[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56708-56709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28138]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


North of the Delta Offstream Storage, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact report/
environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to participate 
with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in the North of 
the Delta Offstream Storage (NDOS). Pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), and the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Reclamation and DWR 
propose to prepare a joint (EIR/EIS) for the NDOS. NDOS will evaluate 
potential surface storage north of the Delta in the Sacramento Valley 
watershed. The CALFED Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement/
Report (PEIS/PEIR) and Record of Decision (ROD) identified the NDOS. 
Reclamation will use the results of this environmental analysis and 
other studies to seek Congressional authority as necessary for 
implementation of the preferred alternative.

DATES: Reclamation and DWR will hold three scoping meetings to seek 
public input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in 
the EIR/EIS. The dates are:
 January 8, 2002, 1 to 4 p.m, Sacramento, California
 January 9, 2002, 6 to 9 p.m., Maxwell, California
 January 15, 2002, 6 to 9 p.m., Fresno, California

    Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be 
considered should be sent to DWR at the address below by Friday, 
January 25, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Meeting locations are:

 Sacramento at the Bonderson Building Hearing Room, 901 P 
Street
 Maxwell at the Maxwell Inn, 81 Oak Street
 Fresno at the Piccadilly Inn--University, 4961 N. Cedar

    Written comments on the scope of the EIR/EIS should be sent to 
Scott D. Woodland, P.E., Department of Water Resources, Division of 
Planning and Local Assistance, PO Box 942836, Sacramento, CA 94236, or 
faxed to (916) 651-9289.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Woodland at (916) 651-9278, or 
email at [email protected]; or Donna Garcia, Bureau of Reclamation, 
Division of Planning, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA, telephone: 
(916) 978-5009.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Sacramento Valley Resources

    Roughly three-quarters of California's runoff occurs north of 
Sacramento, while about three-quarters of California's water is used 
south of Sacramento. This imbalance in the location of water supply and 
demand has continually placed pressure on the Sacramento Valley 
watersheds. In recent years, demand for water supply has grown, not 
only due to increased population but also due to efforts to protect 
California's water quality and its ecological resources. To better 
manage Sacramento Valley water resources, the water supply system 
requires new infrastructure, regulatory stability, and increased system 
flexibility.

CALFED

    The CALFED Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) is a cooperative, interagency 
effort of 23 State and Federal agencies established to develop and 
implement a long-term comprehensive plan that will restore ecological 
health and improve water management for beneficial uses of the Bay-
Delta system and its tributary watersheds. These watersheds include the 
Sacramento Valley and watersheds located south of the Delta that use 
water from the Sacramento Valley in addition to local water supplies.
    The CALFED agencies completed the PEIS/PEIR process in July 2000 
and filed the ROD in August 2000. The PEIS/PEIR concluded a process of 
broad environmental analysis that evaluated a wide range of concepts. 
The ROD sets forth the Preferred Program Alternative and the strategy 
for implementation of that alternative. The descriptions of the 
alternatives are programmatic in nature, defining broad approaches to 
meet Program purposes. The Preferred Program Alternative includes eight 
program elements: Levee System Integrity, Water Quality, Ecosystem 
Restoration, Water Use Efficiency, Water Transfer, Watershed, 
Conveyance, and Storage. The ROD states: ``Expanding water storage 
capacity is critical to the successful implementation of all aspects of 
the CALFED Program. Not only is additional storage needed to meet the 
needs of a growing population but, if strategically located, it will 
provide much needed flexibility in the system to improve water quality 
and support fish and wildlife restoration efforts. Water supply 
reliability depends upon capturing water during peak flows and during 
wet years, as well as more efficient water use through conservation and 
recycling.''(ROD, page 42).

Associated Programs

    In addition to the CALFED Stage 1 actions to expand surface and 
groundwater storage, there are several Northern Sacramento Valley 
programs under way that are expected to contribute to water supply 
reliability or habitat restoration. Development and evaluation of 
alternatives for augmenting storage and system flexibility in the 
northern Sacramento Valley will consider the potential outcomes and 
information from the CALFED Integrated Storage Investigations' 
Groundwater/Conjunctive Use program and Onstream Storage Enlargement 
(Enlarged Shasta) investigation and from other Sacramento Valley water 
management programs. Some of the larger programs include:

 Sacramento Valley Agreement (Phase 8 Bay-Delta Settlement 
Agreement)
 Sacramento Valley Basinwide Management Plan
 CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program Sacramento River 
Conservation Area (SB 1086)
 Sacramento/San Joaquin River Comprehensive Study

North of the Delta Offstream Storage

    The CALFED ROD specified two actions to be completed before 
deciding whether to proceed with offstream storage north of the Bay-
Delta. The first was to create a partnership with local water interests 
and the second was to complete environmental review and planning 
documentation for a reservoir with a capacity of up to 1.9 MAF by 
August 2004. DWR and Reclamation have completed the first of these 
directives and are working on the second. In order to comply with all 
environmental laws, DWR and Reclamation will examine a broad range of 
alternatives in an open and inclusive process. The investigation will 
analyze alternatives in terms of how well they

[[Page 56709]]

meet the objectives described below and their beneficial and adverse 
impacts.

Objectives

    The ROD gives direction on objectives for north of the Delta 
offstream storage:

 Enhance water management flexibility in the Sacramento Valley.
 Reduce water diversion on the Sacramento River during critical 
fish migration periods.
 Increase reliability of supplies for a portion of the 
Sacramento Valley.
 Provide storage and operational benefits for other CALFED 
programs including Delta water quality and the EWA.

Possible Alternatives

    Since this EIR/EIS will be a tiered document from the CALFED PEIS/
PEIR, the scope of alternatives will be limited to issues directly 
associated with water storage located north of the Delta. The following 
possible alternatives for the NDOS have been identified, and will be 
included in the alternative analysis along with other alternatives 
developed during the scoping process. The alternatives evaluated in the 
EIR/EIS will include consideration of CALFED Stage 1 actions as defined 
in the ROD:

1. No Project (Present Condition)

    This alternative would be defined as present conditions when the 
Notice of Preparation and Notice of Intent are filed, and without a 
north of the Delta offstream storage project. Neither the potential 
environmental benefits nor adverse effects would occur.

2. No Action (Future Condition)

    The No Action Alternative is a description of the anticipated 
physical, project operation, and regulatory features that would be in 
place in 2020 without a north of the Delta offstream storage project. 
The No Action Alternative is used as a basis for comparison of the 
project alternatives in 2020.

3. Sites Reservoir Alternative

    This alternative would consist of an offstream reservoir with a 
capacity of up to 1.9 million acre-feet in size and would be located 
approximately 10 miles west of Maxwell. The reservoir would inundate 
the community of Sites and most of Antelope Valley. The main dams would 
be constructed on Funks Creek and on Stone Corral Creek. Up to nine 
saddle dams would be needed. This alternative will be evaluated with 
different levels of conjunctive use.
    Source and conveyance options for this reservoir include:
    a. The use of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District Diversion and 
Canal, either in its current capacity or in an enlarged capacity.
    b. The use of the Tehama-Colusa diversion and canal in its current 
capacity or in an enlarged capacity.
    c. A new diversion and conveyance facility from the Sacramento 
River near Moulton Weir.
    d. A new conveyance facility from the Colusa Basin Drain. 
Diversions and conveyance tunnels from East Park Reservoir and/or Stony 
Gorge Reservoir.
    e. A combination of these options.
    New or existing delivery facilities from the reservoir would be 
required, depending on the beneficial uses served.

4. Newville Reservoir Alternative

    This alternative would consist of an offstream reservoir with a 
capacity between 1.9 million and 3.0 million acre-feet in size and 
would be located approximately 18 miles west of the City of Orland. A 
single earth embankment dam on North Fork Stony Creek along with 
various saddle dams would create the impoundment area. Since North Fork 
Stony Creek is a very small drainage area, diversion and conveyance 
facilities would be needed. This alternative will be evaluated with 
different levels of conjunctive use. The following options are being 
considered.
    a. Stony Creek Diversion which would move water from Black Butte 
Lake to the Reservoir by canal via a new, smaller reservoir, Tehenn 
Reservoir. Tehenn Reservoir would serve as a forebay/afterbay to the 
Newville Reservoir.
    b. A direct canal from Black Butte Reservoir to Newville to avoid 
an historical cemetery.
    c. A diversion from nearby Thomes Creek which has an annual runoff 
of approximately 200,000 acre-feet. This diversion would require a 
small dam and a pipeline over a ridge that separates the creek from 
Newville Reservoir.
    d. Diversion and conveyance facility from the Sacramento River.
    e. A combination of the above options.
    New or existing delivery facilities from the reservoir would be 
required, depending on the beneficial uses served.

5. Other Possible Alternatives

    As stated earlier, storage projects are not to be developed in 
isolation but rather as part of an overall water management strategy. 
Thus, this EIR/EIS will evaluate whether other possible alternatives 
meet the NDOS objectives. Two possible alternatives include the 
conjunctive use and enlarged Shasta programs mentioned in the above 
Associated Programs section. These could be evaluated as stand-alone 
alternatives or as sub-alternatives operated in conjunction with north 
of the Delta offstream storage to optimize system flexibility and 
efficiency.
    These and other possible alternatives will be considered and 
developed through comments received during the scoping process. During 
scoping, DWR and Reclamation will be seeking input about possible 
methods for evaluating conjunctive water management that will meet 
CALFED criteria for local management of conjunctive use projects.
    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: October 26, 2001.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-28138 Filed 11-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P