[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52342-52344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14625]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Upper Truckee River Restoration and Golf Course Relocation 
Project, El Dorado County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement/
environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIS/
EIR) and notice of scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Compact 
and Chapter 5 of the TRPA Code of Ordinances, and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the TRPA, and the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) intend to prepare a 
joint EIS/EIS/EIR. The EIS/EIS/EIR would evaluate a restoration project 
along the reach of the Upper Truckee River that extends from its entry 
point at the southern boundary of Washoe Meadows State Park (SP) to 
that point just west of U.S. Highway 50 (U.S. 50) where the river exits 
Lake Valley State Recreation Area (SRA).
    Two public scoping meetings will be held to solicit comments from 
interested parties to assist in determining the scope of the 
environmental analysis, including the alternatives to be addressed, and 
to identify the significant environmental issues related to the 
proposed action.

DATES: The public scoping meeting dates are:
     Tuesday, September 26, 2006, 12 to 2 p.m., U.S. Forest 
Service (USFS) Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Offices in South Lake 
Tahoe, California.
     Tuesday, September 26, 2006, 6 to 8 p.m., USFS Lake Tahoe 
Basin

[[Page 52343]]

Management Unit Offices in South Lake Tahoe, California.
    In addition, the proposed project will be an agenda item at the 
following TRPA meetings:
     Wednesday, September 13, 2006, TRPA Advisory Planning 
Commission Meeting, TRPA's Governing Board Room in Stateline, Nevada 
(See agenda at http://www.trpa.org/default.aspx?tabid=259).
     Wednesday, September 27, 2006, TRPA Governing Board 
Meeting, North Tahoe Conference Center in Kings Beach, California. (See 
agenda at http://www.trpa.org/default.aspx?tabid=258).
    All comments must be received by October 6, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meetings will be held at:
     USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Offices, 35 College 
Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
     Governing Board Room, 128 Market Street, Stateline, NV 
89449
     North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Tahoe 
Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA 96143
    Written comments on the scope of the environmental document, 
alternatives, and impacts to be considered should be mailed to Mr. Paul 
Nielsen, Project Manager, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, P.O. Box 
5310, Stateline, NV 89449. If you would like to be included on the EIS/
EIS/EIR mailing list, please contact Ms. Cyndie Walck by e-mail at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Myrnie Mayville, Environmental 
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Room E-2606, Sacramento, CA, 95825-1898, (916) 978-5037; Mr. Paul 
Nielsen at the above address or (775) 588-4547 ext. 249, 
[email protected]; or Ms. Cyndie Walck, State of California Department 
of Parks and Recreation, Sierra District, P.O. Box 16, Tahoe City, CA, 
96145, (530) 581-0925, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Upper Truckee River has been substantially altered by land 
practices since European settlement in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Comstock 
Era timber harvest activities increased erosion and flooding, and the 
transport of logs on the river required straightening of the channel. 
Farming and ranching practices further altered the channel and 
surrounding floodplain. In many locations, particularly in the lower 
portion of the reach downstream of Meyers, the channel was straightened 
and enlarged to protect or improve farming operations. The floodplain 
adjacent to the river was also recontoured during the construction of 
the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. The channel has incised and is experiencing 
high rates of bed and bank erosion. These historic modifications have 
degraded the ecologic and geomorphic processes and functions of the 
Upper Truckee River, contributing nutrient and suspended sediment 
discharge to Lake Tahoe and thus decreasing its clarity.
    State Parks owns most of the land adjacent to the river reach 
downstream of the U.S. 50 bridge crossing at Meyers (near Chilcothe 
Street) to the point just upstream of the Elks Club near the 
intersection of Sawmill Road and U.S. 50. The State Parks property 
includes Washoe Meadows SP (State Park) and Lake Valley SRA (State 
Recreation Area), which includes Lake Tahoe Golf Course. While several 
other restoration projects are currently being planned for other 
reaches of the Upper Truckee River, the golf course reach was 
identified as the greatest opportunity for rehabilitation in the 
``Upper Truckee River Upper Reach Environmental Assessment Report'' 
prepared for Reclamation and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District 
(TRCD), because it presents an opportunity for full restoration and 
there are less constraints on project planning and implementation due 
to public ownership by State Parks. The Environmental Assessment Report 
recommended four river treatment options including: (1) No action, (2) 
hard engineering or engineered stabilization, (3) creation of an inset 
floodplain and, (4) full geomorphic restoration. Three of the four 
alternatives to be analyzed in this EIS/EIS/EIR were derived from these 
original alternatives.

Goals and Objectives

    The following goals and objectives were developed for the proposed 
action:
     Restore, to the extent feasible, natural geomorphic 
processes that sustain channel and floodplain morphology.
     Restore, to the extent feasible, ecosystem function in 
terms of ecological processes and aquatic and riparian habitat quality.
     Reduce erosion and improve water quality including 
reduction of the reach's contribution of suspended sediment and 
nutrient loading in the Upper Truckee River and Lake Tahoe.
     Minimize and mitigate short-term water quality and other 
environmental impacts during construction.
     Improve the golf course layout, infrastructure, and 
management to reduce the environmental impact of the golf course on the 
river's water quality and riparian habitat by integrating 
environmentally-sensitive design concepts.
     Maintain golf recreation opportunity and quality of play 
at a championship level.
     In the stream environment zone, reduce the area occupied 
by the golf course and improve the quality and increase the extent of 
riparian and meadow habitat.
     Maintain revenue level of the golf course.
     Avoid any increase in flood hazard to private property.
     Avoid any increase in safety hazards to golf course and 
other recreation users.
     Provide opportunities for informal, non-vehicular 
recreation.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed restoration project would require relocation of a 
portion of the Lake Tahoe Golf Course to allow for restoration of the 
river, reduce the area of stream environment zone occupied by the golf 
course, and allow for establishment of a buffer area between the golf 
course and the river. The proposed action also includes realigning the 
boundaries of Washoe Meadows SP and Lake Valley SRA, so restored 
habitat areas are within the state park and the relocated golf course 
holes are located entirely within the state recreation area.
    The following alternatives will be considered at an equal level of 
detail in the EIS/EIS/EIR: Alternative 1, No Project/No Action; 
Alternative 2, Geomorphic Restoration with 18-hole Golf Course 
(Proposed Action); Alternative 3, Geomorphic Restoration with 9-hole 
Golf Course; and Alternative 4, Engineered Stabilization (In Place). 
With Alternative 1, existing conditions on the project site would be 
projected into the future. Alternative 2 would include restoring the 
channel to a natural balanced condition that improves geomorphic 
function and habitat, relocating a portion of the Lake Tahoe Golf 
Course holes to the west side of the river, reconfiguring and upgrading 
the remaining golf course holes on the east side of the river, 
restoring the riparian/floodplain area where the golf course holes 
would be removed from the river corridor, removing the golf course 
bridges that cross the Upper Truckee River and replacing them with a 
single bridge crossing near the existing Hole 6 Bridge, and revising 
park unit boundaries and ``trading'' land between Washoe Meadows SP and 
Lake Valley SRA by realigning their boundaries. Alternative

[[Page 52344]]

3 would include the same river treatment as with Alternative 2, 
reconfiguring and upgrading a 9-hole golf course on the east side of 
the river, and eliminating all golf course bridges. Alternative 4 would 
install bank protection (rip rap) and grade controls (rock weirs) that 
``lock'' the river in its current alignment and elevation, incorporate 
bioengineering with native riparian vegetation, include selection of 
treatment areas to stabilize the river and minimize erosion, and leave 
the existing 18-hole golf course unchanged.
    Potential Federal involvement may include the approval of the 
proposed action and partial funding of the river restoration component 
of the proposed action.

Additional Information

    The environmental review will be conducted pursuant to NEPA, CEQA, 
TRPA's Compact and Chapter 5 of the TRPA Code of Ordinances, the 
Federal and state Endangered Species Acts, and other applicable laws, 
to analyze the potential environmental impacts of implementing a range 
of feasible alternatives. Public input on the range of alternatives 
proposed for detailed consideration will be sought through the public 
scoping process.
    The EIS/EIS/EIR will assess potential impacts to any Indian Trust 
Assets (ITAs). Input about concerns or issues related to ITAs is 
requested from potentially affected Federally-recognized Indian Tribes 
and individual Indians.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses, 
home phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of respondents, available for 
public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their names and/or home addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider 
withholding this information you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your comments. In addition, you must present a rationale 
for withholding this information. This rationale must demonstrate that 
disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. 
Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden. In the absence of 
exceptional, documentable circumstances, this information will be 
released. We will always make submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: August 29, 2006.
Michael Nepstad,
Acting Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E6-14625 Filed 9-1-06; 8:45 am]
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