[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3060-3061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-483]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Yuba River Basin Project, 
Yuba County, CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sacramento District, is preparing a 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact 
Report (SEIS/EIR) to reevaluate the previously authorized plan and 
other alternatives to reduce flood damages and restore riparian and 
aquatic habitat in the lower Yuba River Basin, part of the Feather 
River Basin, and the city of Marysville, in Yuba County, CA. This 
notice replaces the one previously published in the Federal Register on 
March 17, 2004 (69 FR 12646). The general reevaluation is needed 
because recent technical, environmental, and economic studies have 
indicated that additional refinement and reformulation are needed to 
determine the feasibility and extent of Federal and non-Federal 
interest in the project. The basic study authority for the Yuba River 
Basin study was provided under the Flood Control Act of 1962.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this study 
to Mr. Robert Koenigs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento 
District, Attn: Planning Division (CESPK-PD-R), 1325 J Street, 
Sacramento, CA 95814. Requests to be placed on the mailing list should 
also be sent to this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Koenigs, E-mail at 
[email protected], telephone (916) 557-6712, or fax (916) 
557-7856.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Public Involvement

    The Yuba River Basin project will be coordinated between Federal, 
State, and local governments; local stakeholders; special interest 
groups, and any other interest individuals and organizations. The Corps 
will announce availability of the draft supplemental document in the 
Federal Register and other media, and will provide the public, 
organizations, and agencies with an opportunity to submit comments, 
which will be addressed in the Final SEIS/EIR. A 45-day public review 
period will be provided for individuals and agencies to review and 
comment on the SEIS/EIR. All interested parties should respond to this 
notice and provide a current address if they wish to be notified SEIS/
EIR circulation.

2. Project Information

    The Yuba River Basin is located in western Yuba County about 50 
miles north of Sacramento. The authorized project focused on 
approximately 21 miles of levees along the Yuba and Feather Rivers in 
the variety of Marysville, CA. The Yuba River Basin study area was 
divided into three reaches: Reach 1--Yuba River/Feather River; reach 
2--Feather River (including Bear River and WP Interceptor Canal area); 
and reach 3--Marysville ring levee.
    The Feasibility Report and Final EIS/EIR were completed in April 
1998. Congress authorized the project in the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1999, and the Record of Decision was signed in June 
2000. The authorized project included specific levee modifications on 
6.1 miles of the left bank of the Yuba River upstream of the confluence 
with the Feather River; 10 miles of levee on the left bank of the 
Feather River downstream of the confluence of the Yuba River; and 5 
miles of the Marysville ring levee. The levee modification work as 
authorized was intended to bring the level of flood protection for 
these levees up to about a 200-year level of protection.
    Since the final Yuba River Basin project was authorized, 
geotechnical investigations and updated hydrology have identified 
previously unknown levee foundation problems in portions of the study 
area/authorized project. Levees along the Bear River and the WP 
Interceptor Canal have also been shown to have stability and seepage 
problems that may cause flooding in lower Yuba County. Because flooding 
is still a significant problem for the affected communities along the 
Yuba, Feather, and Bear Rivers, the State of California Reclamation 
Board has requested that the Corps initiate a general reevaluation of 
the project to determine a new feasible project.

[[Page 3061]]

3. Proposed Action

    The proposed action would be a general reevaluation of the 
authorized project and other alternative plans to provide the level of 
flood protection previously planned and to restore riparian and aquatic 
habitats in the project area.

4. Alternatives

    Potential alternatives to reduce flood damages and restore riparian 
and aquatic habitat could include: (1) No Action, (2) Modified 
Authorized Project Features and other Levee Improvements, and (3) 
Modified Authorized Project Features, other Levee Improvements, and 
Setback Levees. Features of the alternatives could include modifying 
existing levees, constructing new setback levees, creating seasonal or 
permanent wetland areas, and planting native riparian and wetland 
species.

    Dated: January 6, 2006.
Ronald N. Light,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 06-483 Filed 1-18-06; 8:45 am]
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