[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42130-42131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18045]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Environmental Water Account

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact DES 03-40 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and notice of public 
workshops and public hearings.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Federal lead agency; and the California 
Department of Water Resources (DWR), the California Environmental 
Quality Act (CEQA) State lead agency; along with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA 
Fisheries), Federal Cooperating Agencies; and the California Department 
of Fish and Game (DFG), State Responsible Agency, have made available 
for public review and comment the Draft EIS/EIR for the CALFED 
Environmental Water Account (EWA).
    The EWA addresses fish protection and recovery in the San Francisco 
Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while at the same time improving water 
supply reliability for Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water 
Project (SWP) customers. The CVP and SWP facilities that pump water 
from the Delta can entrain and kill fish, some of which are Federally 
and State listed species. Reductions in CVP and SWP pumping to protect 
these fish species can reduce water supply reliability. The EWA 
involves environmentally beneficial changes in operations of the CVP 
and SWP for Delta dependent native fish species, and acquires and 
manages water assets to pay back the water foregone by the CVP and SWP, 
assuring no uncompensated water cost to the projects' water users. 
Reclamation, DWR, FWS, NOAA Fisheries, and DFG collectively manage EWA 
assets and recommend operational changes to the CVP and SWP facilities. 
FWS, NOAA Fisheries, and DFG are responsible for recommending actions 
that protect and benefit Delta dependent fish populations. Reclamation 
and DWR are responsible for acquiring water assets from willing sellers 
and storing, conveying, and delivering the assets to the projects at 
appropriate times and locations to assure no uncompensated water cost 
to the projects' water users.

DATES: Submit written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR on or before 
September 15, 2003.
    Public workshops will be held to discuss the purpose and content of 
the Draft EIS/EIR. The public workshops will be held as follows:
    [sbull] Wednesday, July 16, 2003, 6 p.m., San Diego, CA.
    [sbull] Monday, July 21, 2003, 6 p.m., Red Bluff, CA.
    [sbull] Tuesday, July 22, 2003, 6 p.m., Fresno, CA.
    [sbull] Wednesday, July 23, 2003, 6 p.m., Tracy, CA.
    [sbull] Tuesday, July 29, 2003, 10 a.m., Sacramento, CA.
    Public hearings will be held to provide the public an opportunity 
to orally comment on the Draft EIS/EIR. Written comments will also be 
accepted at the public hearing. The public hearings will be held as 
follows:
    [sbull] Monday, August 25, 2003, 10 a.m., Sacramento, CA.
    [sbull] Tuesday, August 26, 2003, 6 p.m., Red Bluff, CA.
    [sbull] Thursday, August 28, 2003, 6 p.m., Fresno, CA.

ADDRESSES: Public workshops will be held at the following locations:
    [sbull] San Diego, CA--Hyatt Regency Islandia, 1441 Quivira Road.
    [sbull] Red Bluff, CA--Community and Senior Center, 1500 South 
Jackson Road.
    [sbull] Fresno, CA--Ramada Inn Shaw, 324 East Shaw, Ballroom Shaw 
A.
    [sbull] Tracy, CA--VFW, 430 West Grand Line Road.
    [sbull] Sacramento, CA--Best Western Expo Inn, 1413 Howe Avenue, 
Expo Room.
    Public hearings will be held at the following locations:
    [sbull] Sacramento, CA--Best Western Expo Inn, 1413 Howe Avenue, 
Expo Room.
    [sbull] Red Bluff, CA--Community and Senior Center, 1500 South 
Jackson Road.
    [sbull] Fresno, CA--Ramada Inn Shaw, 324 East Shaw, Ballroom Shaw 
C.
    Written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR should be addressed to Ms. 
Sandy Osborn, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way MP-720, 
Sacramento, CA 95825 and Ms. Delores Brown, Department of Water 
Resources, 3251 ``S'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95816.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR may be requested from Ms. Sammie 
Cervantes, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 
95825, or by calling 916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608, or 
[email protected]. The Draft EIS/EIR is accessible from the 
following Web sites: http://www.mp.usbr.gov or http://www.dwr.water.ca.gov. See Supplementary Information section for 
locations where copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public 
review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sandy Osborn, Bureau of 
Reclamation, at 916-978-5129, TDD 916-978-5608, e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Ms. Delores Brown, DWR, at 916-227-2407, e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS/EIR addresses implementation of the 
EWA as provided in the CALFED Programmatic EIS/EIR Record of Decision. 
The Draft EIS/EIR analyzes the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects 
on the physical, natural, and socioeconomic environment that may result 
from the purchase, storage, and conveyance of EWA assets, and the 
actions taken by the EWA to benefit fish populations. The EWA is 
designed to minimize adverse environmental effects, and the EIS/EIR 
proposes mitigation measures to offset unavoidable impacts. Resources 
analyzed in the EIS/EIR include water supply, power, air quality, 
aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, water quality, recreation, cultural 
resources, aesthetics, and socioeconomics, Indian Trust Assets, and 
environmental justice.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
    [sbull] Department of Water Resources, Division of Environmental 
Services, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.

[[Page 42131]]

    [sbull] California Bay-Delta Authority, 650 Capitol Mall, 5th 
Floor, Sacramento, CA 95812.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, Colorado 
80225, 303-445-2072.
    [sbull] Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 
1849 C Street, NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001.
    [sbull] At various county libraries, contact Sammie Cervantes at 
916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608, for specific locations.
    Oral and written comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, will be made available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that their home address be withheld from public 
disclosure, which will be honored to the extent allowable by law. There 
may be circumstances in which respondents' identity may also be 
withheld from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish to 
have your name and/or address withheld, you must state this prominently 
at the beginning of your comment. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: June 10, 2003.
Kirk C. Rodgers,
Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 03-18045 Filed 7-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P