[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62442-62443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25845]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement 
for Upper Truckee River Restoration and Golf Course Reconfiguration 
Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Upper Truckee River Restoration and Golf Course 
Reconfiguration Project is available for public review and comment. The 
Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency have evaluated 
comments and are recommending a preferred alternative for approval. The 
preferred alternative includes river ecosystem restoration with a 
reconfigured 18-hole golf course.

DATES: Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision at least 30 days 
from publication of the final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental 
Impact Statement.

ADDRESSES: The final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement is accessible at the following Web sites:
     http://www.restoreuppertruckee.net/index.htm.
     http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=981 (click on El Dorado 
County).

[[Page 62443]]

     http://www.trpa.org.
     http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=5760.
    The final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement is available for review by the public during normal business 
hours at the following locations:
     California State Parks' Administrative office at Sugarpine 
Point State Park, 7360 West Lake Boulevard, Tahoma, CA 96142.
     Tahoe Regional Planning Agency front desk, 128 Market 
Street, Stateline, NV 89449.
     Mid-Pacific Regional Library, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
     South Lake Tahoe Library front desk, 1000 Rufus Allen 
Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150.
    Hard copies can be printed for purchase at Staples, 2061 Lake Tahoe 
Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. CDs are also available upon 
request by e-mail from California State Parks at: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cyndie Walck, California State Parks, 
530-581-0925; Brian Judge, TRPA, 775-589-5262; or Myrnie Mayville, 
Reclamation, 775-589-5240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purposes of this project are:
     To improve geomorphic processes, ecological functions, and 
habitat values of the Upper Truckee River within the study area;
     To reduce the river's discharge of nutrients and sediment 
that diminish Lake Tahoe's clarity; and
     To provide access to public recreation opportunities in 
Washoe Meadows State Park and Lake Valley State Recreation Area.
    The 520-acre study area is just north of Meyers and south of the 
City of South Lake Tahoe, within El Dorado County, California. It 
includes the southern portion of Washoe Meadows State Park, Lake Valley 
State Recreation Area, and small portions of U.S. Forest Service and 
California Tahoe Conservancy lands, as well as a 2.24-mile reach of the 
Upper Truckee River.
    The project partners (the Bureau of Reclamation, the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency) worked with a team of technical consultants to develop five 
alternatives for the reconfiguration project. These alternatives are 
the product of extensive review of comments on the notice of 
preparation and notice of intent, as well as comments provided at 
public scoping meetings and a recreation planning workshop conducted 
for additional public input. The project partners presented the five 
alternatives for public review during circulation of the draft 
Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). 
The draft EIR/EIS includes detailed analysis of a reasonable range of 
alternatives, including a no-action alternative. (Other alternatives 
proved to be unsuitable for detailed study.)
    The five alternatives include four action alternatives 
(alternatives 2-5), and the no-project/no-action alternative 
(alternative 1). For alternative 1, the river restoration and changes 
to the golf course would not be implemented. This alternative 
represents a projection of reasonably foreseeable future conditions 
that could occur if no project actions were implemented.
    Alternative 2 would involve restoration of the Upper Truckee River 
with a reconfigured 18-hole regulation golf course. Alternative 3 would 
involve similar river restoration, but providing only a reduced-play 
(9-hole or executive) golf course. Alternative 4 would use a 
combination of hard and soft stabilization to keep the river in its 
present configuration and includes only minor changes to the existing 
18-hole regulation golf course. Alternative 5 would involve 
decommissioning and removing the 18-hole regulation golf course to 
restore all or a portion of the golf course landscape to meadow and 
riparian habitat.
    To select the preferred alternative, the project partners screened 
the five alternatives using two types of criteria:
     Criteria related to the project purpose, need, and goals, 
and objectives; and
     Criteria related to geomorphology, ecology, water quality, 
recreation, operations, engineering, and revenue.
    The preferred alternative is a slightly modified version of 
alternative 2 with river restoration and an 18-hole regulation golf 
course. The quarry restoration was removed after further assessment 
because California State Parks found that the area was recovering on 
its own and restoration was not needed. There have been some slight 
modifications to the trail layout in the golf course area. Acreages 
have changed due to acreage errors in the draft EIR/EIS as well as to 
bring part of the sewer access road into the State Recreation Area, and 
to allow for some potential minor modifications in the final golf 
course layout. The final EIR/EIS contains a complete description of the 
preferred alternative.
    A notice of availability announcing the release of the draft EIR/
EIS was published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2010 (75 FR 
52360). The written comment period on the draft EIR/EIS ended November 
4, 2010. The final EIR/EIS contains responses to all comments received 
and reflects comments and any additional information received during 
the review period.
    Notice of the final EIR/EIS is being distributed to interested 
agencies, stakeholder organizations, and individuals. The next steps in 
the process are as follows:
     About one week after the release of the final EIR/EIS, the 
Environmental Protection Agency will include the EIR/EIS on the weekly 
list published in the Federal Register.
     30 days or more after the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the list, Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision. The 
Record of Decision will state the action that will be implemented and 
will discuss all factors leading to the decision.
     In late fall 2011, the California Parks and Recreation 
Commission will consider the General Plan amendment.
     Sometime after the California Commission's decision, the 
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board will consider approval.
    Dates for the Park Commission and Planning Agency meetings will be 
posted on the following California State Parks Web site: http://www.restoreuppertruckee.net.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in any correspondence, you 
should be aware that your entire correspondence--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you may ask us in your correspondence to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: September 15, 2011.
Pablo R. Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-25845 Filed 10-6-11; 8:45 am]
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