[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 79 (Friday, April 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 22091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9301]



[[Page 22091]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency Revised Basin Management 
Plan Project; Santa Cruz; Santa Clara, Monterey, and San Benito 
Counties, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the final environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Pajaro Valley Water 
Management Agency (PVWMA) Revised Basin Management Plan Project.
    The purpose of the project is to address groundwater overdraft and 
seawater intrusion problems in the Pajaro Valley Basin. The proposed 
action is the approval of the connection of a PVWMA pipeline to the 
Santa Clara Conduit and the funding for the design, planning, and 
construction of a recycled water facility.
    Notice of the availability of the Draft EIS was published in the 
Federal Register on September 25, 2003 (68 FR 55412). A public meeting 
was held on October 29, 2003 to receive comments on the Draft EIS. The 
FEIS contains responses to all comments received and changes made to 
the text of the Draft EIS as a result of those comments.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until 30 days after release of the FEIS. After the 30-day waiting 
period, Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD 
will state the action that will be implemented and will discuss all 
factors leading to the decision.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS in hard copy or on CD may be requested 
from Reclamation's South-Central California Area Office or from PVWMA's 
office at the following addresses:
     Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California 
Area Office, 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1813.
     Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, 36 
Brennan Street, Watsonville, CA 95076.
    The document can also be viewed on PVWMA's web page at http://www.pvwma.dst.ca.us/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynne Silva, Bureau of 
Reclamation, South-Central California Area Office, telephone 559-487-
5807; or Mr. Charles McNiesh, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, 
831-722-9292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS considers the effects of the 
construction of PVWMA's pipeline and the construction and operation of 
a water treatment facility. The water treatment facility would be used 
to blend imported water. In 1999, Reclamation prepared an Environmental 
Assessment and approved a contract assignment from Mercy Springs Water 
District that provided 6,260 acre feet per year of Central Valley 
Project (CVP) water for PVWMA. The proposed pipeline connection to the 
Santa Clara Conduit (a component of the CVP) would provide the means 
for this imported water to be delivered into PVMWA. Therefore, the FEIS 
considers the effects of imported water on water resources in PVMWA. 
Other contract assignments or transfers resulting in importing water 
into PVWMA are not the focus of this FEIS. Separate environmental 
analysis and documents would be required. Reclamation is developing an 
Environmental Assessment for the assignment from Broadview Water 
District to PVWMA. This proposed assignment is discussed in the FEIS 
for disclosure purposes. Broadview Water District's CVP contract supply 
is up to 27,000 acre feet per year. The project description and 
alternatives have yet to be fully developed. The environmental impacts 
associated with this assignment and other actions occurring in the San 
Joaquin Valley are outside the scope of analysis in this FEIS.
    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 available for public disclosure in their 
entirety.

    Dated: January 6, 2004.
Kirk C. Rodgers,
Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 04-9301 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P