[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8395-8396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3644]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, Riverside-Corona Feeder Project, 
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Western Municipal Water District (Western) will 
prepare a joint EIS/EIR for the proposed Riverside-Corona Feeder 
Project. The public and agencies are invited to comment on the scope of 
the EIS/EIR and the proposed alternatives.
    This notice is provided pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4332 (2) (c)) 
and Department of Interior regulations for implementation of NEPA (43 
CFR Part 46).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR are requested 
within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern 
California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 27708 Jefferson Avenue, 
Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590; or e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern California 
Area Office general telephone number 951-695-5310, or e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The proposed project is a large capacity water pipeline associated 
with an aquifer storage and recovery project. The project will install 
new groundwater wells at the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin in San 
Bernardino County with pipelines ranging in diameter up to 78 inches to 
Western's Service Area in Riverside County.
    Existing recharge basins will be used to store imported water and 
local Santa Ana River flows in the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin during 
wet years for delivery to communities in western Riverside County in 
dry years via 28 miles of pipeline capable of delivering up to 40,000 
acre-feet per year of ground water at 100 cubic feet per second (cfs). 
The proposed pipeline alignment will also provide access to groundwater 
from the Chino Basin in San Bernardino County.
    Section 9112 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 
(Pub. L. 111-11, 123 Stat. 1318), signed by the President on March 30, 
2009, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with 
Western, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of 
the Riverside-Corona Feeder Project including: (i) 20 groundwater 
wells; (ii) groundwater treatment facilities; (iii) water storage and 
pumping facilities; and (iv) 28 miles of pipeline in San Bernardino and 
Riverside Counties in the State of California.
    Western certified a Program EIR (California State Clearinghouse No. 
2003031121) under CEQA in 2005, and issued a Notice of Preparation of a 
draft Supplemental Program EIR on July 30, 2008 to evaluate a proposed 
change in the pipeline alignment. Our intention is to circulate the 
supplemental EIR for public review as a joint CEQA/NEPA document, 
incorporating the earlier Program EIR by reference. The draft document 
is expected to be available for public review in mid-March 2010.

[[Page 8396]]

Scoping Process

    To avoid duplication with State and local procedures, we plan to 
use the scoping process initiated by Western under CEQA. No additional 
public scoping meetings are planned at this time. The CEQA Notice of 
Preparation, comments received, and a map showing the proposed project 
and pipeline alignment alternatives are available at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/envdocs.html. No known Indian trust assets or 
environmental justice issues are associated with the Proposed Action, 
although the proposed pipeline alignment may include areas of low 
income and minority populations.
    Written comments are requested to help identify any additional 
alternatives and issues that should be analyzed in the EIS/EIR. 
Federal, State and local agencies, tribes, and the general public are 
invited to participate in the environmental review process.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, please 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 18, 2010.
Jayne Harkins,
Deputy Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-3644 Filed 2-23-10; 8:45 am]
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