[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2615-2616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-723]



[[Page 2615]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Grassland Bypass Project, 2010-2019, Fresno and Merced Counties, 
CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

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

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Federal lead agency and the San Luis 
and Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority) 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 joint Draft EIS/EIR evaluates the effects of continuing the 
Grassland Bypass Project until December 31, 2019 (Project). The actions 
analyzed in the Draft EIS/EIR include continued use of the Grassland 
Bypass Channel and a 28-mile segment of the San Luis Drain (Drain); 
continued discharges to Mud Slough until December 31, 2019; management 
of accumulated sediments within the Drain segment; ongoing use and 
development of areas utilized for application of subsurface drainage on 
salt tolerant crops; and programmatic consideration of future phases of 
the treatment and disposal program.

DATES: A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 from 
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to provide the public an opportunity to comment on 
the Draft EIS/EIR. Written comments will also be accepted at the public 
hearing.
    Submit written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR on or before March 16, 
2009.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing location is the San Luis & Delta-Mendota 
Water Authority, Boardroom, 842 Sixth Street, Suite 7, Los Banos, CA.
    Written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR should be addressed to Ms. 
Judi Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation, 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-
1831 or Mr. Joseph C. McGahan, Drainage Coordinator, San Luis & Delta-
Mendota Water Authority, P.O. Box 2157, Los Banos, CA 93635, fax 209-
826-9698, e-mail: [email protected].
    Copies of the draft document may be requested from Ms. Judi Tapia 
at the above address, by calling 559-487-5138, TDD 559-487-5933, or at 
[email protected]. Copies may also be requested from Mr. Joseph C. 
McGahan, at the above address. The Draft EIS/EIR is also accessible 
from the following Web sites: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/index.cfm. 
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 
or Mr. Joseph C. McGahan, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority at 
the phone numbers or e-mail addresses above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project and the Grassland Drainage Area 
are located in Merced and Fresno Counties in the Central Valley of 
California. Prior to 1996 when the interim project was implemented, 
subsurface agricultural drainage water was conveyed through channels 
used to deliver water to wetland habitat areas which limited 
Reclamation's ability to deliver fresh water to the wetlands. The 
Project now consolidates subsurface drainage flows on a regional basis 
(from the 97,400-acre Grassland Drainage Area), applies the drainage to 
salt tolerant crops to reduce the volume, utilizes a 4-mile channel to 
place it into the Drain at a point near Russell Avenue (Milepost 
105.72, Check 19) and then utilizes a 28-mile segment of the Drain to 
convey the remaining drainage flows around wetland habitat areas and 
after which it is discharged to Mud Slough and subsequently reaches the 
San Joaquin River.
    The original Grassland Bypass Project was implemented in November 
1995 through an ``Agreement for Use of the San Luis Drain'' (Agreement 
No. 6-07-20-w1319) between Reclamation and the Authority. A Finding of 
No Significant Impact (FONSI No. 96-1-MP) was adopted by Reclamation 
for the original project, and environmental commitments set forth in 
the FONSI were made an integral component of the initial Use Agreement. 
The Use Agreement and its renewal in 1999 allowed for use of the Drain 
for a 5-year period that concluded September 30, 2001. A new Use 
Agreement (Agreement No. 01-WC-20-2075) was completed on September 28, 
2001 for the period through December 31, 2009.
    The original Grassland Bypass Project's use of the Drain was only 
authorized until December 31, 2009, and subsurface drainage flows 
discharged to Mud Slough (North) were to have met water quality 
objectives by October 1, 2010 as required by the Regional Water Quality 
Control Board, Central Valley Region's (CVRWQCB) 1998 Water Quality 
Control Plan (Basin Plan) for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin 
River Basins. However, delay in the acquisition of funding has delayed 
the development and availability of treatment and disposal technology 
to reduce selenium loads to meet that 2010 deadline. It is anticipated 
that the proposed extension would allow enough time to acquire funds 
and develop feasible treatment technology in order to meet the Basin 
Plan objectives and Waste Discharge Requirements.
    In order to continue to discharge into Mud Slough (North) in the 
State's China Island Wildlife Area, the Authority would need to extend 
or amend a Memorandum of Understanding with the California Department 
of Fish and Game, Reclamation would need to extend the Use Agreement 
with the Authority for the continued use of the Drain after 2009, the 
CVRWQCB would need to revise their Basin Plan objectives for 2010 and 
amend the existing Waste Discharge Requirements in order to allow for 
anticipated drainage discharge into Mud Slough, and Reclamation and the 
Authority would need to remove existing and future sediments from the 
affected portion of the Drain.
    The actions analyzed in the Draft EIS/EIR include continued use of 
the Grassland Bypass Channel and a 28-mile segment of the Drain; 
continued discharges to Mud Slough until December 31, 2019; management 
of accumulated sediments within that Drain segment; ongoing use and 
development of areas utilized for application of subsurface drainage on 
salt tolerant crops; and programmatic consideration of future phases of 
the treatment and disposal program. The Draft EIS/EIR considers the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects on the physical, natural, and 
human environment that may result from the Project actions above. 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. No 
project/no action alternative and one other action alternative 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
     U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Regional Office 
Library, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825
     San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 842 Sixth 
Street, Los Banos, CA 93635
     San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94012

[[Page 2616]]

     University of California-Davis, Shields Library, Documents 
Department, 100 NW Quad University of California, Davis, CA 95616-5292
     Merced County Public Library, 1312 South 7th Street, Los 
Banos, CA 93635-4757
     Fresno County Public Library Government Publications, 2420 
Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721-2204
     Stanislaus County Library, 1500 I Street, Modesto, CA 
95354
     Resources Agency Library, 1416 Ninth Street, Suite 117, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-5510
     California State Library, 914 Capitol Mall, Suite E-29, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-4802
     University of California, Berkeley, Water Resources 
Archive, 410 O'Brien Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1718
    If special accommodation is required, please contact Susan Mussett 
at 209-826-9696 or [email protected] by January 30, 2009 to 
enable the Authority to secure the needed services.
    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: December 11, 2008.
John F. Davis,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-723 Filed 1-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P