[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 82 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22972-22973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9202]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Environmental Water Account

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report to the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (Final 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 prepared a Final Supplemental EIS/EIR for the Environmental Water 
Account (EWA).
    The EWA Program provides for fish protection and recovery in the 
San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) while at the 
same time improving water supply reliability for Central Valley Project 
(CVP) and State

[[Page 22973]]

Water Project (SWP) water users. The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR 
addressed changes to the regulatory and physical environment that have 
occurred since completion of the Final EIS/EIR in January 2004 (69 FR 
3599) and the Records of Decision in March 2004 and September 2004.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until at least 30 days after release of the Final Supplemental EIS/EIR. 
After the 30-day waiting period, Reclamation will complete a Record of 
Decision (ROD). The ROD will state the action that will be implemented 
and will discuss all factors leading to the decision.

ADDRESSES: A compact disk of the Final 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 Final 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 paper copies of 
the Final 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 documented 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 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 ROD was 
signed in September 2004.
    Copies of the Final Supplemental EIS/EIR are available for public 
review at the following locations:
     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.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, Colorado 
80225, 303-445-2072.
     Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 
20240-0001.
    The Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR was 
published in the Federal Register on Monday, October 22, 2007 (72 FR 
59551). The written comment period on the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR 
ended Monday, December 10, 2007. The Final Supplemental EIS/EIR 
contains responses to all comments received and changes made to the 
text of the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR as a result of those comments 
and any additional information received during the review period.
    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in any correspondence, you 
should be aware that your entire correspondence--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your correspondence to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: March 17, 2008.
Michael R. Finnegan,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E8-9202 Filed 4-25-08; 8:45 am]
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