[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47860-47862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22717]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Continuation of the Grassland Bypass Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and notice of public scoping 
meetings.

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[[Page 47861]]

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the San Luis and 
Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority) are preparing a joint EIS/
EIR, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to evaluate the proposal to 
continue the Grassland Bypass Project (Project) until 2009. The purpose 
of the proposed project is as follows:
    1. To continue separating unusable agricultural drainage water from 
wetland water supply conveyance channels and discharge from the 
Grassland Drainage Area for the period 2001 to 2009; and
    2. To facilitate drainage management that maintains the viability 
of agriculture in the project area and promotes continuous improvement 
in water quality in the San Joaquin River.
    Existing drainage management in the Grassland Drainage Area is 
based upon use of a segment of the San Luis Drain under terms and 
conditions of a Use Agreement between the Authority and Reclamation. 
Current drainage management is also regulated by Waste Discharge 
Requirements (WDRs) issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board 
and by the Basin Plan. The Use Agreement expires on September 30, 2001, 
and the WDRs require submission of a Report of Waste Discharge for 
discharges beyond that date. The proposed Project is needed to assure 
that any future use of the San Luis Drain beyond September 30, 2001, 
is: (1) Consistent with long-term drainage options, and (2) provides 
for compliance with applicable water quality objectives.

DATES: A series of public scoping meetings will be held to solicit 
public input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in 
the EIS/EIR as follows:

 Monday, September 27, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Los Banos CA
 Wednesday, September 29, 1999, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Walnut 
Creek CA
 Thursday, September 30, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Sacramento 
CA.

    Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR may be mailed to 
Reclamation at the address below by October 6, 1999. Comments received 
after this date will be considered but may not be included in the 
resulting EIS/EIR scope.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:

 Los Banos at the Miller-Lux Building, Floor 1, 830 6th Street, 
Los Banos CA
 Walnut Creek at the Walnut Creek City Hall, City Council 
Chamber, 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek CA
 Sacramento at the Best Western Expo Inn, Expo Conference Room, 
1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento CA

    Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR should be sent to Mr. 
Michael Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area 
Office, 2666 N. Grove Industrial Drive, Suite 106, Fresno CA 93727; 
telephone: (559) 487-5039; fax (559) 487-5130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Delamore at the above address or 
by telephone at (559) 487-5039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project and the Grassland Drainage Area 
are located in Merced and Fresno Counties in the Central Valley of 
California. The Project is designed to improve water quality in the 
channels used to deliver water to wetland habitat areas. Prior to 1996 
when the interim project was implemented, subsurface agricultural 
drainage water was conveyed through those channels, which limited their 
availability to deliver fresh water to the wetlands.
    The Project consolidates subsurface drainage flows on a regional 
basis and utilizes a portion of the Federal San Luis Drain (Drain) to 
convey the flows around wetland habitat areas. The Project collects 
drainage water from the 97,000-acre Grassland Drainage Area and places 
it into the Drain at a point near Russell Avenue (Milepost 105.72, 
Check 19).
    The original Grassland Bypass Project was for interim use of a 
portion of the Drain for conveyance of drainage water through the 
Grassland Water District and adjacent Grassland area. It was 
implemented in November 1995 through an ``Agreement for Use of the San 
Luis Drain'' (Agreement No. 6-07-20-w1319) between Reclamation and the 
Authority. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI No. 96-1-MP) was 
adopted by Reclamation for the original project, and environmental 
commitments set forth in the FONSI were made an integral component of 
the Use Agreement. The Use Agreement and its renewal in 1999 allow for 
use of the Drain for a 5-year period that concludes September 30, 2001. 
Continued use of the Drain after the term of the existing Use Agreement 
requires additional environmental compliance with NEPA and CEQA.
    In March 1996, the Grassland Area Farmers (GAF) formed a regional 
drainage entity under the umbrella of the Authority to implement the 
Project and manage subsurface drainage within the Grassland Drainage 
Area. Participants include the Broadview Water District, Charleston 
Drainage District, Firebaugh Canal Water District, Pacheco Water 
District, Panoche Drainage District, Widren Water District, and the 
Camp 13 Drainers (an association of landowners located in the Central 
California Irrigation District). The GAF's drainage area is 
approximately 97,000 gross acres of irrigated farmland on the westside 
of the San Joaquin Valley and is known as the Grassland Drainage Area.
    In September 1998, the GAF and the Authority developed a long-term 
drainage management strategy and plan of implementation. The Long-Term 
Drainage Management Plan for the Grassland Drainage Area (Plan) was 
submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board as required by 
Waste Discharge Requirement Order 98-171 for public review on September 
30, 1998, and updated July 1, 1999. The Plan outlines several steps and 
measures to achieve water quality objectives in the Basin Plan and 
includes continuation of the Project. The long-term Plan consists of a 
combination of both short-and long-term approaches (GAF and Authority, 
September 1998). Presently, available mechanisms for the management and 
control of subsurface drainage discharges are inadequate to both 
maintain long-term viable agriculture and meet water quality objectives 
for selenium (and possibly for salinity and other constituents). The 
Project is needed in the short-term (2001-2009) to allow time for 
additional research and evaluation of long-term options. The proposed 
Project needs to be consistent with long-term drainage options and not 
preclude any of these options from being implemented.
    The Project also includes a monitoring program with biological, 
water quality, and sediment components. Results of the monitoring 
program are reviewed by an Oversight Committee quarterly, or as 
necessary, to implement the Use Agreement. The Project would not 
involve new construction or significant alteration of canals and other 
drainage facilities, but instead would rely on existing canals and 
waterways. Minor alterations of existing facilities would be necessary 
in order to collect subsurface agricultural discharges from up to 5,000 
acres of adjoining lands if these are added to a new Use Agreement. The 
proposed project is a major component of the Authority's long-term 
drainage management plan.
    If special services are required at the meeting, please contact 
Janet Harp at (916) 978-5112 as far in advance of the meeting as 
possible, but no later than September 20, 1999, to enable the agency to 
secure the needed services.


[[Page 47862]]


    Dated: August 24, 1999.

Neil Stressman,
Acting Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 99-22717 Filed 8-31-99; 8:45 am]
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