[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26578-26579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10766]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 
and Notice of Public Meeting for the Water Transfer Program for the San 
Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, 2014-2038, San 
Joaquin Valley, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the San Joaquin River Exchange 
Contractors Water Authority have made available for public review and 
comment the joint draft environmental impact statement/environmental 
impact report (Draft EIS/EIR) for the Water Transfer Program, 2014-
2038.
    The proposed new transfer program would provide for the transfer 
and/or exchange of up to 150,000 acre-feet of substitute water from the 
San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority to several 
potential users over a 25-year timeframe (water service years 2014-
2038).

DATES: Submit written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR on or before July 
3, 2012.
    One public meeting is scheduled with the Bureau of Reclamation and 
San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority's staff. Oral or 
written comments will be received at this meeting regarding the 
project's environmental effects. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, 
June 13, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Los Banos, California.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR to Mr. Brad 
Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Room 2905, 
Sacramento, California 95825. Email electronic comments to 
[email protected].
    The public meeting will be held at the Miller & Lux Building, Floor 
1, 830 Sixth Street, Los Banos, California 93635.
    To request a compact disc of the Draft EIS/EIR, please contact Mr. 
Brad Hubbard as indicated above, or call 916-978-5034. The Draft EIS/
EIR may be viewed at Reclamation's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=9086. See Supplementary 
Information section for locations where copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are 
available for public review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad Hubbard, Natural Resources 
Specialist, at 916-978-5204, or email at [email protected]; or Ms. 
Joann White, San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, at 
209-827-8616, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors 
Water Authority (Exchange Contractors) propose to make water available 
via tailwater recovery, water conservation, and temporary land 
fallowing for transfer and/or exchange of substitute water to either 
the state and Federal wildlife refuges, Central Valley Project (CVP) 
contractors for existing municipal and industrial (M&I) and/or 
agricultural areas, and other potential State Water Project (SWP) 
contractors for agricultural and/or municipal and industrial (M&I) 
uses, or to some combination of these users. The action would be to 
execute agreements for water transfers among the Bureau of Reclamation 
(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 CVP water (maximum of 80,000 
acre-feet of tailwater and a maximum of 20,000 acre-feet of 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 SWP contractors. The 
purposes of the proposed twenty-five year transfer program are the 
transfer and/or exchange of CVP water from the Exchange Contractors to:
     The RWSP to meet water supply needs (Incremental Level 4) 
for San Joaquin River Basin wildlife refuges and Tulare Lake Basin 
wildlife areas.
     Other CVP contractors and SWP contractors to meet demands 
of agriculture, municipal, and industrial uses, and/or
    The continuation of a program of temporary annual water transfers 
and/or exchanges is needed to maximize the use of limited water 
resources for agriculture, fish and wildlife resources, and M&I 
purposes with the following objectives:
     Develop supplemental water supplies from willing seller 
agencies within the Exchange Contractors' service area through water 
conservation measures/tailwater recovery and crop idling/fallowing 
activities consistent with agency policies.
     Assist in providing water supplies to meet the Incremental 
Level 4 requirements for the San Joaquin River Basin and Tulare Lake 
Basin wildlife refuges.
     Assist Friant Division CVP repayment contractors or water 
service contractors to obtain additional CVP water for the production 
of agricultural crops or livestock and/or M&I uses because of water 
supply shortages or when full contract deliveries cannot otherwise be 
made.
     Assist SWP (Kern County Water Agency and Santa Clara 
Valley Water District (SCVWD)) and other CVP agricultural service and 
M&I contractors (San Luis Unit, SCVWD, East Bay Municipal Utility 
District, Contra Costa Water District, and Pajaro Valley Water

[[Page 26579]]

Management Agency) to obtain additional supplemental water supplies.
     Promote seasonal flexibility of deliveries to the Exchange 
Contractors through exchange with CVP and SWP agricultural service and 
M&I contractors wherein water would be delivered and then returned at a 
later date within the year.
    Reclamation's RWSP needs additional water to provide the refuges 
with the increment between Level 2 and Level 4 water quantities for 
fish and wildlife habitat development. The Exchange Contractors propose 
to 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 water transfers would occur largely within the San Joaquin 
Valley of central California but could extend to districts taking water 
deliveries in the North Delta. 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 counties. 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 twenty-five year transfer program that are evaluated in the 
Draft EIS/EIR include: surface water including the San Joaquin River, 
groundwater, biological resources, land uses including agricultural 
lands, air quality/climate change, socioeconomics including impacts to 
agricultural production, and environmental justice.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Regional Library, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Sacramento, CA 95825-1898
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, P.O. Box 
25007, Mail Code 84-21320, Denver, CO 80225-0007
     California State Library, 914 Capitol Mall, Suite E-29, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-4802
     University of California, Berkeley, Water Resources Center 
Archives, 410 O'Brien Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1718
     University of California, Davis, Peter J. Shields Library, 
Documents Department, 100 Northwest Quad, Davis, CA 95616-5292
     California Research Bureau, California State Library, PO 
Box 942837, Sacramento, CA 94237-0001
     Fresno County Public Library, Government Publications, 
2420 Mariposa Street Fresno, CA 93721-2204
     Merced County Library, 2100 O Street, Merced, CA 95340-
3637
     Merced County Public Library, 1312 South 7th Street, Los 
Banos, CA 93635-4757
     Stanislaus County Library, 1500 I Street, Modesto, CA 
95354
     San Francisco Public Library, Government Documents 
Department, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the public 
meetings, please contact Mr. Brad Hubbard at 916-978-5204, TDD 916-978-
5608, or via email at [email protected]. Please notify Mr. Hubbard 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.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your name, address, phone number, email 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: March 5, 2012.
Pablo R. Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-10766 Filed 5-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P