[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 29589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13617]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Renewal of the Grassland Bypass Project, Fresno, Merced, and 
Stanislaus Counties, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the final environmental impact 
statement/ environmental impact report (Final EIS/EIR).

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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) prepared a joint Final EIS/EIR for the renewal of the 
Grassland Bypass Project through 2009. Since October 1996, the current 
Grassland Bypass Project 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, while sustaining the 
agricultural economy of the Grassland Drainage Area. Action taken by 
Reclamation would continue the Project through December 2009. The Final 
EIS/EIR addresses the potential environmental impacts expected to 
result from renewal of this Project and two alternatives.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until 30 days after release of the Final EIS/EIR. After the 30-day 
waiting period, Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision (ROD). 
The ROD will state the action that will be implemented and will discuss 
all factors leading to the decision.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS/EIR may be requested from Mr. 
Michael Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, 1213 N Street, Fresno, 
California 93721; telephone (559) 487-5039; e-mail: 
[email protected]. The Executive Summary for the Final EIS/EIR will 
be posted on the Internet at http://www.mp.usbr.gov. See the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where copies of the 
Final EIS/EIR are available for public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Delamore, at the address 
listed above, or Mr. Joe McGahan, Regional Drainage Coordinator, 
Summers Engineering Inc., P.O. Box 1122, Hanford, California 93232; 
telephone (559) 582-9237; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purposes of the Grassland Bypass 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.
    Under the Proposed Action, unusable agricultural drainwater from 
about 98,000 acres of prime farmland would continue to be separated 
from wetland water supply channels and conveyed to Mud Slough, a 
tributary of the San Joaquin River. The monthly and annual loads of 
selenium and other constituents in this drainwater would be 
progressively reduced to meet water quality requirements in the river 
that will become effective in 2005 and 2010. The term of this Project 
will be October 1, 2001, through December 31, 2009.
    In the Final EIS/EIR, the Proposed Action is compared with two 
alternatives: a No-Action Alternative, and the Mud Slough Bypass 
Alternative that would be the Grassland Bypass Project plus the 
construction of a facility that would convey drainwater directly to the 
San Joaquin River. The latter alternative would remove drainwater from 
6 additional miles of Mud Slough and discharge it into the San Joaquin 
River downstream of its confluence with the Merced River.
    Notice of the Draft EIS/EIR was published in the Federal Register 
on December 26, 2000 (65 FR 81545). Public hearings were held on 
February 2, 6, and 7, 2001. The written comment period ended February 
27, 2001. The Final EIS/EIR contains responses to all comments received 
and changes made to the text of the Draft EIS/EIR as a result of those 
comments.
    Copies of the Final EIS/EIR are available for inspection at the 
following locations:

     San Luis and 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
     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
     Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 
20240-0001

    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.

    Dated: May 24, 2001.
Kirk. C. Rodgers,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 01-13617 Filed 5-30-01; 8:45 am]
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