[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 57 (Monday, March 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13656-13657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7065]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Freeport Regional Water Project, Sacramento River, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as 
amended, Reclamation proposes to participate in a joint Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) on the Freeport 
Regional Water Project (FRWP). The FRWP is being proposed by the 
Freeport Regional Water Authority (FRWA), a joint powers agency formed 
by the Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA) and East Bay Municipal 
Utility District (EBMUD) to make use of Central Valley Project (CVP) 
contract and other water supplies, reduce rationing during droughts, 
reduce groundwater overdraft in Sacramento County, and to increase 
water service reliability for customers. The FRWP would enable 
Reclamation to meet delivery obligations under its water supply 
contracts with SCWA and EBMUD. The FRWA will be the lead agency under 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The City of Sacramento 
will serve as a responsible agency under CEQA.

DATES: Reclamation and the Joint Powers Authority will seek public 
input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in the EIS/
EIR through scoping meetings in March. The schedule and locations of 
the scoping meetings are as follows:
     Monday, April 8, 2002, 6:30-8:30 p.m, Oakland, CA
     Thursday, April 11, 2002, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sacramento, CA 
(Freeport)
     Monday, April 15, 2002, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sacramento, CA 
(Meadowview)
     Thursday, April 18, 2002, 6:30-8:30 p.m, Herald, CA
    Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be 
considered should be sent to the Freeport Regional Water Project at the 
address below by May 2, 2002. Reclamation estimates that the draft EIS/
EIR will be available for public review in the summer of 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
     Oakland at the EBMUD Training Room, 375 11th Street, 2nd 
Floor
     Sacramento at the Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course, 8301 
Freeport Boulevard

[[Page 13657]]

     Sacramento at the Meadowview Community Center, 2450 
Meadowview Road
     Herald at the Herald Fire Department, Hendrickson Hall, 
127 Ivie Road
    Written comments on the project scope should be sent to Freeport 
Regional Water Project, c/o Gregg Ellis, 2600 V Street, Sacramento, CA 
95818.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Schroeder at 7794 Folsom Dam Road, 
Folsom California, 95630, telephone number (916) 989-7274.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SCWA provides water to two separate retail 
service areas within the unincorporated areas of central Sacramento 
County, SCWA Zone 41, and Elk Grove Water Service on the east side of 
the City of Elk Grove. SCWA is responsible for providing water supplies 
and facilities throughout these areas including the Laguna, Vineyard, 
Elk Grove and Mather Field communities through a capital funding zone 
known as ``Zone 40''. The long-term master plan for Zone 40 envisions 
meeting present and future water needs through a program of conjunctive 
use of groundwater and surface water. SCWA presently has a CVP 
entitlement of 22,000 acre-feet. Water for SCWA is currently delivered 
through the City of Sacramento's intake and treatment facilities, based 
on SCWA need and available City capacity. These and additional water 
supplies are expected to be conveyed through the FRWP.
    EBMUD is a multipurpose regional agency that provides water to over 
1.3 million municipal and industrial water users throughout portions of 
Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in the East Bay region. EBMUD 
currently obtains most of its supply from Pardee Reservoir on the 
Mokelumne River, with the remainder collected from local runoff in its 
East Bay terminal reservoirs. On July 26, 2001, EBMUD and Reclamation 
entered into an amendatory CVP contract which allows EBMUD to take 
delivery of its CVP supply at the location known as Freeport on the 
Sacramento River south of downtown Sacramento subject to all applicable 
environmental laws and regulations.
    The FRWP is intended by the Joint Powers Authority to meet the 
identified water delivery needs of the SCWA and EBMUD. It would also 
enable Reclamation to meet its CVP water delivery obligations to these 
agencies under existing water supply contracts with EBMUD and SCWA.
    The general purposes of the Freeport Regional Water Project are to:
     Provide surface water facilities through which SCWA can 
deliver water to Zone 40 to support growth approved under the County of 
Sacramento General Plan. Water would be delivered under SCWA's CVP 
water supply contract with Reclamation and other anticipated CVP 
contract assignments, appropriated water rights, and water rights 
transfers;
     Provide surface water facilities through which EBMUD can 
deliver water under its amendatory CVP water service contract to 
provide EBMUD with a supplemental water supply that would reduce 
existing and future customer deficiencies to manageable levels during 
drought conditions; and
     Capitalize on the opportunity to cooperate in an endeavor 
that would minimize costs to each agency and minimize environmental 
effects by constructing joint facilities to the extent feasible.
    The FRWP would also enable Reclamation to deliver water under its 
CVP amendatory contract with EBMUD and its contract with SCWA.
    The FRWP as currently envisioned would consist of:
     An approximately 185 million gallon per day (mgd) intake/
pumping facility
     A raw water pipeline to a turnout at approximately 
Bradshaw Road in central Sacramento County,
     A new water treatment plant in central Sacramento County 
to serve SCWA needs,
     A raw water pipeline connecting to the Folsom South Canal,
     A new pumping plant near the end of the Folsom South 
Canal,
     A pipeline from the Folsom South Canal to the Mokelumne 
Aqueducts,
     A new pumping and treatment facility at the Mokelumne 
Aqueducts to deliver water to EBMUD.
    The EIS/EIR will consider a range of alternatives including the no-
action alternative.
    Scoping is an early and open process designed to determine the 
issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS/EIR. The following 
are issues that have been identified by Reclamation to date: Sacramento 
River fishery effects; water quality; agricultural and municipal water 
supply availability, and quality; construction-related effects on the 
Sacramento River, urban areas, and natural habitats; and, wetland, 
upland, and aquatic habitats.
    The draft EIS/EIR will focus on the impacts and benefits of 
implementing the various alternatives. It will contain an analysis of 
the physical, biological, social, and economic impacts arising from the 
alternatives. In addition, it will address the cumulative impacts of 
implementation of the alternatives in conjunction with other past, 
present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.
    If special assistance is required, contact Mr. Robert Schroeder at 
Reclamation (916) 989-7274. Please notify Mr. Schroeder as far in 
advance of the workshops as possible to enable Reclamation to secure 
the needed services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will 
be notified. A telephone device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is 
available at (916) 989-7285.
    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: February 20, 2002.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-7065 Filed 3-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P