[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 33 (Friday, February 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7922-7923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3653]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion, Contra Costa County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and notice of public 
hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as the National 
Environmental Policy Act Federal lead agency, and the Contra Costa 
Water District (CCWD), as the California Environmental Quality Act 
State lead agency, have made available for public review and comment 
the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project Draft EIS/

[[Page 7923]]

EIR. The Draft EIS/EIR describes and presents the environmental effects 
of the No-Action Alternative and four action alternatives. Five public 
hearings will be held to receive comments from individuals and 
organizations on the Draft EIS/EIR.

DATES: Five public hearings have been scheduled to receive oral or 
written comments regarding environmental effects:
     Monday, March 23, 2009, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Sacramento, 
CA.
     Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Livermore, 
CA.
     Thursday, March 26, 2009, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Dublin, CA.
     Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Concord, CA.
     Thursday, April 2, 2009, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Oakley, CA.
    A 1-hour open house to view project information and interact with 
the project team will precede the public hearings.
    The Draft EIS/EIR will be available for a 60-day public review 
period. Comments are due by April 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be held at the following locations:
     Sacramento at the Bonderson Building Hearing Room 102A/B, 
901 P St.
     Livermore at Zone 7 Water Agency Board Room, 100 North 
Canyons Parkway.
     Dublin at the San Ramon Services District Board Room, 7051 
Dublin Blvd.
     Concord at the Heald College and Conference Center, 5130 
Commercial Circle.
     Oakley at the Ironhouse Elementary Multi-purpose Room, 
4801 Frank Hengel Way.
    Send written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR to Mr. Louis Moore, 
Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR may be requested from Ms. Marguerite 
Naillon, Project Manager, CCWD, at 925-688-8018 or 
[email protected]. The Draft EIS/EIR is also accessible from the 
following Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=903 . See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Section 
for locations where copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for 
public review.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS/EIR documents the direct, 
indirect, and cumulative effects to the physical, biological, and 
socioeconomic environment that may result from the expansion of Los 
Vaqueros Reservoir.
    The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project Draft EIS/EIR 
evaluates expanding the existing Los Vaqueros Reservoir and conveyance 
facilities. The project objectives consist of: (1) Developing water 
supplies for environmental water management that supports fish 
protection, habitat management, and other environmental water needs; 
(2) increasing water supply reliability for water providers within the 
San Francisco Bay Area, to help meet municipal and industrial water 
demands during drought periods and emergencies or to address shortages 
due to regulatory and environmental restrictions; and (3) improving the 
quality of water deliveries to municipal and industrial customers in 
the San Francisco Bay Area, without impairing the project's ability to 
meet the environmental and water supply reliability objectives stated 
above.
    One of the five potential surface storage projects described in the 
CALFED Bay-Delta Program's long-term plan is the expansion of the 
existing Los Vaqueros Reservoir, an existing 100,000 acre-foot off-
stream surface storage facility, located in Contra Costa County, 
California. The existing facility is owned and operated by the CCWD.
    The primary study area includes the Los Vaqueros Reservoir 
watershed and associated dam and reservoir facilities, which are 
situated in the coastal foothills west of the Delta and east of the Bay 
Area, the central and south Delta, and service areas of Bay Area water 
agencies. The Bay Area water agencies affected include CCWD, Alameda 
County Water District, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and Alameda 
County Flood Control and Water Conservation District--Zone 7. Due to 
the project influence on other programs and projects, an extended study 
area is defined to include the service areas of the San Francisco 
Public Utility Commission and the Central Valley of California.
    Reclamation was authorized in Public Law 108-7 (Omnibus 
Appropriations Act of 2003) to conduct a feasibility-level 
investigation of the potential expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir. 
Planning studies have focused on identifying water resources problems, 
needs, and opportunities in the primary study area; developing a set of 
planning objectives; and formulating alternatives.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, Regional 
Library, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
     Contra Costa Water District 1331 Concord Avenue, Concord, 
CA 94520.
     California Bay-Delta Authority, 650 Capitol Mall, 5th 
Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, CO 80225.
     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 Mr. Louis Moore at 916-978-5189, or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. Please notify Mr. Moore 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. A telephone 
device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is available at 916-978-5608.
    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: February 11, 2009.
Richard M. Johnson,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-3653 Filed 2-19-09; 8:45 am]
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