[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 52 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12045-12046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6381]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Cachuma Lake Resource Management Plan, Santa Barbara County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2) (c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to 
prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Cachuma 
Lake Resource Management Plan (RMP). The RMP will be issued concurrent 
with the DEIS. Reclamation will be conducting a public scoping meeting 
to elicit comments on the scope and issues to be addressed in both the 
RMP and the DEIS. The date and time of the meeting is listed below. 
Reclamation is also seeking written comments, as noted below. The Draft 
RMP and DEIS are expected to be issued in late 2002.

DATES: The scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2002 at 7 
p.m. in Goleta, California.
    Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be 
considered should be sent to Reclamation at the address below by May 
15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meeting location is at the Goleta Community Center, 5679 
Hollister Avenue, Goleta, California.
    Written comments should be sent to Mr. Dan Holsapple, Bureau of 
Reclamation, South-Central California Area Office, 1243 N Street, 
Fresno, CA 93721-1813; or by telephone at (559) 487-5409; or faxed to 
(559) 487-5130 (TDD 559-487-5933).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dan Holsapple, Bureau of 
Reclamation, at the above address, telephone: (559) 487-5409.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cachuma Project is located along the 
Santa Ynez River in northern Santa Barbara County, California. It was 
constructed in the early 1950's by Reclamation under contract with 
Santa Barbara County Water Agency on behalf of local water purveyors, 
called the Cachuma Member Units. The project consists of Bradbury Dam, 
Cachuma Lake, and associated conveyance facilities. The lake is about 
3,000 acres in size, surrounded by about 6,500 acres of Federal land. 
The project is the primary water supply for the communities of Santa 
Ynez, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, and Montecito. Reclamation 
executed a contract with Santa Barbara County (County) in 1953 to 
manage recreation at the lake. The County has developed a 375-acre 
recreation area on the south shore of the lake with picnicking, 
boating, hiking, and camping.
    Reclamation is preparing an RMP for the Cachuma Project. The RMP 
will specifically address the County recreation area, including the 
entire lake and all Government land surrounding the lake. The objective 
of an RMP is to establish management objectives, guidelines, and 
actions to be implemented by Reclamation directly, or through its 
recreation contract, that

[[Page 12046]]

will protect the water supply and water quality functions of Cachuma 
Lake; protect and enhance natural and cultural resources in the 
Recreation Area, consistent with Federal law and Reclamation policies; 
and provide recreational opportunities and facilities consistent with 
the Cachuma Project purposes and Reclamation policies.
    The development of the RMP will be performed within the authorities 
provided by the Congress through the Reclamation Act, Federal Water 
Project Recreation Act, Reclamation Recreation Management Act, and 
applicable agency and Department of the Interior policies.
    The RMP will be developed based on a comprehensive inventory of 
environmental resources and Project facilities. It will include an 
analysis of all resources in the area, identification of land use 
suitability and capability, and development of management policies, 
objectives, responsibilities, guidelines, and plans. The overall 
purpose of an RMP is to foster stewardship of Reclamation lands. The 
RMP will enable managers to make land use and resource decisions that 
are consistent with the overall management objectives of Reclamation 
land and water areas, while meeting the needs of the public. The RMP 
will assist Reclamation in its efforts to minimize conflicts among the 
competing interests and types of use at Cachuma Lake.
    The plan will be developed with input from other Federal agencies 
such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service, 
local involved agencies such as Santa Barbara County Parks and 
Recreation Department and the Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board 
(representing the Project Member Units); and the general public. The 
plan will also be used to guide future recreational uses and 
administrative arrangements to be considered by Reclamation in its 
renewal of the recreation contract with Santa Barbara County, in a 
separate but related process.
    The primary emphasis of the RMP will be protecting Cachuma Project 
water supplies, water quality, and natural resources, while enhancing 
recreational uses at and surrounding the lake. Specific issue areas to 
be addressed include (among others): recreational access to the north 
shore, body-contact recreation, protection of sensitive natural and 
cultural resources, and grazing practices.
    The environmental impacts of the RMP and associated alternatives 
will be assessed in an EIS that will be prepared concurrent with the 
RMP. The environmental review will focus on the potential for 
management actions to cause adverse environmental impacts to natural 
and cultural resources such as water quality, endangered species, 
public safety, and historic resources. It will include an analysis of 
alternative land, recreation, and natural resource management 
approaches.
    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 
may also 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: February 28, 2002.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-6381 Filed 3-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P