[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48622-48623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16696]



[[Page 48622]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Carryover Storage and San 
Vicente Dam Raise Project, San Diego County, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Diego County 
Water Authority (Water Authority), as Co-Lead Agencies, have prepared a 
Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/
EIS) for the Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project (CSP). 
The overall purpose of the CSP 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 (AF) of water by the year 2011. During 
dry weather periods, increased regional demand for water may exceed 
local supplies resulting in potential water shortages. Water would be 
accumulated, when it is available, from a variety of sources and, once 
stored, would provide a reliable reserve against shortages when supply 
sources are limited. This type of operation is well suited for 
improving storage reliability during droughts. The EIR/EIS assesses the 
environmental effects of the CSP at San Vicente Reservoir (Proposed 
Action) and the proposed alternatives.

DATES: Comments concerning this Draft EIR/EIS should be submitted by 
October 9, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Mr. Robert R. Smith, Regulatory 
Project Manager, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert R. Smith, Regulatory 
Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rancho Bernardo Branch 
Office, at (858) 674-6784; or Ms. Kelley Gage, Senior Water Resources 
Specialist, San Diego County Water Authority, at (858) 522-6763.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Authorization: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles 
District, Regulatory Branch is considering an application from the 
Water Authority for a Department of the Army permit under Section 404 
of the Clean Water Act to construct the Proposed Action. The primary 
Federal concern is the discharge of fill materials (including permanent 
inundation) within Federal jurisdictional areas and waters of the 
United States, and potential impacts on the human environment from such 
activities. The Corps' decision will be to either issue or deny a 
Department of the Army permit for the Proposed Action.
    The EIR/EIS has been prepared as a joint document in accordance 
with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and State CEQA 
Guidelines (CCR Title 14, 15082(a), 15103, and 15375); the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR Part 1500 et seq.); the Corps 
Procedures for Implementing NEPA (33 CFR Part 230); and with other 
appropriate federal laws and regulations, policies, and procedures of 
the Corps for compliance with those regulations.
    2. 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 approved 
ESP includes the following major components: A new dam, pipeline, and 
pump station at Olivenhain (complete); the Lake Hodges Pump Station and 
pipeline (under construction); the San Vicente Pipeline (under 
construction); and the San Vicente Pump Station/Surge Control Facility 
(in design). The ESP also includes expansion of the existing San 
Vicente Reservoir by raising the existing San Vicente Dam by 54 feet, 
providing approximately 52,100 AF of emergency water storage capacity.
    The ESP was evaluated in an EIR/EIS for which the Water Authority 
was Lead Agency under CEQA and the Corps was Lead Agency under NEPA. 
The Water Authority Board of Directors certified the Final EIR/EIS on 
August 15, 1996. The Corps issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the 
EIR/EIS on August 4, 1997, and an Individual Permit under Section 404 
of the Clean Water Act (Permit No. 95-2009200-DZ) on August 18, 1997.
    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 AF of carryover storage as a component of each 
alternative. The Water Authority was the Lead Agency under CEQA for the 
Master Plan Program EIR, which was certified by the Water Authority 
Board on November 20, 2003.
    3. Proposed Action: The Water Authority will be raising San Vicente 
Dam by 54 feet to provide approximately 52,100 AF of emergency water 
storage capacity in San Vicente Reservoir as part of the ESP. The 
Proposed Action involves an additional dam raise of 63 feet to provide 
approximately 100,000 AF of carryover storage capacity in the reservoir 
as part of the CSP. Because it would not be feasible or practicable to 
construct two separate raises of the dam due to issues such as cost, 
safety of the raised dam structure, and construction logistics, the two 
increases would be combined and constructed at the same time. Under 
both the ESP and CSP dam raises, the existing 220-foot high concrete 
gravity dam would be raised by as much as 117 feet using roller 
compacted concrete, expanding the usable reservoir volume by up to 
152,100 AF to provide both ESP and CSP storage.
    4. Alternatives: Three alternatives are evaluated in the Draft EIR/
EIS, including the ``No Action'' Alternative; a new dam and 100,000 AF 
reservoir in Moosa Canyon near Valley Center in San Diego County, 
California (Moosa 100K Alternative); and a reduced raise of San Vicente 
Dam providing 50,000 AF of carryover storage capacity in San Vicente 
Reservoir, combined with a smaller new dam and 50,000 AF reservoir in 
Moosa Canyon (SV 50K/Moosa 50K Alternative).
    5. Scoping Process: To initiate the public scoping process for the 
EIR/EIS in accordance with CEQA and NEPA guidelines, the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the 
Federal Register on October 10, 2006 (71 FR 59499), and the San Diego 
County Water Authority (Water Authority) circulated a Notice of 
Preparation (NOP) through direct mailings and published a legal notice 
in the San Diego Union Tribune on October 8, 2006. The 30-day public 
review period for the NOI and NOP ended November 9, 2006. In addition, 
the Army Corps of Engineers and Water Authority conducted a scoping 
meeting prior to preparing the EIR/EIS to aid in determining the 
significant

[[Page 48623]]

environmental issues associated with the Proposed Action. The meeting 
was held at the San Diego County Water Authority, 4677 Overland Avenue, 
San Diego, California, on November 1, 2006. An additional public 
meeting (``Community Forum'') was held in the Lakeside community on 
December 11, 2006. Although conducted outside the official NOI/NOP 
public scoping period, the Lead Agencies have agreed to give the 
comments received at the Lakeside Community Forum the same weight as 
those received during the NOI/NOP public scoping period, and are 
equally addressed in the EIR/EIS.
    Two public hearings to receive comments on the Draft EIR/EIS will 
be held by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Water Authority. The 
locations and times for the public hearings are as follows:
     Lakeside Community Center, 9841 Vine St., Lakeside, CA, 
92040 at 6:30 PM on October 8, 2007.
     Valley Center High School, Maxine Theater, 31322 Cole 
Grade Road, Valley Center, CA 92082, at 6:30 p.m., on October 11, 2007.
    These public hearings will be announced in the local news media, 
and separate notice will also be sent to all parties on the project 
mailing list.
    Participation by all interested Federal, State and County resource 
agencies, as well as Native American peoples, groups with environmental 
interests, and all interested individuals is encouraged. The public 
review period will conclude 45 days after publication of this notice.
    Individuals and agencies may offer information or data relevant to 
the environmental or socioeconomic impacts by attending the above-
referenced public meetings, or by mailing the information to Mr. Robert 
R. Smith or to Ms. Kelley Gage at the addresses provided in this notice 
prior to October 15, 2007. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the 
Water Authority will consider public concerns on the Draft EIR/EIS. A 
summary of the public meetings and written comment letters and 
responses will be incorporated into the Final EIR/EIS as appropriate.
    The Final EIR/EIS will be considered and acted upon by the Water 
Authority's Board of Directors at a noticed public hearing. The Corps 
will sign the Record of Decision at least 30 days after the Notice of 
Availability of the Final EIR/EIS. Comments, suggestions, and requests 
to be placed on the mailing list for announcements and for the Draft 
Final EIR/EIS, should also be sent to Mr. Smith or Ms. Gage.
    6. Availability of the Draft EIR/EIS: The Draft EIR/EIS and 
appendices are available for review and downloading from the Water 
Authority's Internet Web page at the following address: http://www.sdcwa.org. Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS and all documents referenced 
in the Draft EIR/EIS are available for public review by appointment at 
the Water Authority offices at the address provided in this notice. 
Please contact Ms. Kelley Gage at the Water Authority at (858) 522-6763 
to set up an appointment. Please note that only qualified individuals 
will be allowed to review the confidential cultural resources 
appendices. Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS and appendices are also 
available for public review at the following locations:
    (1) Lakeside Public Library, 9839 Vine Street, Lakeside, CA 92040.
    (2) Valley Center Public Library, 29200 Cole Grade Road, Valley 
Center, CA 92082.

Mark Durham,
Chief, South Coast Branch, Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers.
[FR Doc. E7-16696 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
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