[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 179 (Friday, September 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54519-54520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7705]



[[Page 54519]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Proposed Water Service Contract, El Dorado County Water Agency, 
El Dorado County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement/environmental report (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) of 1969 (as amended) and Section 21061 of the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) and El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) intend to 
prepare a joint EIS/EIR for a Municipal and Industrial (M&I) water 
service contract from the Central Valley Project (CVP), California. The 
proposed project consists of a long term water supply contract under 
which Reclamation would provide up to 15,000 acre-feet per annum (AFA) 
to the EDCWA for diversion from Folsom Reservoir or for exchange 
upstream on the American River. The EDCWA proposes to sub-contract this 
water equally between El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) and 
Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD). EID proposes to take 
its supply from Folsom Reservoir. GDPUD proposes to take its supply 
upstream by way of a water exchange with Placer County Water Agency 
(PCWA). The GDPUD diversion facility is at the American River Pump 
Station which is currently under construction.

DATES: Reclamation and EDCWA will host two public scoping meetings on 
the proposed project. The meeting dates are:
     Tuesday, September 26, 2006, 6 to 8 p.m., Placerville, CA.
     Wednesday, September 27, 2006, 6 to 8 p.m., Greenwood, CA.
    Any interested member of the public is invited to attend. An 
overview of the project will be presented and public comments received. 
Written comments should be mailed to James A. Roberts at the address 
below by October 11, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The locations of the two meetings are:
     Placerville--El Dorado Irrigation District, Harry J. 
Dunlop Customer Service Building, Board Room, 2890 Mosquito Road, 
Placerville.
     Greenwood--Greenwood Community Center, 4411 Highway 193, 
Greenwood, CA 95635.
    Written comments on this notice or the scope of this EIS/EIR should 
reference the Bureau of Reclamation/EDCWA CVP Water Service Contract 
EIS/EIR and be sent to: James A. Roberts, Ph.D., El Dorado County Water 
Agency, 3932 Ponderosa Road, Suite 200, Shingle Springs, CA 95682.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Deason, Environmental 
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, 7794 Folsom Dam Road, Folsom, 
California 95630, telephone: (16) 989-7279 or James A. Roberts, Ph.D. 
at the above address, telephone: (530) 621-5392.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1990, Congress passed Public Law 101-514, 
which directed Reclamation to enter into a long-term CVP M&I water 
service contract with EDCWA. Section 206 (b)(1)(B) provides that 
Reclamation enter into an M&I water service contract with EDCWA for up 
to 15,000 AFA. The proposed action is the execution of a long term 
water service contract with EDCWA. EDCWA intends to apportion this new 
contract water to both EID and GDPUD based on these parties' individual 
water needs and timing requests. This will require separate contracts 
between EDCWA and both EID and GDPUD with Reclamation approval. At 
present, it is assumed that the new Federal water supply would be split 
equally between EID and GDPUD such that each purveyor would be provided 
up to 7,500 AFA.
    The EIS/EIR focuses on the potential environmental impacts 
resulting from the execution and implementation of the new CVP water 
service contract. The EIS/EIR will include evaluation of the no project 
alternative as well as alternative delivery quantities. At a project-
level, it will address a comprehensive nag of in-stream potential 
effects resulting from this new 15,000 AFA withdrawal, including a 
detailed evaluation of the effects to the CVP and the State Water 
Project (SWP). This will involve assessments of water-related resources 
including: Fisheries, riparian species/habitats, water-related 
recreation, water-related cultural resources, and water quality. It 
will also address water supply impacts across the CVP/SWP, flood 
control at Folsom Reservoir, and potential effects to CVP hydropower 
generation and pumping impacts at the reservoir. Water-related analyses 
will be facilitated through the application and use of Reclamation's 
planning and operations model, CALSIM II, along with other 
environmental models that utilize CLASIM II output hydrology. At 
present, the lead agencies lack sufficient information to ascertain 
whether any of these impacts will be significant.
    No new infrastructure facilities are included with this proposed 
action. While the EIS/EIR will identify, to the extent known, possible 
future infrastructure projects that would be needed to fully utilize 
this contract water, many of these details are not currently known. 
Accordingly, a program-level assessment of known or potential 
facilities will be provided in the EIS/EIR.
    The EIS/EIR will assess potential impacts to any Indian Trust 
Assets (ITAs) or any environmental justice issues. Input about concerns 
or issues related to ITAs is requested from potentially affected Indian 
groups and individuals, the public, and state and Federal agencies.
    This proposed action has been the subject of previous scoping 
meetings that were published in the Federal Register (58 FR 28034, May 
12, 1993, and 63 FR 30512, June 4, 1998). However, because the proposed 
action and alternatives have been updated and more than eight years has 
passed since the last scoping meetings, additional scoping activities 
are being initiated at this time.

Special Services

    If special assistance is required at the scoping meetings, please 
contract Donna Potter at 916-978-5103, TDD 916-978-5608, or via e-mail 
at [email protected]. Please notify Ms. Potter as far in advance of 
the meetings as possible to enable Reclamation to secure the needed 
services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will be 
notified. A telephone device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is 
available at 916-978-5608.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses, 
home phone numbers, and email 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 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

[[Page 54520]]

organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

Michael Nepstad,
Acting Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 06-7705 Filed 9-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-M