[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46999-47002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17946]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
San Luis Reservoir Low Point Improvement Project, California
AGENCY: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact report/
environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS).
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 (as amended), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
Reclamation and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District)
propose to prepare a joint EIR/EIS for the San Luis Reservoir Low Point
Improvement Project (Project). The Project is being proposed by the
District to maintain a healthy, clean water supply for the District and
other contractors of Reclamation's San Felipe Division. The term ``low
point'' refers to a range of pool elevations in San Luis Reservoir (in
Merced County, California) within which seasonal algae blooms can
create water quality problems directly affecting the treatability and
reliability of deliveries to Central Valley Project (CVP) San Felipe
Division contractors (the District is a member of CVP's San Felipe
Division). An additional goal of the Project is to increase the
operational flexibility of the San Luis Reservoir and to improve the
reliability of deliveries to the District and other San Felipe Division
contractors. The District will be the lead agency under CEQA.
DATES: Reclamation and the District will seek public input on
alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in the EIR/EIS
through scoping meetings in August, 2002. Scoping is an early and open
process designed to determine the issues and alternatives to be
addressed in the EIR/EIS. The schedule and locations of the scoping
meetings are as follows:
Scoping Meeting 1: August 26, 2002, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., San
Jose, California.
[[Page 47000]]
Scoping Meeting 2: August 27, 2002, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., San
Luis Reservoir, California.
The draft EIR/EIS is expected to be available for public review at
the end of 2003.
ADDRESSES: Meeting locations are:
Scoping Meeting 1: Santa Clara Valley Water District,
Board Meeting Room, 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, California.
Scoping Meeting 2: San Luis Reservoir Romero Visitor
Center, Highway 152, San Luis Reservoir, California.
Written comments on the project scope of alternatives and impacts
to be considered should be sent to Mr. Kurt Arends of the Santa Clara
Valley Water District, 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Moody of Reclamation at 1243 N
Street, Fresno, CA 93727, telephone: (559) 487-5179. Additional
information can also be found at http://www.Valleywater.org.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The San Luis Reservoir is among the largest reservoirs in the
state, and represents a significant component of the District, the CVP,
and the State Water Project (SWP) water supply. When water levels in
San Luis Reservoir are low, high water temperatures combined with wind-
induced mixing can result in algae blooms at the reservoir's water
surface, which can extend down more than 30 feet. As reservoir storage
drops below about 300,000 acre-feet (approximate elevation 369), algae
can be drawn into the San Felipe Division intake structure. This
condition can: (1) Cause taste and odor problems; (2) become difficult
or impractical to treat; (3) foul drip irrigation systems; and/or (4)
eliminate the possibility of delivering any water to the San Felipe
Division. To minimize these conditions, the reservoir is currently
operated to attempt to maintain reservoir storage above problematic
levels.
Recognizing the need to resolve the low point problem, the Low
Point Improvement Project was included in the August 28, 2000, CALFED
Bay-Delta Program's Programmatic Record of Decision as a complementary
conveyance action. The low point problem currently creates water
quality, reliability, and operational impacts to the District, other
San Felipe Division contractors, the CVP, and the SWP. The results of
these impacts are additional operating costs, risks to public health
and safety, and economic losses to agriculture and industry. There are
also significant opportunity costs to the CVP and SWP as a result of
their inability to fully utilize all of the available storage in the
reservoir. These impacts will increase in the future as the low point
occurs more frequently and for a longer duration. The following summary
includes information on San Luis Reservoir, current and future
operations, as well as impacts to users.
San Luis Reservoir
Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
jointly own the San Luis Reservoir to store and reregulate CVP and SWP
water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. San Luis Reservoir is an
off-stream water storage facility that stores water for both the SWP
and CVP; construction was completed in 1967. The State owns a little
more than half of the 2,042,000 acre-feet water storage capacity. The
reservoir is operated by the DWR; however, operational decisions are
coordinated with Reclamation and the CVP. San Luis Reservoir serves as
the major storage reservoir and O'Neill Forebay acts as an equalizing
basin for the upper stage dual-purpose pumping-generating plant. Pumps
located at the base of O'Neill Dam convey water from the Delta-Mendota
Canal through an intake channel and discharge it into O'Neill Forebay.
The California Aqueduct flows directly into O'Neill Forebay. The
pumping-generating units lift the water from O'Neill Forebay and
discharge it into the main reservoir. Releases from San Luis Reservoir
are made through the Gianelli Pumping-Generating Plant to the San Luis
Canal and to the Pacheco Pumping Plant for the San Felipe Division.
Reservoir Water Quality
In the summer months, when water levels are low, water quality
deteriorates due to a combination of higher water temperatures, wind-
induced nutrient mixing, and algae blooms near the reservoir surface.
Algae content is of primary importance during periods of reservoir
drawdown, when the surface water elevation drops to within 20 to 30
feet of the inlet to the Pacheco Pumping Plant. Under these conditions,
poor water quality may be delivered to the San Felipe Division
contractors. Additional factors may also contribute to algae problems
in the reservoir. The reservoir is operated as an active offstream
storage facility, and therefore, has a relatively short detention time.
The reservoir also has an unusual configuration with a very large
surface area and a relatively shallow depth (a contributing factor in
algal bloom formation and persistence).
Current Operations
San Luis Reservoir is operated by filling in the wet winter months
and draining in the dry summer months. Drawdown typically begins in
about March and reaches the low point in August or September.
Historically, the SWP and CVP have cooperated to try and maintain
reservoir elevations above the low point capacity of 300,000 acre-feet.
Future Operations
Although the CVP and SWP have cooperated to try to maintain San
Luis Reservoir above 300,000 acre-feet to date, there is no guarantee
that they will do so in the future. In fact, as demands on the CVP and
SWP continue to grow and Delta export pumping restrictions for
environmental purposes occur more frequently, pressure will increase to
fully utilize the available storage in San Luis Reservoir.
The State and Federal Governments coordinate implementation of all
CALFED projects through the use of a common set of assumptions relative
to water supply, hydrology, and operations. The primary method for
providing technical consistency is the use of the CALSIM II model for
operational studies, which provides a baseline condition for comparing
project impacts at current and future levels of development.
Preliminary results of CALSIM II operational modeling indicate that San
Luis Reservoir will be drawn down below 300,000 acre-feet more
frequently and for longer durations in the future.
Impacts to the District
The District has entitlement to 152,500 acre-feet per year of water
from the San Felipe Division, which is critical to meeting the demands
of 1.6 million residents and important high-technology industries. As
storage in the reservoir drops to approximately 300,000 acre-feet,
quality, reliability, and operational impacts occur as follows:
Water Quality Degradation--Algae entering the intakes
could cause: potential impacts on water treatment plant production
rates and increased risk of being unable to meet treated water demands;
increased risk of exceeding primary water quality standards for
disinfection byproducts and secondary standards for taste and odor; and
increased costs of both treating water for taste and odor problems as
well as for monitoring and responding as impacts occur.
[[Page 47001]]
Interruption in Water Supply--If San Luis Reservoir water
quality becomes unacceptable for treatment, the supply to the District
would be interrupted, which would have a serious water supply, public
health and safety, and economic risk to Santa Clara County. Once the
reservoir drops to elevation 334 (110 TAF capacity), the Pacheco
Pumping Plant is unable to deliver water. This condition would result
in an interruption in supply due to water supply availability. However,
it is likely that the water supply would be interrupted prior to
reaching this condition due to untreatable water quality. In either
case, the potential interruption in water supply creates a major
reliability impact to the District and other San Felipe Division
contractors. The potential interruption to water supply would also
occur at the time of year when water supply demands are at their peak.
Reoperation of Water Supply System--Due to the risks to
water quality and reliability from the low point problem, District
operations must be modified annually in order to prepare for a worst
case scenario. Modifications typically involve reoperating supply and
conveyance systems and/or rescheduling CVP deliveries to minimize
reliance on CVP supplies during low point conditions. These actions
disrupt District operations and result in additional costs.
Impacts to Other San Felipe Division Contractors
The low point problem also results in water quality and reliability
impacts to other San Felipe Division contractors, including the San
Benito County Water District, which receives San Luis Reservoir
supplies from the Hollister Conduit, and the Pajaro Valley Water
Management Agency, which is in the process of implementing a pipeline
project to connect to the Santa Clara Conduit for future delivery of
San Luis Reservoir water.
Impacts to the CVP
The low point will be an ongoing constraint to the operational
flexibility and reliability of San Luis Reservoir and will have
increasing CVP impacts. Eliminating the low point operating constraint
could improve operational flexibility of the CVP.
Project Objectives
The objectives of the Low Point Improvement Project are to:
Resolve the water quality problems associated with the San
Luis Reservoir low point. The District and other San Felipe Division
contractors want to maintain a consistent healthy, clean, and
affordable water supply that meets or exceeds all applicable water
quality standards in a cost-effective manner. Reclamation seeks to
maintain and protect the water it delivers to CVP contractors. By
resolving the water quality problems associated with the San Luis
Reservoir low point, the District will be able to better predict the
quality of water it is supplied, ensure the health and safety of its
water supply, and maximize the efficiency of its water supply and
treatment system. Resolving the water quality problems would reduce the
risk of exceeding water quality standards, reduce costs of water
treatment, reduce operating costs for monitoring, and reduce the risk
of exceeding the capacity of drip irrigation filtering systems.
Improve the reliability of deliveries to the District and
other San Felipe Division contractors. There is a need to improve the
reliability of water supplies to the San Felipe Division contractors
without adversely affecting deliveries of CVP and SWP water. Improving
the reliability of water would avoid public health and economic impacts
associated with water quality degradation and potential water supply
interruptions. Improving water supply reliability would ensure that
existing contract allocations to the San Felipe Division are met by
Reclamation and that the District and other San Felipe Division
contractors meet their water supply obligations.
Increase the operational flexibility of the San Luis
Reservoir. There is a need to eliminate the low point operational
constraints on the delivery of water from San Luis Reservoir. Through
collaborative efforts, Reclamation, the District, and CVP contractors
have occasionally modified operations to minimize the potential of San
Luis Reservoir dropping below 300,000 acre-feet. However, these
operational changes cannot be sustained over the long term as they
reduce the likelihood of deliveries of full contract supplies to CVP
contractors. A long-term, regional solution is needed to eliminate the
constraints on San Luis Reservoir operations. Resolving the low point
problem will increase the effective storage capacity in San Luis
Reservoir by allowing the State and Federal projects to continue to
draw down San Luis Reservoir in accordance with existing operating
rules and regulations without impact to the San Felipe Division.
Provide opportunities for project-related environmental
improvements. In accordance with the District's Ends Policies, an
objective of the Project will be to protect environmental resources and
to identify project related opportunities for environmental
improvements by enhancing or restoring the natural benefits of streams
and watersheds. Environmental improvements, where feasible, will be a
direct component of the project's integrated solution. The Project,
where feasible and appropriate, will also provide project-related
opportunities for recreation, hydropower, and flood control benefits.
The goal is a multi-purpose project with regional benefits.
Potential Alternatives
A wide range of conceptual alternatives is being considered to
address the low point problem. A total of 9 major conceptual
alternatives have been identified to date and include:
No Project Alternative
A No Action Alternative that represents existing conditions will be
analyzed. The No Action Under Projected Future Conditions will also be
analyzed.
Institutional Alternatives
Institutional Alternatives include non-structural measures such as
implementation of pumping limitations and amended operation plans or
agreements for San Luis Reservoir.
Source Water Quality Control Alternatives
Source Water Quality Control Alternatives would be implemented on-
site at San Luis Reservoir. Potential methods under consideration
include reservoir aeration, algaecide application, algae harvesting,
and managed stratification of waters in San Luis Reservoir.
Water Treatment Alternatives
Potential Water Treatment Alternatives include additional treatment
of water supplies by methods such as dissolved air flotation.
Bypass Alternatives
Bypass Alternatives include the construction of pump stations,
pipelines, and tunnels that bypass the San Luis Reservoir. Potential
routes under consideration include a pipeline originating at the
O'Neill Forebay, at the California Aqueduct, or at the Delta-Mendota
Canal and proceeding around or under the San Luis Reservoir. The bypass
pipelines would terminate at the intake to the San Felipe Division
facilities.
Storage Alternatives
Storage Alternatives include expansion of existing District
reservoirs,
[[Page 47002]]
such as Anderson Reservoir or construction of a new dam and reservoir
in the foothills east of the Santa Clara Valley. Potential sites for a
new dam and reservoir include Pacheco Reservoir on Pacheco Creek,
upstream of the existing Pacheco Reservoir; Packwood Reservoir, east of
the existing Anderson Reservoir; Coe Reservoir inside Henry Coe State
Park; Los Osos Reservoir south of Henry Coe Park; and Cedar Creek
Reservoir southwest of the existing Pacheco Reservoir.
Integrated District Solutions
Integrated District Solutions involve use of existing District
facilities such as the groundwater basin, water reuse and recycling,
interties with San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, or
reconfiguration and reoperation of the District's in-County water
transmission and distribution system.
Desalination
Desalination would involve treatment of alternative supplies from
San Francisco Bay or Monterey Bay.
Integrated CALFED Solutions
Integrated CALFED Solutions include use of water supplies from an
expanded Los Vaqueros Reservoir or use of an enlarged South Bay
Aqueduct to facilitate delivery of SCVWD water supplies.
The draft EIR/EIS 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. The following are issues
that have been identified by Reclamation to date: water quality;
agricultural and municipal water supply reliability and quality; water
supply system flexibility and reliability; diversity of water supply
sources; construction-related effects on urban areas and natural
habitats.
Interests in Assets Held in Trust
An initial review of available data indicates that there are no
known Indian Trust lands that would be affected by the project.
Disclosure of Public Comments
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.
Special Assistance
If special assistance is required, contact Mr. Kevin Moody at
Reclamation (559) 487-5179. Please notify Mr. Moody as far in advance
of the scoping meetings 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 (559) 487-5933.
Dated: June 25, 2002.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-17946 Filed 7-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P