[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33659-33661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13546]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[DES 04-33]


Water Transfer Program for the San Joaquin River Exchange 
Contractors Water Authority, 2005 to 2014

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

[[Page 33660]]


ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft environmental impact 
statement/environmental impact report (Draft EIS/EIR) and notice of 
public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of 
Reclamation (Reclamation) and the San Joaquin River Exchange 
Contractors Water Authority (Exchange Contractors) have made available 
for public review and comment the Draft EIS/EIR for a 10-year water 
transfer program. The program would consist of the transfer of up to 
130,000 acre-feet of substitute water (a maximum of 80,000 acre-feet of 
developed water from conservation measures, including tailwater 
recovery, and groundwater pumping and a maximum of 50,000 acre-feet 
from temporary land fallowing) from the Exchange Contractors to other 
Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors, to Reclamation for delivery 
to the San Joaquin Valley wetland habitat areas (wildlife refuges), and 
to Reclamation and/or DWR for use by the CALFED Environmental Water 
Account (EWA) as replacement water for CVP contractors. Reclamation 
would approve and/or execute short-term and/or long-term temporary 
water transfers or agreements.

DATES: A public hearing will be held to receive oral or written 
comments regarding the project's environmental effects on July 7, 2004 
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Los Banos, California.

    Submit written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR on or before August 2, 
2004 at the address provided below.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Miller & Lux 
Building, 830 Sixth Street, Los Banos, CA 93635.
    Written comments should be sent to Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-
Pacific Region, Division of Environmental Affairs, Attention: Mr. Bob 
Eckart, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825, Fax: (916) 978-
5055.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR may be requested from Mr. Eckart at the 
above address or by calling (916) 978-5051. See Supplementary 
Information section for locations where copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are 
available for public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bob Eckart at the above address, 
by calling (916) 978-5051, or by e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose/objective of the proposed 10-
year transfer program is the transfer of water from the Exchange 
Contractors to:
     South of Delta CVP contractors to meet demands of 
agriculture, municipal, and industrial uses,
     The Department of the Interior's Water Acquisition Program 
for delivery to the San Joaquin Valley Federal, State, and private 
wildlife refuges to meet Incremental Level 4 needs, and/or
     Reclamation and/or DWR for use by the CALFED EWA Program 
to benefit CVP operations by providing replacement water to CVP 
contractors.
    The Exchange Contractors' proposed water transfer program would 
assist Reclamation in maximizing the use of limited existing water 
resources for agriculture, fish and wildlife resources, and municipal 
and industrial purposes. Water would be transferred to other CVP 
contractors to support the production of agricultural crops and 
livestock within the limits of their current agreements. CVP 
contractors include Santa Clara Valley Water District which is in need 
of short-term water supplies to support agriculture, municipal, and 
industrial uses in Santa Clara County. Reclamation's Water Acquisition 
Program needs additional water to provide the refuges with the 
increment between Level 2 and Level 4 water quantities for fish and 
wildlife habitat development. Reclamation and/or DWR may also need to 
acquire additional CVP water south of the Delta to replace water used 
for fish protection actions pursuant to CALFED's EWA Program (for the 
benefit of the CVP).
    The water transfers would occur largely within the San Joaquin 
Valley of Central California. The Exchange Contractors service area 
covers parts of Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus counties. The 
agricultural water users that would benefit from the potential 
transfers are located in the counties of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, 
Merced, Madera, Fresno, San Benito, Santa Clara, Tulare, Kings, and 
Kern. The wetland habitat areas that may receive the water are located 
in Merced, Fresno, Tulare, and Kern counties. Water purchased for use 
by Reclamation and/or DWR for the EWA may be provided to CVP 
contractors in the West San Joaquin and San Felipe divisions to replace 
water bypassed at Tracy Pumping Plant pursuant to EWA fish protection 
actions.
    The Draft EIS/EIR addresses impacts associated with water 
development by the Exchange Contractors and related effects associated 
with water use by CVP contractors and the wildlife refuges. Resources 
evaluated for potential direct and indirect effects from the proposed 
transfer program include: surface water, groundwater, biological 
(vegetation, wildlife, and fisheries), air quality, land use (including 
agriculture), socioeconomics, Indian Trust Assets, and environmental 
justice. An evaluation of cumulative hydrologic and water service area 
impacts associated with reasonably foreseeable actions is included 
also.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public inspection and 
review at the following locations:

 Bureau of Reclamation, Office of Public Affairs, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825-1898; telephone: (916) 978-5100
 San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, 541 H 
Street, Los Banos, CA 93635; telephone: (209) 827-8616
 California State Library, 914 Capitol Mall, Suite E-29, 
Sacramento
 Resources Agency Library, 1416 Ninth Street, Suite 117, 
Sacramento
 San Francisco Public Library, McAllister and Larkin, San 
Francisco
 Fresno County Public Library, 2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno
 Merced County Public Library, 1312 South 7th Street, Los Banos
 Santa Clara County Public Library, 10441 Bandley Drive, 
Cupertino
 Kern County Library, 701 Truxton Avenue, Bakersfield
 UCD Shields Library, Documents Department, University of 
California, Davis
 UCB Water Resources Center Archives, 410 O'Brien Hall, 
Berkeley

    Oral and written comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, will be made available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which will be honored to the extent allowable by law. There 
may be circumstances in which a respondent's 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.

Hearing Process Information:
    The purpose of the public hearing is to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on environmental issues addressed in the Draft 
EIS/EIR. Written comments will also be accepted.


[[Page 33661]]


    Dated: April 15, 2004.
Susan L. Ramos,
Assistant Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 04-13546 Filed 6-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P