[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 218 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66192-66193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19083]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Developing 
Refuge Water Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The ``Criteria for Developing Refuge Water Management Plans'' 
(Refuge Criteria), as applied in the following areas, are now available 
for public comment.
     North Grassland State Wildlife Area, China Island
     North Grassland State Wildlife Area, Salt Slough
     Merced National Wildlife Refuge
     Los Banos State Wildlife Area
     Mendota State Wildlife Area
     San Luis National Wildlife Refuge
     Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
     Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
     Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
     Kern National Wildlife Refuge
     Volta State Wildlife Area
     Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
    The Refuge Criteria provides a common methodology, or standard, for 
efficient use of water by Federal Wildlife Refuges, State Wildlife 
Management Areas and Resource Conservation Districts that receive water 
under provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). 
They document the process and format by which Refuge Water Management 
Plans (Plans) should be prepared and submitted to Reclamation as part 
of the Refuge/District Water Supply Contracts and Memorandum of 
Agreements. The Refuge Criteria refers to Refuges, Wildlife Areas and 
Resource Conservation Districts as Refuges. Those Refuges that entered 
into water supply contracts with Reclamation, as a result of the CVPIA 
and subsequent Department of the Interior administrative review 
processes, are required to prepare Plans using the Refuge Criteria.

DATES: All public comments must be received by December 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Please mail comments to Ms. Laurie Sharp, Bureau of 
Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-410, Sacramento, California 95825, 
916-978-5232, or e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To be placed on a mailing list for any 
subsequent information or to obtain a copy of any water management 
plans, please contact Ms. Sharp at the e-mail address or telephone 
number above.



[[Page 66193]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    In response to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 
and a 1995 Department of the Interior administrative review process, 
the Interagency Coordinated Program for Wetland and Water Use Planning 
(ICP) was formed. The ICP was comprised of representatives from the 
Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
California Department of Fish and Game, and the Grassland Water 
District/Grassland Resource Conservation District. The ICP developed 
the 1998 Task Force Report, which outlines past, present, and future 
wetland planning and management issues and a methodology for Refuge 
Criteria. To continue the work of the now disbanded ICP, an Interagency 
Refuge Water Management Team (IRWMT) was formed to continue working on 
wetland issues such as water delivery, including additional work on 
wetland Refuge Criteria. The IRWMT is comprised of representatives from 
the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
California Department of Fish and Game, and the Grassland Water 
District/Grassland Resource Conservation District. The IRWMT used the 
1998 Task Force Report and Reclamation's 1999 Conservation and 
Efficiency Criteria as the foundation for developing the water 
management planning requirements or criteria included in these Refuge 
Criteria. The Refuge Criteria also incorporated comments, ideas, and 
suggestions from Refuge/District managers, biologists, water 
conservation specialists, engineers, the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, and 
other Central Valley stakeholders.
    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 as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety. Public 
comments for the Refuge Criteria are now being accepted.

    Dated: October 31, 2006.
Richard M. Stevenson,
Acting Regional Resources Manager, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E6-19083 Filed 11-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P