[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 28 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6911-6912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3344]


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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.

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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. 99-3344 Filed 2-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-94-P