[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 126 (Monday, July 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36036-36037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12728]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord, Yuba County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Hearing for the 
Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement/(EIR/
EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 36037]]

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) and the Yuba County Water Agency (YCWA) have made 
available for public review and comment the Draft EIR/EIS for the 
Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord (Yuba Accord).
    Two public hearings will be held to provide interested individuals 
and organizations with an opportunity to comment verbally and in 
writing on the Draft EIR/EIS.
    The purpose of the Yuba Accord is to resolve instream flow issues 
associated with operation of the Yuba River Development Project (Yuba 
Project) in a way that protects and enhances lower Yuba River fisheries 
and local water-supply reliability. At the same time, it would provide 
revenues for local flood control and water supply projects, water for 
the CALFED Program to use for protection and restoration of Sacramento-
San Joaquin Delta (Delta) fisheries, and improvements in statewide 
water supply management, including supplemental water for the Central 
Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP).

DATES: Two public hearings will be held on August 1, 2007 from 2 to 3 
p.m. and from 6 to 7 p.m. in Marysville, California.
    Submit written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS on or before August 
24, 2007 at the address provided below.

ADDRESSES: The hearings will be at the Yuba County Water Agency, 1220 F 
Street, Marysville, CA 95901.
    Send written comments to Ms. Dianne Simodynes, HDR[bond]Surface 
Water Resources, Inc., 1610 Arden Way, Suite 175, Sacramento, CA 95815-
4041. Send requests for a compact disk or a bound copy of the Draft 
EIR/EIS to Dianne Simodynes, telephone: (916) 569-1096. The Yuba Accord 
Draft EIR/EIS will also be available on the web at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2549.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tim Rust, Reclamation, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Division of Resources Management, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Sacramento, CA 95825, at (916) 978-5516, or by e-mail at 
[email protected]; or Mr. Curt Aikens, YCWA, at 1220 F Street, 
Marysville, CA 95901, at (530) 741-6278, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Yuba Accord represents an effort on the 
part of the Yuba River stakeholders to find a solution to the 
challenges of competing interests by providing water for fisheries, 
developing new tools to ensure local reliable water supply, crafting a 
revenue stream to pay for the Yuba Accord, and providing additional 
water for out-of-county environmental and consumptive uses. These 
various objectives would be met through implementation of the Yuba 
Accord, which includes the ``Principles of Agreement for Proposed Lower 
Yuba River Fisheries Agreement'' (Fisheries Agreement), the 
``Principles of Agreement for Proposed Conjunctive Use Agreements'' 
(Conjunctive Use Agreements), and the ``Principles of Agreement for 
Proposed Long-term Transfer Agreement'' (Water Purchase Agreement).
    The Yuba Accord agreements are:
     A Fisheries Agreement among YCWA, California Department of 
Fish and Game, and the collective non-governmental organizations, with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service 
supporting the agreement. Under the Yuba Accord Fisheries Agreement, 
YCWA would revise the operation of the Yuba Project to provide higher 
flows in the lower Yuba River to protect and enhance fisheries and to 
increase downstream water supplies.
     Conjunctive Use Agreements between YCWA and water 
districts within Yuba County for the implementation of a comprehensive 
program of conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater supplies 
and actions to improve water use efficiencies.
     A Water Purchase Agreement among YCWA, the California 
Department of Water Resources (DWR), and Reclamation. Under this 
agreement, Reclamation and DWR would purchase water for the CALFED 
Environmental Water Account and for the CVP and SWP project uses.
    All three of these agreements need to be in place for the Yuba 
Accord to be implemented.
    The Draft EIR/EIS analyzes the impacts of implementing the Yuba 
Accord on surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, water supply, 
hydropower, flood control, water quality, fisheries, wildlife, 
vegetation, special-status species, recreation, visual, cultural 
resources, Indian Trust Assets, air quality, land use, socioeconomic, 
growth inducement, and environmental justice resources and conditions. 
Alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIR/EIS include the No Action 
Alternative, No Project Alternative, Proposed Project/Action 
Alternative (Yuba Accord Alternative), and Modified Flow Alternative. 
In addition, the Draft EIR/EIS addresses other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable actions in conjunction with the implementation 
of the Yuba Accord, thus analyzing cumulative impacts.
    Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS are available for public review at the 
following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 
95825.
     Yuba County Water Agency, 1220 F Street, Marysville, CA 
95901.
     Department of Water Resources, Division of Environmental 
Services, 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
     Sacramento Public Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento, CA 
95814.
     Yuba County Library, 303 2nd Street, Marysville, CA 95901.
    If special assistance is required at the public hearings, please 
contact Dianne Simodynes (e-mail: [email protected]). Please 
notify Ms. Simodynes as far in advance of the hearings as possible to 
enable Reclamation to secure the needed services. If a request cannot 
be honored, the requestor will be notified.
    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should 
be aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: June 18, 2007.
John F. Davis,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E7-12728 Filed 6-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P