[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39436-39437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16838]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 
(EIS/EIR) and Notice of Scoping Meeting for the San Joaquin River 
Exchange Contractors Water Authority's 25-Year Water Transfer Program 
2014 to 2038, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent and scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water 
Authority (Exchange Contractors) propose to prepare a joint EIS/EIR for 
a twenty-five year water transfer program (Program). The action would 
be to execute agreements for water transfers among Reclamation, Mid-
Pacific Region; Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project 
(SWP) contractors; and the Exchange Contractors for water service years 
2014 to 2038. The Program would consist of the annual development and 
transfer of up to 150,000 acre-feet of substitute water (maximum of 
100,000 acre-feet of

[[Page 39437]]

conserved water and a maximum of 50,000 acre-feet from land fallowing) 
from the Exchange Contractors to other CVP contractors, to 
Reclamation's Refuge Water Supply Program (RWSP) for delivery to the 
San Joaquin Valley wetland habitat areas (wildlife refuges), and/or 
State Water Project (SWP) contractors.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR should be mailed to 
Mr. Brad Hubbard at the address below by August 10, 2011.
    A public scoping meeting will be held on July 13, 5-7 p.m., in Los 
Banos, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to 
Mr. Brad Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-410, 
Sacramento, California, 95825, or via e-mail to [email protected].
    The public scoping meeting will be held at the Miller-Lux Building, 
Floor 1, 830 Sixth Street, Los Banos, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad Hubbard, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Reclamation at the above address, via e-mail at 
[email protected] or at 916-978-5204, or Ms. Joann White, San Joaquin 
River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, via e-mail at 
[email protected] at 209-827-8616.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Program's objective is the Exchange 
Contractor's annual transfer of Central Valley Project (CVP) water to:
     Other CVP contractors and SWP contractors to meet demands 
of agriculture, municipal, and industrial uses, and/or
     The RWSP for delivery to the San Joaquin Valley Federal, 
State and private wildlife refuges.
    The proposed Program would assist Reclamation in optimizing the use 
of limited existing water resources for agriculture, fish and wildlife 
resources, and municipal and industrial purposes. The Exchange 
Contractors propose to annually transfer CVP water for the production 
of agricultural crops or livestock and/or municipal and industrial uses 
because of water supply shortages or when full contract deliveries 
cannot otherwise be made. The RWSP needs additional water to provide 
the refuges with the increment between Level 2 (approximately 422 
thousand acre-feet (TAF) of CVP yield--the amount of water historically 
used by refuges prior to 1992), and Level 4 (approximately 555 TAF--the 
amount of water required for optimum wetland habitat development) 
quantities. This increment is known as ``Incremental Level 4'' and is 
water the RWSP acquires from willing sellers. The Program's annual 
water transfers would occur largely within the San Joaquin Valley of 
central California. The Exchange Contractors' service area covers parts 
of Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus counties. The agricultural 
water users that would benefit from the potential transfers are located 
in the counties of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Madera, Fresno, San 
Benito, Santa Clara, Tulare, Kern, Kings, Contra Costa, Alameda, 
Monterey, and Santa Cruz. The wetland habitat areas that may receive 
the water are located in Merced, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern 
counties.
    Some of the resources potentially affected by transfers under the 
proposed Program include: surface water including the San Joaquin 
River, groundwater, biological resources, land uses including Indian 
Trust Assets (if any), air quality/climate change, socioeconomics 
including impacts to agricultural production, and environmental 
justice.

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the scoping 
meeting, please contact Ms. Joann White at 209-827-8616 or via e-mail 
at [email protected]. A telephone device for the hearing impaired 
(TDD) is available at 916-989-7285.

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: June 3, 2011.
Anastasia T. Leigh,
Acting Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-16838 Filed 7-5-11; 8:45 am]
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