[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81545-81546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32828]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[DES00-59]


San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority; Grassland Bypass 
Project, Fresno, Merced, and Stanislaus Counties, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Report/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIR/EIS)

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the 
California Environmental Quality Act, the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) and the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority 
(Authority) have prepared a joint Draft EIR/EIS for the renewal of the 
Grassland Bypass Project through 2009.
    The purposes of the Proposed Project are to (1) continue separation 
of unusable agricultural drainwater discharged from the Grassland 
Drainage Area from wetland water supply conveyance channels for the 
period 2001-2009, and (2) facilitate drainage management that maintains 
the viability of agriculture in the Grassland Drainage Area and promote 
continuous improvement in water quality in the San Joaquin River. The 
Draft EIR/EIS addresses the potential environmental impacts expected to 
result from renewal of this Project through 2009.

DATES: Submit written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS on or before 
Tuesday, February 27, 2001. Comments may be submitted to Reclamation or 
the Authority at the addresses provided below. Three public hearings on 
the Draft EIR/EIS will be held on February 2, February 6, and February 
7, 2001, at the addresses below.

ADDRESSES: Three public hearings will be held:
     Friday, February 2, 2001, 1:00 p.m., at the Miller and Lux 
Building, 1st Floor Conference Room, 830 6th Street, Los Banos, 
California 93635
     Tuesday, February 6, 2001, 7:00 p.m., at Board Room, 
Contra Costa Water District, 1331 Concord Avenue, Concord, California 
94520
     Wednesday, February 7, 2001, 1:00 p.m., Best Western Expo 
Inn, 1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento, California 95825
    Written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS should be addressed to Mr. 
Michael Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, 1213 N Street, Fresno, 
California 93721, or Mr. Joe McGahan, Regional Drainage Coordinator, 
Summers Engineering, Inc., PO Box 1122, Hanford, California 93232. 
Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS may be requested from Mr. Delamore at the 
above address or by calling (559) 487-5133. See Supplementary 
Information section for locations where copies of the Draft EIR/EIS are 
available for public inspection.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, please 
contact Mr. Michael Delamore at (559) 487-5039, TDD (559) 487-5933, or 
e-mail: [email protected]; or Mr. Joe McGahan at (559) 582-9237 or 
e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current Grassland Bypass Project has 
operated since 1996. It has significantly improved the quality of water 
in more than 93 miles of channels used to deliver water to wetland 
habitat areas in central California. In addition, the action has 
prompted formation of a regional drainage entity with a program of 
innovative and aggressive drainage management techniques to meet 
selenium load values in the San Joaquin River. For example, the group 
was the first to obtain Waste Discharge Requirements from the 
California Regional Water Quality Control Board to address non-point-
source agricultural drainage discharges and has developed a load 
trading program to regionally adjust selenium discharges. This work has 
taken advantage of state and federal funding programs, which have 
greatly served to accelerate drainage accomplishments.
    Under the Proposed Action, unusable agricultural drainwater from 
about 98,000 acres of prime farmland would continue to be separated 
from 93 miles of wetland water supply channels and conveyed to Mud 
Slough, a tributary of the San Joaquin River. This would occur between 
October 1, 2001, and December 31, 2009.
    In the Draft EIR/EIS, the Proposed Action is compared with two 
alternatives: a No-Project Alternative, and the Mud Slough Bypass 
Alternative that would be the Grassland Bypass Project plus the 
construction of a short facility that would convey drainwater directly 
to the San Joaquin River. The latter would remove drainwater from six 
additional miles of Mud Slough and discharge it into the San Joaquin 
River downstream of its confluence with the Merced River.
    Under both the Proposed Action and the Mud Slough Bypass 
alternatives, the volume and concentration of this discharge would be 
progressively reduced to meet new water quality requirements in the 
river that will become effective in 2005 and 2010.
    Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS are available for public inspection and 
review at the following locations:
     San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 800 6th Street, 
Los Banos, California 93635; telephone (209) 826-9696
     Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area 
Office, 1243 N Street, Fresno, California 93721; telephone (559) 487-
5116
     Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, California 95825; telephone (916) 978-5100
     Fresno County Public Library, Government Publications, 
2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, California 93721; telephone (559) 488-
3198

[[Page 81546]]

     Merced County Public Library, Los Banos Branch, 1312 South 
17th Street, Los Banos, California 93635; telephone (209) 826-5254
     University of California, Berkeley, Water Resources Center 
Archives, 410 O'Brien Hall, Berkeley, California 94720; telephone (510) 
642-2666
     Bureau of Reclamation, Office of Policy, Room 7456, 1849 C 
Street NW, Washington DC 20240; telephone (202) 208-4662

Hearing Process Information

    The purpose of the three hearings is to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on environmental issues addressed in the Draft 
EIR/EIS. Written comments will also be accepted.

    Dated: December 18, 2000.
Lester A. Snow,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 00-32828 Filed 12-22-00; 8:45 am]
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