[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5001-5004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-2318]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Statement and 
Environmental Impact Report for North Delta Improvements Project

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and California 
Department of Water Resources (DWR) are proposing the North Delta 
Improvements Project (NDIP). The project would implement flood control 
improvements in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, principally 
on and around Staten Island, Dead Horse Island, and McCormack 
Williamson Tract, in a manner that would benefit aquatic and 
terrestrial habitats and alleviate flood-related problems in the North 
Delta area.

[[Page 5002]]

    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Corps and DWR, 
respectively, are initiating the NDIP Feasibility Study for a portion 
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and plan to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) 
for the proposed NDIP. Development of the Feasibility Report will be 
closely coordinated with development of the draft EIS/EIR, which will 
document existing conditions, project actions, and project effects. 
Responsible and trustee agencies under CEQA may include: California 
Department of Fish and Game; The Reclamation Board of the State of 
California; State Lands Commission; California Regional Water Quality 
Control Boards; State Water Resources Control Board; California 
Department of Transportation; California Department of Conservation; 
and California Department of Boating and Waterways.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held on February 19, 2003, 6-8 PM, Jean 
Harvie Community Center, Walnut Grove, CA, and February 20, 2003, 1:30-
4 PM, Bonderson Building, Sacramento, CA. If special assistance is 
required, please contact Gwen Knittweis (see information below) as far 
in advance of the workshops as possible to enable DWR to secure the 
needed services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will be 
notified.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and EIS/EIR should be addressed to: Ms. Becky Wren, Environmental 
Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CESPK-PD-R, 1325 J Street, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922, telephone: (916) 557-5162, e-mail address: 
[email protected], or Ms. Gwen Knittweis, North Delta Project 
Manager/Engineer, California Department of Water Resources, PO Box 
942836, Sacramento, CA 94236-0001, telephone: (916) 653-2118, e-mail 
address: [email protected]. Also, http://ndelta.water.ca.gov contains 
further project information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    A resolution adopted by the Senate Committee on Public Works on 
June 1, 1948, requests a review of reports submitted on the Sacramento 
River, California, to determine if it is advisable to modify existing 
projects in any way, particularly to (1) provide for the closing of 
Georgiana Slough and (2) eliminate tidal flow into lower Sherman 
Island, Frank's Tract, the area south of Dutch Slough, and similar 
areas subject to tidal inundation, so that the tidal prism of the 
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) may be reduced to a minimum.
    A resolution adopted by both the Senate and House Committee on 
Public Works on January 31, 1961, and June 7, 1961, respectively, 
requests a review of Delta reports to determine the advisability of 
measures to preserve scenic values and to preserve and enhance 
recreational and related opportunities in project areas in the Delta 
region, consistent with the primary flood protection purposes of 
existing and proposed levees and channel improvements. Study authority 
is also contained in Section 205 of the Flood Control Act of 1950, 
which authorized the Secretary of the Army to make preliminary 
examinations and surveys for flood protection and allied purposes in 
the Delta.

2. Proposed Action

    The Corps and DWR are conducting a study on flood control system 
improvements that would benefit aquatic and terrestrial habitats and 
alleviate flood-related problems in the North Delta. This study will 
result in a feasibility report.

3. Project Background

    The Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary provides water for a wide range 
of beneficial uses, including drinking water for millions of 
Californians, irrigation water for millions of acres of agricultural 
land, an spawning and rearing habitat for aquatic organisms. The 
estuary also provides a permanent or seasonal home for a large variety 
of native plants and wildlife. Over the past several decades increase 
in the demand for the estuary's resources have increased conflict 
between the needs of water users and efforts to sustain the estuary's 
aquatic ecosystem and support recovery of listed fish.
    The North Delta area of the estuary faces the need to balance the 
same issues as the larger estuary, particularly with regard to flood 
control and ecosystem restoration. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is 
the focus of complex issues involving water supply, water quality, 
flood control requirements, and the environment. Of particular concern 
to this project, runoff from the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Mokelumne, 
and Cosumnes rivers, as well as from the South Sacramento Stream Group 
(Morrison Creek, Florin Creek, Union House Creek, Elder Creek, and 
North Beach-Stone Lakes area) during large storm events has caused 
flooding in the North Delta. Additionally, the degradation and loss of 
aquatic and terrestrial habitat are a primary concern in the North 
Delta.
    The joint state-federal CALFED Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) was 
formed to develop and implement a long-term comprehensive plan to 
restore ecological health and improve water management for beneficial 
uses of the Bay-Delta system. The CALFED Programmatic EIS/EIR (PEIS/
EIR) and Programmatic Record of Decision (ROD) were issued in July and 
August 2000, respectively. The CALFED ROD identifies, as a component of 
conveyance actions, the NDIP, which is to design and construct floodway 
improvements in the North Delta (such as on the lower Mokelumne River 
and Georgiana Slough) to provide conveyance, flood control, and 
ecosystem benefits.
    The CALFED ROD also identifies other improvements to the North 
Delta, including changes to the Delta Cross Channel (DCC) and an 
evaluation of a through-Delta facility on the Sacramento River. The 
NDIP will not be addressing these improvements.

4. Need for the Project

    Flood control improvements are needed to reduce flood damage to 
land uses, infrastructure, and the Bay-Delta ecosystem resulting from 
overflows caused by insufficient channel capacities and catastrophic 
levee failures within the NDIP study area, including the Point Pleasant 
area. The existing and historical conditions that warrant flood control 
and ecosystem quality improvements are described below.
    Flood Control--The Mokelumne and Cosumnes rivers and the Morrison 
Creek Stream group do not have sufficient channel capacity to safely 
convey 100-year peak flows from Sierra Nevada watersheds through the 
North Delta to the San Joaquin River. Channel capacities for the north 
and south forks of the Mokelumne River are approximately 40,000 cubic 
feet per second (cfs). The combined channel capacity required to safely 
convey flows from a 100-year flood event would be 90,000 cfs. The lack 
of channel capacity, combined with constrictions in vulnerable areas 
(e.g., bridge abutments) and an increase in sedimentation levels over 
time (which reduces channel capacity), makes a number of areas in the 
North Delta vulnerable to flooding. Since 1955, several areas have been 
flooded after levees were either breeched or overtopped, including the 
Point Pleasant area, McCormack-Williamson Tract, Dead Horse Island, New 
Hope Tract, Brack and Canal

[[Page 5003]]

Ranch Tracts, and the Franklin Pond area. The potential for flooding 
also threatens important public facilities and institutions in the 
North Delta area, including Interstate 5, the Union Pacific Railroad 
line, and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center.
    The North Delta is also susceptible to levee failure during peak 
flows. Levees on McCormack-Williamson Tract and Dead Horse Island 
frequently have been overtopped or have failed during large storm 
events, and many other levees have been subject to structural failure 
during past storm events. Failure of Bay-Delta levees could:
    (1) Result in flooding of Delta communities, farmland, habitat, key 
roads and highways;
    (2) Expose adjacent islands to increased wave action, increased 
seepage, and risk of levee erosion;
    (3) Affect water supply distribution systems; or
    (4) Affect flow patterns, potentially resulting in adverse impacts 
on water quality if the levee breach is not repaired.
    Ecosystem Quality--Degradation and the loss of habitats that 
support various life stages of aquatic and terrestrial biota are a 
primary concern in the North Delta. These habitat changes have many 
causes, including sedimentation from hydraulic mining, habitat 
conversion, dredging and water diversions. Thirty years of hydraulic 
mining (in the 19th century) in the river drainages along the eastern 
edge of the Central Valley have increased sedimentation levels in 
downstream watercourses, degrading valuable aquatic habitat. In 
addition, many of the seasonally-inundated lands in the Bay-Delta 
system that historically provided habitat to a variety of bird and 
animal species have been converted to agricultural, industrial, and 
urban uses. Levees constructed to protect lands in the Delta from 
inundation eliminated fish access to shallow overflow areas. Dredging 
to construct levees eliminated the tule bed habitat along the river 
channels. Upstream water development and use, depletion of natural 
flows by local diverters, and the export of water from the Bay-Delta 
system have altered hydrodynamic processes. This alteration has 
resulted in changed seasonal patterns of inflow, reduced Delta outflow, 
and diminished natural variability of flows into and through the Bay-
Delta system. Facilities constructed to support water diversions may 
contribute to straying or direct losses of fish and can increase 
exposure of juvenile fish to predation.

5. Purpose of the Project

    The purpose of the NDIP is to implement flood control improvements 
in a manner that benefits aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
    To be consistent with the overall goals of CALFED, the NDIP would 
also be compatible with and supportive of the other programmatic 
elements outlined in the PEIS/EIR. Therefore, to the extent that 
meeting other goals is consistent with the primary purpose of the NDIP, 
the Corps and DWR will incorporate project elements that support the 
following CALFED objectives:
    (a) Improve conveyance to improve water supply reliability at the 
South Delta export pumps.
    (b) Improve conveyance to facilitate reductions in salinity levels 
in the San Joaquin River and improve the quality of the water at the 
South Delta export pumps.
    (c) Recommend ecosystem restoration and science actions in the 
project area consistent with the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program's 
strategic goals and objectives.
    (d) Improve levee stability and integrity in the NDIP project area.
    (e) Minimize the conversion of prime, statewide-important, and 
unique farmlands to NDIP uses.
    (f) Minimize impacts to recreational use in the NDIP project area.

6. Project Area

    The NDIP project area is approximately 197 square miles. The 
project area defines the area within which DWR is considering 
alternatives for flood control and restoration actions. Direct (on-the-
ground) impacts of constructing the alternatives will be evaluated 
within the project area. However, this area does not represent the 
limits of the area considered during impact analysis.

7. Alternatives

    The NDIP is currently in the preliminary design phase, meaning that 
alternatives for project actions have not yet been fully defined. 
However, the team has a list of project design concepts that will be 
run through a hydraulic model to test their feasibility. The draft 
concepts include:
    (a) Whole/Partial Island Flood Detention Areas--Whole and partial 
island flood detention areas have been proposed for Staten Island, Dead 
Horse Island, and McCormack-Williamson Tract. This concept would entail 
strengthening the landward sides of an island's levees and installing 
weirs and pumps to allow flood control operators to divert water on and 
off the island from swollen rivers during peak flood flows.
    (b) Parallel Levee Bypasses--The parallel levee concept would 
create a controlled flood bypass by constructing a second levee inland 
from an existing levee and installing weirs at either end of the new 
bypass area, allowing flood control operators to divert water into the 
bypass to alleviate peak flood flows. This concept could include the 
placement of pumps at the downstream end of the bypass in order to 
return floodflows to the main channel.
    (c) Steback Levees--Under this concept, a second levee, or setback 
levee, would be built inland from the existing levee, and the existing 
levee would be removed or breached in order to permanently widen the 
existing floodplain and create more capacity in the river corridor.
    (d) Bridge Replacement--Historically, many bridges in the Delta 
have constricted channels as a result of their large concrete abutments 
and pilings. In addition, floating debris often gets entangled on the 
low bridges during flood events and continues to collect, forming a 
dam, which restricts flow and can cause upstream flooding. Bridge 
replacement in the North Delta area would include redesigning bridges 
with smaller abutments and pilings. Such bridge redesign would place 
less concrete in the channel, increasing channel capacity. Redesigned 
bridges would span rivers at a higher elevation, facilitating debris 
passage, and avoiding or minimizing debris buildup during flood events.
    (e) Maintenance Dredging--Maintenance dredging has been proposed on 
the north and south forks of the Mokelumne River to increase channel 
capacity.

8. Scoping Process

    (a) The Corps and DWR invites comments from State and Federal 
agencies with respect to the scope and content of the environmental 
information in the proposed EIS/EIR that are within each agency's 
statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed NDIP. In 
addition, written comments from interested parties regarding the scope 
and content of the environmental documents are invited to ensure that 
the full range of alternatives and issues related to the proposed 
project are identified. All comments received, including names and 
addresses, will become part of the official administrative record and 
may be made available to the public. Comments should be submitted to 
the previously mentioned Corps or DWR

[[Page 5004]]

contact at the earliest possible date, but no later than February 28, 
2003.
    (b) The draft EIS/EIR will contain an analysis of the physical and 
biological impacts to the environment rising from the proposed project 
and alternatives to the project. In addition, it will address the 
cumulative impacts of implementation of alternatives in conjunction 
with other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions.
    Potential environmental effects could include, but are not limited 
to, the following: permanent and temporary effects on bodies of water 
and wetlands associated with the construction of flood control 
structures and flood control and ecosystem improvements; effects are 
rare and sensitive biological plant and animal species from 
construction of flood control structures and flood control and 
ecosystem improvements; short term effects on water quality associated 
with excavation and dredging in bodies of water; short term effects on 
air quality during construction from the operation of heavy equipment; 
and effects on cultural resources during earth moving operations 
associated with the construction of flood control structures and flood 
control and ecosystem improvements.
    (c) DWR will consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer 
to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Corps 
will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide a Fish 
and Wildlife Coordination Act Report as an appendix to the EIS/EIR.
    (d) A 30-day public review period will be provided for individuals 
and agencies to review and comment on the draft EIS/EIR. All interested 
parties are encouraged to respond to this notice and provide a current 
address if they wish to be notified of the EIS/EIR circulation.
    (e) Scoping is an early and open process designed to determine the 
issues and alternatives to be addressed in a draft EIS/EIR. Two public 
scoping meetings are scheduled (see DATES).

9. Availability

    The draft EIS/EIR is scheduled to be available for review and 
comment in the summer of 2004.

    Dated: January 24, 2003.
Mark W. Connelly,
LTC, EN, Acting Commander.
[FR Doc. 03-2318 Filed 1-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-EZ-M