or located adjacent
to the Auburn Dam diversion tunnel, at the mouth of Knickerbocker
Canyon, or about 3,000 feet upstream of the Auburn Dam diversion tunnel
near Tamaroo Bar.
DATES: Two public scoping meetings for this project will be held. The
meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. on August 6, 1998, and at 1:30 p.m. on
August 7, 1998, to help identify alternatives and significant issues to
be addressed in the draft EIS/EIR. Arrangements for special services at
the meeting must be requested no later than July 31, 1998 (see
Supplementary Information section for more details).
Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR may be sent to the
Agency at the address below by August 21, 1998.
ADDRESSES: The scoping meetings will be held at the El Dorado County
Board of Supervisors Chambers, 330 Fair Lane, Building A, in
Placerville, California.
Please send written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR to Merv de
Haas, General Manager, El Dorado County Water Agency, 330 Fair Lane,
Placerville, California 95667, telephone: (530) 621-5392.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rod Hall, Environmental
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, 7794 Folsom Dam Road, Folsom,
California 95630, telephone: (916) 989-7279, or Mr. Merv de Haas at the
above address and telephone number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The contract to be negotiated has been
authorized and directed by the United States Congress as part of Public
Law 101-514. This contract has been excluded from the prohibition on
new contract funding found in Public Law 102-575.
Public Law 101-514 directs the Secretary of the Interior
(Secretary) to enter into long-term municipal and industrial water
supply contracts to meet the immediate water needs of El Dorado County.
The law directs the Secretary to enter into a contract for up to 15,000
acre-feet/year with the Agency.
The EIS/EIR will include evaluation of the ``no project''
alternative, alternative diversion points, and alternative treatment
and delivery facilities. Alternative diversion points include a point
near the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers and several
upstream locations on the Middle Fork of the American River.
Alternative EID treatment facilities include the existing El Dorado
Hills treatment plant and a new treatment plant at Bass Lake. GDPUD
proposes to treat the water at a new facility located near the town of
Cool, the specific location depending on which diversion point is
selected. The EIS/EIR will also address impacts to the physical
environment from diversion, distribution, and use of the contract
water. The documentation will include analysis of the potential impacts
to the natural environment, particularly aquatic, wetland, and riparian
communities, including any effect on special-status species, recreation
resource values, and related socio-economic values. Secondary growth
impacts associated with the water delivery and secondary impacts
associated with construction of water delivery facilities used to
divert, treat, and distribute Folsom Reservoir water will be
investigated.
The proposed project has been the subject of previous scoping
meetings that were published in the Federal Register (58 FR 28034, May
12, 1993). However, because of changes in proposed alternatives
resulting from those meetings and related correspondence, additional
scoping activities are being initiated at this time.
Special Services
A headphone device for the hearing impaired will be available at
the meetings. Persons requiring other special services should contact
Debby Holcomb of the Agency at (530) 621-5392. Please notify this
office as far in advance of the meetings as possible, but no later than
July 31, 1998, to enable the Agency to secure the needed services. If a
request cannot be honored, the requester will be notified.
Dated: May 28, 1998.
Kirk C. Rodgers,
Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 98-14799 Filed 6-3-98; 8:45 am]
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