[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3732-3733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1888]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Fish and Wildlife Service

[INT-DES-01-44]


Imperial Irrigation District Water Conservation and Transfer 
Project, Draft Habitat Conservation Plan, California

AGENCIES: Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft environmental impact report/
environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has issued a draft 
EIR/EIS on Imperial Irrigation District's (IID) proposed project that 
would conserve and transfer the right to use up to 300,000 acre-feet 
per year of Colorado River water, which IID is otherwise entitled to 
divert for use within IID's water service area in Imperial County, 
California. The conserved water would be transferred to San Diego 
County Water Authority (SDCWA), Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) 
and/or The Metropolitan Water District (MWD). These transfers, which 
are to remain in effect for up to 75 years, would facilitate efforts to 
reduce California's diversion of Colorado River water in normal years 
to its annual 4.4 million acre-feet apportionment. Approval of the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) will be required to change the 
point of delivery for the transferred water. In addition, IID has 
applied for a permit with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This Section 
10 permit would authorize the incidental take of covered species 
associated with the proposed water conservation and transfer project, 
as well as IID's ongoing operation and maintenance activities. As a 
condition of applying for a Section 10 permit, IID has developed a 
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in consultation with FWS and the 
California Department of Fish and Game, which is appended to the draft 
EIR/EIS. The HCP would provide measures to minimize and mitigate the 
effects of the proposed taking of listed and sensitive species and the 
habitats upon which they depend.
    Both Reclamation's approval of the change in point of delivery of 
Colorado River water and FWS' approval of the HCP and issuance of a 
Section 10 permit are Federal actions that require compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. This 
draft EIR/EIS has been prepared pursuant to NEPA and the Council on 
Environmental Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA, and is being issued by Reclamation as the lead 
agency. The FWS is a cooperating agency. Both agencies intend to use 
the EIR/EIS document to issue separate Records of Decision. This 
document also serves as IID's compliance with the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and is therefore a combined draft 
EIR/EIS. Public hearings will be held to receive written or verbal 
comments on the draft EIR/EIS. Notice of hearings will appear at a 
future date.

DATES: A 90-day public review and comment period begins with the filing 
of the draft EIR/EIS with the Environmental Protection Agency. Written 
comments must be received no later than April 12, 2002 (see ADDRESSES 
below).

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to one of the following: Mr. Bruce 
Ellis, Chief, Environmental Resources Management Division, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office (PXAO-1500), PO Box 81169, Phoenix, AZ 
85069-1169; fax number (602) 216-4006; Mr. Elston Grubaugh, Manager, 
Resource Planning and Management Department, Imperial Irrigation 
District, PO Box 937, Imperial, CA 92251, fax number (760) 339-9009.
    A read-only downloadable copy of the draft EIR/EIS document is 
available on the Internet at http://www.is.ch2m.com/iidweb. A copy of 
the draft EIR/EIS is also available upon request from Ms. Janice 
Kjesbo, Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office (PXAO-1500), PO Box 
81169, Phoenix, AZ 85069-1169, telephone (602) 216-3864, faxogram (602) 
216-4006. A copy of the draft EIR/EIS is also available for public 
inspection and review at the locations listed under Supplementary 
Information below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the draft EIS 
should be directed to Mr. Ellis at the address provided above, or 
telephone (602) 216-3854. For information related to the HCP, please 
contact Ms. Carol Roberts at the Carlsbad FWS office, telephone (760) 
431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The terms of IID's water conservation and 
transfer transactions are set forth in the ``Agreement for Transfer of 
Conserved Water'' (IID/SDCWA Transfer Agreement), executed by IID and 
SDCWA in 1998 (as amended), and a proposed Quantification Settlement 
Agreement (QSA) to be executed by IID, CVWD, and MWD. The QSA 
establishes a framework of conservation measures and water transfers 
within southern California for up to 75 years, and would facilitate 
California's efforts to reduce its diversions of Colorado River water 
in normal years to its annual 4.4 million acre-feet apportionment, thus 
benefiting the entire Colorado River Basin. It would authorize the 
transfer of up to 200,000 acre-feet to SDCWA pursuant to the IID/SDCWA 
Transfer Agreement, and provide for the transfer of up to 100,000 acre-
feet of water conserved by IID to CVWD and/or MWD.
    The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), pursuant to the Boulder 
Canyon Project Act of 1928 and Arizona v. California 1964 Supreme Court 
Decree (376 U.S. 340), proposes to take Federal actions necessary to 
support

[[Page 3733]]

California's efforts. One of these actions is execution of an 
Implementation Agreement (IA) that would commit the Secretary to make 
Colorado River water deliveries to facilitate implementation of the 
QSA. The Secretary's execution of the IA is the subject of 
Reclamation's IA, Inadvertent Overrun and Payback Policy, and Related 
Federal Actions Draft EIS (INT-DES 01-44), which was recently 
distributed for public review and comment (67 FR 1988). Impacts to the 
Colorado River, that would result from the change in point of delivery 
of IID's conservation and transfer of up to 300,000 acre-feet of 
Colorado River water, are incorporated into an analysis of all changes 
in the point of delivery proposed in the IA and included in the QSA.
    The draft EIR/EIS identifies and summarizes the impacts to the 
Colorado River associated with IID's proposed change in point of 
delivery of up to 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water, under 
either the IID/SDCWA Transfer Agreement or QSA. It also describes the 
anticipated impacts associated with the water conservation measures to 
be undertaken. IID's proposed methods of conserving the water to be 
transferred, and use of that water, are also described in the draft 
EIR/EIS.
    IID has applied for a Section 10 permit under which FWS would 
authorize the incidental take of a number of federally listed species, 
as well as other sensitive species that are being considered for 
listing, within the IID water service area, the right-of-way of the All 
American Canal, and the Salton Sea. The draft EIR/EIS also includes a 
description of impacts that are anticipated to occur from IID's 
implementation of an HCP for affected species, once it is approved by 
FWS.
    Copies of the draft EIR/EIS are available for public inspection and 
review at the following locations:
     Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 
1849 C St., NW., Washington, DC 20240.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, CO 80225.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Regional Office, 
Nevada Highway and Park St., Boulder City, NV 89006.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Southern California Area Office, 
27710 Jefferson Ave., Suite 201, Temecula, CA 92590-2628.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Area Office, 7301 Calle Agua 
Salada, Yuma, AZ 85364-9763.
     Lake Havasu City Library, 1787 McCulloch Blvd. North, Lake 
Havasu City, AZ 86403.
     Mohave County Library, 1170 Hancock Rd., Bullhead City, AZ 
86442.
     Parker Public Library, 1001 S. Navajo Ave., Parker, AZ 
85344.
     Yuma County Library, 350 S. 3rd Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364.
     Los Angeles Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, 
CA 90071.
     Palo Verde Valley Library, 125 W. Chanslor Way, Blythe, CA 
92225.
     San Bernardino County Library, 104 W. 4th St., San 
Bernardino, CA 92401.
     San Diego Central Library, 820 E St., San Diego, CA 92101.
     IID Offices, 1284 Broadway, El Centro, CA 92243.
     IID Offices, 81-600 Avenue 58, La Quinta, CA 92253.
     El Centro Public Library, 539 State Street, El Centro, CA 
92243.
     Brawley Public Library, 400 Main Street, Brawley, CA 
92227.
    Written comments received by Reclamation or IID become part of the 
public record associated with this action. Accordingly, Reclamation 
makes these 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. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. 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: January 8, 2002.
Terence Martin,
Acting Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 02-1888 Filed 1-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P