[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 203 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59550-59551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5188]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Environmental Water Account

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Hearings for the 
Draft

[[Page 59551]]

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 
to the Final Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact 
Report (Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the National 
Environmental Policy Act Federal lead agency, and the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (Service) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
are the Federal Cooperating Agencies. The California Department of 
Water Resources (DWR) is the California Environmental Quality Act State 
lead agency, and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is 
the State Responsible and Trustee Agency. Together, these five agencies 
have made the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR available for public review 
and comment.
    The Environmental Water Account (EWA) Program provides for fish 
protection and recovery in the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin 
Delta while at the same time improving water supply reliability for 
Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) water users. 
The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR addresses changes to the regulatory and 
physical environment that have occurred since completion of the Final 
EIS/EIR in January 2004 (FR Volume 69: 3599) and the Records of 
Decision in March 2004 and September 2004.

DATES: Public hearings will be held to discuss the purpose and content 
of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR and to provide the public an 
opportunity to comment on this draft environmental document. Written 
comments will also be accepted at the public hearings. The public 
hearings will be held as follows:
     Wednesday, November 14, 2007, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, 
Sacramento, CA.
     Thursday, November 15, 2007, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Los Banos, 
CA.
    Written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR must be 
submitted on or before December 10, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be held at the following locations:
     In Sacramento at the Federal Building, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Cafeteria Conference Rooms C-1001 and C-1002.
     In Los Banos at the Miller & Lux Building, Activity Room, 
830 6th Street.
    Written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR should be 
addressed to Ms. Sammie Cervantes, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
    Copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR may be requested from Ms. 
Sammie Cervantes, by writing to Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825; by calling 916-978-5189 (TDD 916-978-5608); 
or by e-mailing [email protected]. The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR 
is also accessible from the following Web sites: http://www.mp.usbr.gov 
or http://www.dwr.water.ca.gov. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
for locations where copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR are 
available for public review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sammie Cervantes, Bureau of 
Reclamation, at 916-978-5189 (TDD 916-978-5608) or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CVP and SWP facilities that pump water 
from the Delta can entrain and kill fish, some of which are Federally 
and State protected species. Reductions in CVP and SWP pumping to 
protect these fish species can reduce water supply reliability. The EWA 
Program includes Federal and State agencies making environmentally-
beneficial changes in the operation of the CVP and SWP for Delta-
dependent native fish species, and acquiring and managing water assets 
to pay back the water foregone by changes to the operation of the CVP 
and SWP. The Service, Reclamation, DWR, NMFS, and DFG collectively 
manage the EWA Program. The Service, NMFS, and DFG are responsible for 
recommending actions that protect and benefit Delta-dependent fish 
populations. Reclamation and DWR are responsible for acquiring water 
assets from willing sellers and storing, conveying, and delivering the 
assets to the CVP and SWP at appropriate times and locations.
    The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR documents the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative effects to the physical, natural, and socioeconomic 
environment that may result from the purchase, storage, and conveyance 
of EWA assets, and the actions taken to benefit Delta-dependent fish 
populations. The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR is focused on an analysis 
of impacts to fisheries in the Delta because there have been multiple 
changes in the regulatory and physical environment since the Record of 
Decision was signed in September 2004.
    Copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR are available for public 
review at the following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, Colorado 
80225, 303-445-2072.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, Regional 
Library, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825.
     California Bay-Delta Authority, 650 Capitol Mall, 5th 
Floor, Sacramento, California 95812.
     Department of Water Resources, Division of Environmental 
Services, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, California 95816.
     Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 
20240-0001.
    If special assistance is required at the public hearings, please 
contact Ms. Sammie Cervantes at 916-978-5189, TDD 916-978-5608, or by 
e-mailing [email protected]. Please notify Ms. Cervantes as far in 
advance 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: September 20, 2007.
John F. Davis,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 07-5188 Filed 10-19-07; 8:45 am]
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