[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49218-49219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19246]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


South Coast Conduit/Upper Reach Reliability Project, Santa 
Barbara County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public meeting for the 
draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/
EIR).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Federal lead agency and the Cachuma 
Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) is the California Environmental 
Quality Act (CEQA) State lead agency. Together, these agencies have 
made available for public review and comment the draft EIS/EIR.
    The South Coast Conduit (SCC)/Upper Reach Project involves 
installation of a second water pipeline for improving water supply 
reliability to Cachuma Project (CP) and State Water Project (SWP) 
customers on the south coast of Santa Barbara County. This draft EIS/
EIR addresses changes to the physical, natural, and human environment 
that would occur as a result of installing and operating the second 
pipeline.

DATES: Submit written comments on the draft environmental document on 
or before October 3, 2008.
    A public meeting will be held on September 10, 2008 from 6 p.m. to 
8 p.m. in Santa Barbara, CA to discuss the purpose and content of the 
draft environmental document and to provide the public an opportunity 
to comment on the draft environmental document. Written comments will 
be accepted at the public meeting.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the draft EIS/EIR to Ms. Judi 
Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation, 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831, 
or Mr. Brett Gray, Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board, 3301 Laurel 
Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105-2017.
    The public meeting will be held at the COMB office, 3301 Laurel 
Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA.
    Copies of the draft document may be requested from Ms. Judi Tapia 
at 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831, or at [email protected], or 
from Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, 3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 
93105, or at board.org">bgray@cachuma-board.org.
    The draft EIS/EIR is also accessible from the following Web sites: 
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/index.cfm or http://www.comb.org. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where copies of the 
draft EIS/EIR are available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Judi Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation, 
at 559-487-5138, TDD 559-487-5933, or Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, at 805-687-
4401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The existing SCC/Upper Reach pipeline 
provides approximately 80 percent of the water supply for communities 
along the South Coast of Santa Barbara County. Reclamation owns the SCC 
facilities and COMB manages the facilities under a Transfer of 
Operations and Maintenance Contract with Reclamation. The SCC operates 
at capacity for extended periods of time, and during peak demands it is 
not able to provide the water needed. No redundant supply or pipeline 
exists to convey CP or SWP water to the South Coast if the Upper Reach 
of the SCC is out of service due to scheduled and/or unexpected 
repairs. The proposed project would increase the operational 
flexibility, reliability, and conveyance capacity of the SCC between 
the South Portal of Tecolote Tunnel and the Corona Del Mar Water 
Treatment Plant to accommodate peak demand levels and to allow 
maintenance of one pipeline while the other is operational. The total 
amount of water delivered per year, however, would not increase.
    The draft EIS/EIR considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
effects on the physical, natural, and human environment that may result 
from the construction and operation of the SCC/Upper Reach second 
pipeline. The draft EIS/EIR addresses potentially significant 
environmental issues and recommends adequate and feasible mitigation 
measures to reduce or eliminate significant environmental impacts, 
where possible. Two alternative pipeline alignments as well as no 
project and no action alternatives are addressed.
    Copies of the draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area 
Office, 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831.

[[Page 49219]]

     Santa Barbara Central Public Library, 40 East Anapamu 
Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
     Goleta Public Library, 500 North Fairview Avenue, Goleta, 
CA 93117.
     COMB office, 3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 
93105-2017.

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required at the public meeting, please 
contact Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, at 805-687-4401, or at board.org">bgray@cachuma-board.org, no less than five working days before the meeting to allow 
Reclamation/COMB to secure the needed services. If a request cannot be 
honored, the requestor will be notified.

Public Disclosure

    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: July 11, 2008.
Donald R. Glaser,
Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. E8-19246 Filed 8-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P