[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4292-4293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1405]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Fish Passage Improvement Project at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, 
Tehama County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR), recirculation of the 
document.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Tehama-Colusa 
Canal Authority (TCCA) are re-circulating the DEIS/EIR for the Fish 
Passage Improvement Project at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam for public 
review and comment. The document is being re-circulated for any 
additional comments since it was originally available to the public 
from August 14 through October 29, 2002, given the length of lapsed 
time and the recent selection of Alternative 2B as Reclamation's 
Preferred Alternative. The public comments sent in 2002 are also 
available although no responses have yet been completed. The final EIS/
EIR will be prepared after the end of the new comment period.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS/EIR will be accepted on or before March 16, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS/EIR should be sent to Mr. David 
Bird, General Manager, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, P.O. Box 1025, 
Willows, CA 95988. Comments may be submitted electronically by e-
mailing the project team: [email protected].
    A copy of the Executive Summary, DEIS/EIR, and/or technical 
appendices may be obtained by calling Mr. Bird at the telephone number 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Freeman, Bureau of 
Reclamation, telephone: 530-529-3890, fax: 530-529-3895, e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Mr. David Bird, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, 
telephone: 530-934-2125, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since construction of the Red Bluff 
Diversion Dam, concern has been expressed regarding the dam's effect on 
both upstream and downstream fish migration. The dam was built with 11 
movable gates. Raising the gates eliminates the dam's effect and allows 
the river to flow unimpeded. Lowering the dam gates allows for gravity 
diversion into canals and results in the creation of Lake Red Bluff.
    Over the years, the dam gates have been raised more frequently in 
an attempt to enhance fish passage. Therefore, the ability to divert 
irrigation water has been gradually decreased from year-round to the 
current 4-month (gates-in) operations from May 15 to September 14. 
During the remainder of the year, the dam gates are open, allowing a 
free flowing, unimpeded river. Detailed studies show the current design 
of the fish ladders and the operations of the dam gates do not 
adequately allow passage of all threatened and endangered fish species.
    The DEIS/EIR outlines the proposed project alternatives that seek 
to address issues related to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, including 
fish passage and water supply. Current dam operations do not adequately 
allow passage of threatened and endangered fish species. Additionally, 
current dam operations limit the dam's capacity to meet the 
agricultural demand. To address these critical issues, TCCA and 
Reclamation are working together to determine an appropriate solution.
    The project goals are to:
     Substantially improve the long-term reliable level of 
anadromous fish passage, both upstream and downstream, past the Red 
Bluff Diversion Dam.
     Substantially improve the long-term ability to reliably 
and cost-effectively move sufficient water into the Tehama-Colusa Canal 
and the Corning Canal systems to meet the needs of the water districts 
served by the TCCA.
    The TCCA and Reclamation are working together as ``co-lead'' 
agencies on this project to achieve the project purpose and need. 
However, they are independent agencies with various interests and 
methods for approaching a project such as this one. Work conducted to 
date has built upon a wide array of previous studies conducted at the 
dam.
    Through detailed feasibility studies, six alternatives, including 
the No Action alternative, were created based on various combinations 
of new facilities and operational changes. These have been created to 
encompass the range of options available to address the identified 
water delivery and fish passage issues.
    The alternatives identified in the DEIS/EIR are:
    No action--The current operating conditions remain the same with a 
4-month dam ``gates-in,'' that creates Lake Red Bluff from May 15 to 
September 14. The impacts of this option must be studied to a similar 
level of detail as the others. It is used as a benchmark for comparison 
of the other alternatives.
    1B--4-Month Bypass--This option creates a fish-friendly channel 
around the dam with sufficient water flow to attract and transport fish 
moving upstream and deliver juvenile fish moving downstream when the 
dam gates are lowered in late spring and early fall. Gates would 
continue to be lowered in the May 15 to September 14 period. A new 
pumping station would be required to provide reliable agricultural 
water supply from the river into the water delivery canals.
    1A and 2A--Improved fish ladders--These two alternatives are being 
considered and are aimed at improving the efficiency of the ``fish 
ladders'' designed to create a passage for fish to swim around the dam. 
The design improvements will increase the flow of water through the 
fish ladders. By increasing the flow, more fish will be attracted to 
the ladders and successfully pass the dam. The two alternatives differ 
in the operations of the dam gates. Alternative 1A proposes lowering 
the dam gates for the current 4-month operation and Alternative 2A for 
a 2-month operation (July 1 through August

[[Page 4293]]

31). A new pumping station would be required to provide reliable 
agricultural water supply from the river into the water delivery canals 
under Alternative 2A.
    2B--Existing fish ladders with gates up 10 months--Alternative 2B 
retains the current fish ladders and decreases lowering of the dam 
gates to 2 months (July 1 through August 31). The source of improved 
fish passage would be the reduction in gate operations. A new pumping 
station would be required to provide reliable agricultural water supply 
from the river into the water delivery canals. Reclamation has 
identified Alternative 2B as the preferred alternative.
    3--Gates out--Alternative 3 keeps the dam gates open year round, 
creating a free flowing river, unimpeded by the dam. Fish ladders or 
other bypass options would no longer be necessary and Lake Red Bluff 
would no longer be created. A new pumping station would be required to 
provide reliable agricultural water supply from the river into the 
water delivery canals.

Additional Information

    Comments received in response to this notice will become part of 
the administrative record and are subject to public inspection. 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: December 28, 2006.
Frank Michny,
Assistant Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. E7-1405 Filed 1-29-07; 8:45 am]
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