[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45799-45800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18707]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Coachella Canal Lining Project, Coachella and Imperial Counties, 
California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to update and revise the 1993 Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)/Draft Environmental Impact Report 
(DEIR) and to prepare the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)/
Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the lining of the 
Coachella Canal, Riverside and Imperial Counties, California.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), 
the Bureau of Reclamation and the Coachella Valley Water District in 
conjunction with the State of California and the Metropolitan Water 
District of Southern California will update and revise the 1993 DEIS/
DEIR and prepare a FEIS/FEIR to evaluate the environmental aspects 
associated with the proposed project to line 33.4 miles of the 
Coachella Canal (canal) between siphons 7 and 14 and siphons 15 and 32. 
Reduction of the seepage loss from the canal would conserve 
approximately 26,000 acre feet of water/year, which would be made 
available to the San Luis Rey Indian Tribe and Metropolitan Water 
District of Southern California and would help maintain the amount of 
Colorado River water available to California in accordance with the 
furtherance of implementing and achieving the goals of the ``California 
Colorado River Water Use Plan.'' The allocation of the water conserved 
from the canal lining will be consistent with federal law, and shall be 
determined by an agreement among the Metropolitan Water District of 
Southern California, the Imperial Irrigation District, the Palo Verde 
Irrigation District, the Coachella Valley Water District, and the San 
Luis Rey settlement parties, reached after consultation with the United 
States Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the California 
Department of Water Resources.

DATES: It is anticipated that the Revised DEIS/DEIR will be completed 
during August-September, 2000. A Notice of Availability for this 
document will be published, and copies of the Revised DEIS/DEIR will be 
circulated for a 60-day review and comment period by the public and 
other agencies.

[[Page 45800]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Don Young, Assistant Area Manager, 
Yuma Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 7301 Calle Agua Salida, P.O. 
Box D, Yuma, Arizona 85366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 17, 1988, Public Law 100-675 
authorized the Secretary of the Interior to line the Coachella Canal or 
to recover seepage from the canal using construction funds from 
California water agencies entitled to the use of Colorado River water. 
A DEIS/DEIR was prepared for this project after public scoping meetings 
were held in 1988, 1989 and 1992 to identify issues, develop 
alternatives and provide information to the public on the project plan. 
In addition, Reclamation chaired various interagency work groups to 
evaluate project effects, develop alternatives and identify mitigation 
measures. Based upon this public/agency input, four alternatives were 
developed for this project: (1) Conventional lining, (2) underwater 
lining, (3) construction of a parallel canal, and (4) the no action 
alternative. The DEIS/DEIR for the project was completed and circulated 
to other government agencies, interested parties, and the public for 
review and comment from January 11 to March 15, 1994. However, 
following the public involvement process, the DEIS/DEIR was not revised 
to produce a FEIS/FEIR because funding was not available for the 
project.
    California has now provided appropriated funds to finance the 
lining of the remaining unlined portions of the Coachella Branch of the 
All American Canal. The environmental analysis for this project will be 
updated to evaluate the status of resources since the original DEIS/
DEIR was prepared. Since the alternatives have not changed for this 
project, further scoping is not required. Substantive comments received 
during the first public review of the document will be evaluated and 
incorporated into the revised DEIS/DEIR. The revised DEIS/DEIR will be 
distributed to the public and interested agencies/cooperators for a 60-
day review and comment period. A Notice of Availability will be 
published when the revised DEIS/DEIR is available for public review and 
comment, and a public hearing has been scheduled.
    The Coachella Canal delivers an average of 300,000 acre-feet of 
Colorado River water each year to the Coachella Valley Water District 
(CVWD), situated on the north end of the Salton Sea. The canal begins 
at a turnout on the All American Canal near the international boundary 
with Mexico and runs through the desert, east of the Salton Sea, before 
it enters the irrigated area of the CVWD. The canal was excavated 
through desert soils in the 1940's and was placed in operation as a 
partially lined and unlined canal in 1948.
    The first 49-mile section of the canal, which runs through the 
sandy soil of the East Mesa, had especially high leakage; consequently 
it was lined in 1980 to conserve water pursuant to Title I of the 
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Public Law 93-320). The 
canal was ``lined'' by constructing a new canal parallel to the 
existing canal and connecting the new canal to existing concrete 
structures. The last 37 miles of the canal were lined when the canal 
was originally constructed.
    The intervening section of canal was constructed in a mixture of 
gravel and clay soils. The rate of seepage from this section was not as 
high as in the first 49 miles, so lining was deferred. This section 
contains 33.4 miles of unlined canal (between siphons 7 and 14 and 
siphons 15 and 32) that are proposed for lining by this project. 
Between siphons 14 and 15, the canal was lined experimentally in 1991. 
The length of unlined canal does not include the lengths of the pipe 
siphons (wash crossings and rail road crossings), which are not 
proposed for replacement.
    Anyone interested in more information concerning the Coachella 
Canal Lining Project should contact Mr. Young as provided above.

    Dated: July 18, 2000.
Robert W. Johnson,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 00-18707 Filed 7-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P