[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59499-59501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16590]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

 Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a Permit Application for the 
Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project, San Diego County, 
CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Los Angeles 
District, has received an application for a Department of the Army 
permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act from the San Diego 
County Water Authority (Water Authority) to construct the San Vicente 
Carryover Storage Project (Proposed Action). As part of the permit 
process, and in conjunction with the Water Authority, the Corps is 
evaluating the environmental effects associated with raising San 
Vicente Dam beyond the permitted height of the Emergency Storage 
Project (ESP), to provide additional reservoir capacity for carryover 
storage.
    The primary Federal involvement associated with the Proposed Action 
is the discharge of fill materials (including permanent inundation) 
within Federal jurisdictional areas and waters of the United States. In 
addition, the Proposed Action could have potential significant effects 
on the human environment. Therefore, the Corps will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to render a final decision on the Water 
Authority's permit application. The Corps decision will be to either 
issue or deny a Department of the Army permit for the Proposed Action. 
The EIS will be prepared as a joint document. Pursuant to the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Water Authority will 
serve as Lead Agency for the preparation of an Environmental Impact 
Report (EIR). The Corps and Water Authority have agreed to jointly 
prepare a Draft EIS/EIR for the Proposed Action to optimize efficiency 
and avoid duplication. The Draft EIS/EIR is intended to be sufficient 
in scope to address Federal, state, and local requirements and 
environmental issues concerning the Proposed Action and permit 
approvals.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the Proposed Action 
and Draft EIS/EIR can be answered by Mr. Robert R. Smith, Corps 
Regulatory Project Manager, by telephone at (858) 674-6784 or by e-mail 
at [email protected]. Written comments should be addressed 
to both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rancho Bernardo Branch 
Office, Attn: File Number 200601015-RRS, 16885 West Bernardo Drive, 
Suite 300A, San Diego, CA 92127, and to Ms. Kelley Gage, Senior Water 
Resources Specialist, San Diego County Water Authority, 4677 Overland 
Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123. Information about the Proposed Action and 
Draft EIS/EIR can also be obtained from the Water Authority's Web site 
at http://www.sdcwa.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Project Site and Background Information. The Proposed Action is 
located at the existing San Vicente Reservoir in the unincorporated 
area of San Diego County, north of Lakeside. The site is within the 
USGS 7.5' San Vicente Reservoir Quadrangle, Sections 13, 14, 25, and 
36, Township 14 South, Range 1 West; and Sections 16-20, 23,

[[Page 59500]]

24, and 29-31, Township 14 South, Range 1 East.
    (a) Background. In August 1996, the Water Authority approved the 
Emergency Storage Project (ESP) to provide local water storage to meet 
emergency needs within the Water Authority's service area. The ESP 
includes expansion of the existing San Vicente Reservoir by raising the 
existing San Vicente Dam by 54 feet, providing approximately 52,100 
acre-feet of emergency storage capacity, and construction of associated 
pipelines, pump stations, and ancillary structures. The Corps issued 
the Record of Decision for the Final EIS for the ESP on August 4, 1997. 
The ESP was permitted by the Corps on August 18, 1997 (No. 95-2009200-
DZ).
    As part of its water planning efforts, the Water Authority 
completed a Regional Water Facilities Master Plan (Master Plan) in 
December 2002. The Master Plan contains an evaluation of the facilities 
and resources the Water Authority will need to fulfill its mission of 
providing a safe and reliable supply of water to its member agencies 
through the year 2030. The Master Plan identified an immediate need for 
additional carryover storage for the region, and identified an 
additional expansion of San Vicente Reservoir to include 100,000 acre-
feet of carryover storage as a component of each alternative. The Water 
Authority further refined its water supply and demand mix in its 2005 
Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) update. The UWMP confirmed the need 
for 100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage and identified the need for 
additional carryover storage above and beyond the 100,000 acre-feet 
addressed in the Master Plan.
    (b) Purpose and Need. The overall project purpose is to 
substantially increase the reliability and flexibility of the regional 
water supply by providing the Water Authority with facilities to 
accumulate and store approximately 100,000 acre-feet of water. During 
dry weather periods, increased regional demand for water may exceed 
local supplies resulting in potential water shortages. Through the use 
of carryover storage, water can be accumulated during wetter years/
seasons, when supplies are greater, and used in drier years/seasons or 
during droughts, when supplies are in higher demand. In order to 
accomplish this purpose, the following objectives must be met:
     Provide approximately 100,000 acre-feet of readily 
available, locally stored water for distribution to the Water 
Authority's member agencies during supply shortages by the year 2011;
     Increase system reliability and operation flexibility;
     Locate new facilities in a manner that reduces the need 
for additional improvements to the Water Authority's infrastructure 
network;
     Minimize environmental and social impacts, and;
     Minimize costs.
    (c) Dam Raise Construction. The existing San Vicente Dam is 220 
feet high and the capacity of the reservoir is approximately 90,000 
acre-feet. The Proposed Action would raise the dam an additional 63 
feet beyond the approved ESP dam raise, increasing the overall dam 
height by up to 117 feet (or a total dam height of up to 337 feet). 
This would increase the total usable capacity of the reservoir by 
approximately 152,100 acre-feet. The elevation of the spillway crest 
would be raised from 650 to 766 feet above mean sea level (AMSL). Total 
storage capacity and surface area at Maximum Normal Pool (MNP) of the 
expanded reservoir would be 247,100 acre-feet and 1,700 acres, 
respectively.
    Two options are being evaluated for the provision of aggregate to 
produce the concrete material for dam construction: (1) Extraction and 
processing of aggregate at an on-site quarry within City of San Diego 
property south of San Vicente Dam; and (2) hauling of aggregate to the 
site from an offsite location.
    Concurrent with the dam raise, construction of a new inlet/outlet 
facility would require a cofferdam to create a dry working area on the 
upstream (water) side of the dam. The proposed increase in reservoir 
capacity and elevation would also require the construction of two 
saddle dams to the west of the main dam, relocation of the San Vicente 
Marina, and relocation of the marina access road. New marina 
facilities, to replace the existing marina that would be inundated by 
the ESP dam raise, were included as part of the ESP. The marina 
facilities would be shifted west of the ESP planned location as part of 
the Proposed Action. The Proposed Action also includes installation of 
a bypass pipeline extending from the easterly saddle dam to the First 
Aqueduct Diversion Structure north of the proposed marina.
    (d) Reservoir Lowering/Raising. As addressed in the Corps permit 
for the ESP, the water in the San Vicente Reservoir would be lowered 
prior to construction of the cofferdam. The total time required to 
lower the reservoir, maintain the reservoir at the lowered water level 
during construction of the dam raise, and refill the reservoir to the 
new water level would be approximately eight years, depending on the 
rate of imported water and local watershed inflows. Of these eight 
years, approximately 18 to 24 months would be attributed to the 
construction and filling activities for the Proposed Action.
    (e) Determination of Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM). For the 
Proposed Action, the Corps has determined that the jurisdictional OHWM 
for the reservoir is the existing San Vicente Dam spillway at 650 feet 
AMSL.
    2. Alternatives. Alternatives to the Proposed Action initially 
being considered include:
    (a) Construction of a new dam and reservoir at Moosa Valley in the 
Valley Center area, to provide 100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage 
capacity.
    (b) A reduced dam raise at San Vicente Reservoir to provide 50,000 
acre-feet of carryover storage capacity, combined with the construction 
of a new dam and reservoir at Moosa Valley in the Valley Center area, 
to provide an additional 50,000 acre-feet of carryover storage 
capacity.
    (c) No Project.
    (d) No Permit Issued.
    (e) Other new or expanded surface reservoirs, reoperation of 
existing local reservoir storage, local or out-of-region groundwater 
basin storage, and other alternatives that have been considered but 
rejected.
    3. Draft EIS/EIR Scoping Process.
    (a) The Corps is furnishing this notice to: (1) Advise other 
Federal and state agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our 
intentions; (2) announce the initiation of a 30-day scoping period; and 
(3) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and 
alternatives to be included in the Draft EIS/EIR. The Corps and the 
Water Authority invite comments from all interested parties to ensure 
that the full range of issues related to the permit request is 
addressed and that all significant issues are identified. We will 
accept written comments until 30 days after the date of publication of 
this notice.
    (b) Significant issues to be analyzed in the Draft EIS/ EIR 
include:
    (1) Aesthetics/visual quality;
    (2) Agricultural resources;
    (3) Air quality;
    (4) Biological resources;
    (5) Cultural resources;
    (6) Cumulative impacts;
    (7) Energy;
    (8) Environmental justice;
    (9) Geology/soils;
    (10) Growth inducement;
    (11) Land use/planning;

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    (12) Mineral resources;
    (13) Noise/vibration;
    (14) Paleontological resources;
    (15) Population/housing;
    (16) Public safety/hazardous materials;
    (17) Public services/utilities;
    (18) Recreation;
    (19) Socioeconomics;
    (20) Traffic/circulation; and
    (21) Water resources.
    (c) The Corps and the Water Authority will conduct an environmental 
review of the Proposed Action in accordance with the requirements of 
NEPA, 1969 as amended, (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1500 et seq.), 
Corps Procedures for Implementing NEPA (33 Code of Federal Regulations, 
Section 230 et seq.), and with other appropriate Federal laws and 
regulations, policies, and procedures of the Corps for compliance with 
those regulations; and with CEQA (Public Resources Section 21000, et 
seq.), State of California CEQA Guidelines (California Code of 
Regulations, Section 15000 et seq). The Proposed Action, through the 
Corps permit process, will require consultation under the federal 
Endangered Species Act and Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.
    (d) Written comments should be addressed to both the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Rancho Bernardo Branch Office, Attn: File Number 
200601015-RRS, 16885 West Bernardo Drive, Suite 300A, San Diego, CA 
92127, and to Ms. Kelley Gage, Senior Water Resources Specialist, San 
Diego County Water Authority, 4677 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 
92123. Information about the Proposed Action and Draft EIS/EIR can also 
be obtained from the Water Authority's Web site at http://www.sdcwa.org.
    4. Scoping Meeting. A public scoping meeting will be held on the 
Proposed Action on November 1, 2006, 6:30 p.m., at the San Diego County 
Water Authority, 4677 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123. This 
meeting will give agencies and the public an opportunity to receive 
more information on the Proposed Action and to provide comments and 
suggestions on the scope of the EIS/EIR.
    5. Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR. The Corps and Water Authority 
expect the Draft EIS/EIR to be made available to the public in the 
Spring 2007. A joint public hearing will be held during the public 
comment period for the Draft EIS/EIR. Written comments will be accepted 
at the meeting.

Mark Durham,
Chief, South Coast Section, Regulatory Branch.
 [FR Doc. E6-16590 Filed 10-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-KF-P