[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52303-52305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19417]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR


Truckee River Operating Agreement, California and Nevada

[DES 04-44]

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability for a revised draft environmental impact 
statement/environmental impact report and notice of open house meetings 
and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), 
the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) and California 
Department of Water Resources (DWR), as co-lead agencies, have jointly 
prepared a revised draft environmental impact statement/environmental 
impact report (revised Draft EIS/EIR) for the Draft Truckee River 
Operating Agreement (TROA) which would implement Section 205(a) of the 
Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, Title 
II of Public Law 101-618 (Settlement Act). The revised Draft EIS/EIR 
has evaluated the proposed action (TROA Alternative), Local Water 
Supply Alternative, and No Action Alternative. Implementation of the 
proposed action would not result in any significant environmental 
effects.

DATES: Written comments on the revised draft EIS/EIR should be 
submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) at the address 
below no later than October 29, 2004.
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for dates for open house 
meetings and public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the revised Draft EIS/EIR should be 
mailed to Kenneth Parr, Bureau of Reclamation, 705 North Plaza St., Rm. 
320, Carson City, NV 89701. All comments sent to Reclamation will be 
compiled for consideration by the co-lead agencies.
    A copy of the document may be obtained by writing to Reclamation at 
the above address or by calling Reclamation at 800-742-9474 (enter 26) 
or 775-882-3436 or DWR at 916-227-7606. The revised Draft EIS/EIR is 
accessible from the following Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/troa/. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for where the revised Draft EIS/
EIR is available for public review.
    See Supplementary Information section for addresses of open house 
meetings and public hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Parr, Reclamation, telephone 
775-882-3436, TDD 775-882-3436, fax 775-882-7592, e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Michael Cooney, DWR, telephone 916-227-7606, fax 
916-227-7600, e-mail: [email protected]. Information is also available 
at the Bureau of Reclamation Web site at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/troa/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Open House Meetings Dates and Locations

    Open house meetings will be held to present information about the 
revised Draft EIS/EIR at the locations and times listed below:

Dates:

     Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 1-4 p.m., Fernley, NV.
     Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Reno, NV.
     Wednesday, September 22, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Fallon, NV.
     Thursday, September 23, 2004, 1-4 p.m., Kings Beach, CA.
     Thursday, September 23, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Truckee, CA.
     Friday, October 1, 2004, 6-9 p.m., Nixon, NV.

Addresses:

     Fernley, NV--City of Fernley, Council Chambers, 595 Silver 
Lace Blvd.
     Reno, NV--Washoe County Department of Water Resources, 
4930 Energy Way.
     Fallon, NV--Fallon Convention Center, 100 Campus Way.
     Kings Beach, CA--North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North 
Lake Blvd.
     Truckee, CA--Parks and Recreation Community Center, 10046 
Church Street.
     Nixon, NV--Pyramid Lake Tribal Council Chambers, 210 
Capitol Hill.

Public Hearings Dates and Locations

    Formal public hearings on the environmental document are scheduled 
for the locations and dates listed below.

Dates:

     Monday, October 18, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Reno, NV.
     Tuesday, October 19, 2004, 1-4 p.m., Fernley, NV.
     Tuesday, October 19, 2004, 6-9 p.m., Nixon NV.
     Wednesday, October 20, 2004, 1-4 p.m., Kings Beach, CA.
     Wednesday, October 20, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Truckee, CA.
     Thursday, October 21, 2004, 7-10 p.m., Fallon, NV.

Addresses:

     Reno, NV--Washoe County Dept. of Water Resources, 4930 
Energy Way.
     Fernley, NV--City of Fernley, Council Chambers, 595 Silver 
Lace Blvd.
     Nixon, NV--Pyramid Lake Tribal Council Chambers, 210 
Capitol Hill.
     Kings Beach, CA--North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North 
Lake Blvd.
     Truckee, CA--Parks and Recreation Community Center, 10046 
Church St.
     Fallon, NV--Fallon Convention Center, 100 Campus Way.

    Organizations and individuals may present oral or written comments 
at the public hearings by signing up when arriving at the hearing.
    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

[[Page 52304]]

as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, 
available for public disclosure in their entirety.
    Copies of the Revised Draft EIS/ are Available for Public Review 
at:

     California Department of Water Resources, Central 
District, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
     Bureau of Reclamation, 705 North Plaza Street, Carson 
City, NV 89701.
     Fish and Wildlife Service, 1340 Financial Blvd, Rm. 234, 
Reno, NV 89502.
     Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 
20240-0001.
     At various county libraries; please call 800-742-9474 
(enter 26) for specific locations.

    TROA Background:
    Section 205(a) of the Settlement Act directs the Secretary of the 
Interior (Secretary), in conjunction with others, to negotiate an 
operating agreement governing operation of Federal Truckee River 
reservoirs and other specified matters. Interior, U.S. Department of 
Justice, States of California and Nevada, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, 
Sierra Pacific Power Company, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, and 
other entities in California and Nevada completed a draft agreement 
(i.e., Draft TROA) in October 2003. Draft TROA is available as an 
appendix to the revised Draft EIS/EIR or viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/troa/docs/TROAdraft.pdf.
    TROA would, in part, (1) Enhance conditions for the threatened 
Lahontan cutthroat trout and endangered cui-ui in the Truckee River 
basin; (2) increase municipal and industrial (M&I) drought protection 
for Truckee Meadows (Reno-Sparks metropolitan area); (3) improve 
Truckee River water quality downstream from Sparks, Nevada; and (4) 
enhance streamflows and recreational opportunities in the Truckee River 
basin. At the time TROA takes effect, the Settlement Act provides that 
a permanent allocation between California and Nevada of water in the 
Lake Tahoe, Truckee River and Carson River basins will also take 
effect. Allocation of those waters has been a long-standing issue 
between the two States; implementation of TROA resolves that issue. In 
addition, Section 205 of the Settlement Act requires that TROA, among 
other things, implement the provisions of the Preliminary Settlement 
Agreement as modified by the Ratification Agreement (PSA) and ensure 
that water is stored and released from Federal Truckee River reservoirs 
to satisfy the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr 
Ditch decree and Truckee River General Electric decree. PSA is a 1989 
agreement between Sierra Pacific Power Company and the Pyramid Lake 
Paiute Tribe to change the operation of Federal reservoirs and Sierra 
Pacific's exercise of its Truckee River water rights to (1) Improve 
spawning conditions for threatened and endangered fish species (cui-ui 
and Lahontan cutthroat trout) and (2) provide additional M&I water for 
Truckee Meadows during drought situations.
    Before TROA can be approved by the Secretary and the State of 
California, potential environmental effects of the agreement must be 
analyzed pursuant to NEPA and CEQA. Accordingly, Interior and DWR have 
jointly prepared this revised Draft EIS/EIR for that purpose. A Draft 
EIS/EIR based on an earlier draft agreement was initially prepared and 
released for public review in February 1998. Since then, ongoing 
negotiations have substantially modified the proposed agreement, 
resulting in the need to prepare a revised Draft EIS/EIR.

Current Activities

    Following the public release of Draft TROA in October 2003 by the 
negotiators, a revised Draft EIS/EIR was completed. The revised Draft 
EIS/EIR considers current conditions as well as three alternatives: (1) 
No Action Alternative (current management in the future, without TROA); 
(2) Local Water Supply Alternative (current management in the future 
with modified water sources, without TROA); and (3) TROA (changed 
management in the future). Section 205 of the Settlement Act also 
requires that TROA, once approved, be issued as a Federal Regulation. A 
draft regulation is being prepared for publication in the Federal 
Register at a later date to solicit public comment. Comments on the 
revised Draft EIS/EIR will be addressed in the final environmental 
analysis of TROA, together with any changes thereto, and a Final EIS/
EIR will be published. Comments received on provisions of Draft TROA 
will be forwarded to the negotiators. The Secretary cannot sign TROA 
until a Record of Decision has been completed. The State of California 
cannot sign TROA until it has considered and certified a Final EIS/EIR 
in conjunction with making any necessary findings pursuant to CEQA. 
These and other steps, including approval by the Orr Ditch and Truckee 
River General Electric Courts, must be completed before TROA may be 
implemented.

Description of Alternatives

    No Action Alternative (No Action):
    Under No Action, Truckee River reservoir operations would remain 
unchanged from current operations and would be consistent with existing 
court decrees, agreements, and regulations that currently govern 
surface water management (i.e., operating reservoirs in the Truckee 
River and Lake Tahoe basins and maintaining stream flows) in the 
Truckee River basin. Truckee Meadows Water Authority's (TMWA) existing 
programs for surface water rights acquisition and groundwater pumping 
for M&I use would continue. Groundwater pumping and water conservation 
in Truckee Meadows, however, would satisfy a greater proportion of 
projected future M&I demand than under current conditions. Groundwater 
pumping in California would also increase to satisfy a greater 
projected future M&I demand.
    Local Water Supply Alternative (LWSA):
    All elements of Truckee River reservoir operations, river flow 
management, Truckee River hydroelectric plant operations, minimum 
reservoir releases, reservoir spill and precautionary release criteria, 
and water exportation from the upper Truckee River basin and Lake Tahoe 
basin under LWSA would be the same as described under No Action. The 
principal differences between No Action and LWSA would be the source of 
water used for M&I purposes, extent of water conservation, 
implementation of a groundwater recharge program in Truckee Meadows, 
and assumptions regarding governmental decisions concerning approval of 
new water supply proposals.
    TROA Alternative (TROA):
    TROA would modify existing operations of all designated reservoirs 
to enhance coordination and flexibility while ensuring that existing 
water rights are served and flood control and dam safety requirements 
are met. TROA would incorporate, modify, or replace various provisions 
of the Truckee River Agreement (TRA) and the Tahoe-Prosser Exchange 
Agreement (TPEA). As proposed by the U.S., TROA would supersede all 
requirements of any agreements concerning the operation of all 
reservoirs, including those of TRA and TPEA, and would become the sole 
operating agreement for all designated reservoirs.
    All reservoirs would continue to be operated under TROA for the 
same purposes as under current operations

[[Page 52305]]

and with most of the same reservoir storage priorities as under No 
Action and LWSA. The Settlement Act requires that TROA ensure that 
water is stored and released from Truckee River reservoirs to satisfy 
the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr Ditch decree 
and Truckee General Electric decree, except for those rights that are 
voluntarily relinquished by the parties to the PSA, or by any other 
persons or entities, or which are transferred pursuant to State law.
    The primary difference between TROA and the other alternatives is 
that TROA would provide opportunities for storing and managing various 
categories of credit water, not provided for in the current operation 
of the system. Signatories to TROA generally would be allowed to 
accumulate credit water in storage by retaining or capturing water in a 
reservoir that would have otherwise been released from storage or 
passed through the reservoir to serve a downstream water right (e.g., 
retaining Floriston Rate water that would have been released to serve 
an Orr Ditch decree water right). In cases with a change in the place 
or type of use, such storage could take place only after a transfer in 
accordance with applicable state water law. Once accumulated, credit 
water would be classified by category with a record kept of its 
storage, exchange, and release. Credit water generally would be 
retained in storage or exchanged among the reservoirs until needed and 
released to satisfy its beneficial use. The Interim Storage Agreement 
(negotiated in accordance with Section 205(b)(3) of the Settlement Act) 
would no longer be necessary and so would be superseded by new storage 
agreements between the Bureau of Reclamation and TROA signatories.
    In addition to credit water, TROA also establishes criteria for new 
wells in the Truckee River in California to minimize short-term 
reduction in stream flow, provides for the implementation of the 
interstate allocation between California and Nevada, provides for the 
settlement of litigation, establishes a habitat restoration fund for 
the Truckee River, and establishes more strict conditions and approval 
requirements for pumping or siphoning water from Lake Tahoe, among 
other benefits.

    Dated: August 18, 2004.
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 04-19417 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P