[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 139 (Thursday, July 19, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37702-37703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18044]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Colusa Basin Drainage District's Integrated Resources Management 
Program for Flood Control in the Colusa Basin in Glenn, Colusa, and 
Yolo Counties, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement/Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (Final 
PEIS/PEIR).

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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 Colusa Basin Drainage District (District) have 
prepared a joint Final PEIS/PEIR for the Integrated Resources 
Management Program for Flood Control in the Colusa Basin (Program). The 
Program is comprised of three elements: Construction of a series of 
flood detention dams and basins on selected ephemeral streams that 
cause flooding in the Basin; implementation of several upland, 
riparian, and wetland environmental restoration measures that will help 
reduce soil erosion and sedimentation and restore degraded habitat; and 
development of a water supply that could be used for environmental 
purposes. The Final PEIS/PEIR describes and presents the potential 
environmental effects of the three Program elements. Notice of the 
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement/Draft Environmental 
Impact Report (DEIS/DEIR) was published in the Federal Register on June 
2, 2000 (65 FR 35392). The public hearing was held on August 9, 2000. 
The written comment period ended August 25, 2000. The Final PEIS/PEIR 
contains responses to all comments received and changes made to the 
text of the DEIS/DEIR as a result of those comments.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until 30 days after release of the Final PEIS/PEIR. 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 PEIS/PEIR may be requested from Ms. Gaye 
Lopez, Colusa Basin Drainage District, at 530-795-3038, or Mr. Russ 
Smith, Reclamation, at 530-275-1554.
    See Supplementary Information section for locations where copies of 
the Final PEIS/PEIR are available for public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gaye Lopez, Colusa Basin Drainage 
District, at 530-795-3038, or Mr. Russ Smith, Reclamation, at 530-275-
1554.

[[Page 37703]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Program encompasses an area of about 
1,036,000 acres within the Basin, extending from Orland in the north to 
Knights Landing in the south, and includes lands in Glenn, Colusa, and 
Yolo Counties. The Sacramento River and Coastal Range foothills form 
its eastern and western boundaries, respectively. Within this area, the 
District encompasses about 650,000 acres.
    The proposed action is to construct flood detention dams and basins 
on certain ephemeral streams in the foothills west of the Basin that 
cause the greatest flood damage. Reclamation and the District also 
propose to implement approximately 10,000 acres of environmental 
restoration measures to help restore degraded upland, riparian, and 
wetland habitats in the project area. In addition, the detention basins 
could provide a water supply that could be used for environmental 
purposes.
    The goal of the Program is to substantially reduce flood damages 
and restore upland, riparian, and wetland habitats that have been 
historically degraded in the Colusa Basin. In addition to a No Program 
Alternative, which involves the continued use of the existing Colusa 
Basin Drain for drainage management and inadequate flood flow 
conveyance, six program alternatives are examined. Alternatives la, 2a, 
and 3a include the proposed construction of 14, 8, and 5 foothill flood 
detention dams and reservoirs, respectively, and about 10,000 acres of 
upland, riparian, and wetland restoration measures in the Colusa Basin. 
Alternatives lb, 2b, and 3b include all the elements of Alternatives 
la, 2a, and 3a, respectively, and would also be operated to provide a 
water supply that could be used for environmental purposes, including 
the dedication of some reservoir space for water storage.
    Copies of the Final PEIS/PEIR are available for public inspection 
at the following locations:

 Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6 and Kipling, Denver CO 80225; 
telephone: 303-445-2064
 Bureau of Reclamation, Office of Public Affairs, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento CA 95825-1898; telephone: 916-978-5100
 Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 
1849 C Street NW, Main Interior Building, Washington DC 20240-0001
 Sacramento State University Library, 6000 J Street, Sacramento 
CA 95521
 Princeton Public Library, P.O. Box 97, Princeton CA 95970-0097
 Elk Creek Library, Box 163, Elk Creek CA 95939-0163
 Bayliss Library, Rd 39 and West Bayliss, Bayliss CA 95943
 Willows City Library, 201 N. Lassen Street, Willows CA 95988
 Yolo County Library, 373 N. College, Woodland CA 95695
 Grimes Library, P.O. Box 275, Grimes CA 95950
 Orland City Library, 333 Mill Street, Orland CA 95963
 Shasta College Library, 1065 Old Oregon Trail, Redding, CA 
96099
 Arbuckle Library, 7th & King, Arbuckle, CA 95912
 Butte Community College Library, 3536 Butte Campus Drive, 
Oroville, CA 95965
 Campus Library, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521
 Esparto Branch Library, 17155 Yolo Avenue, Esparto, CA 95627
 Willows Public Library, 201 North Lassen Street, Willows, CA 
94988
 Shields Library, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 
95616

    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: June 29, 2001.
Lowell F. Ploss,
Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 01-18044 Filed 7-18-01; 8:45 am]
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