[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 111 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33213-33215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13506]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR2530000, RX.00124960.0000000, 14XR0680A1]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact; Statement/
Environmental Impact Report and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings for 
the On-Project Plan for the Klamath Reclamation Project, Klamath 
County, Oregon, and Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent and scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation, the lead Federal agency, and the 
Klamath Water and Power Agency, the lead state agency, will prepare a 
joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/
EIR) for the implementation and administration of the On-Project Plan 
(OPP) for the Klamath Reclamation Project. The purpose of the OPP is to 
align water supply and demand for the OPP Plan Area as defined in the 
Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement for the Sustainability of Public 
and Trust Resources and Affected Communities. Under the Klamath Basin 
Restoration Agreement, the preparation, implementation, and 
administration of the OPP is the responsibility of Klamath Water and 
Power Agency (KWAPA) and its approval is the responsibility of 
Reclamation. Therefore, Reclamation proposes to approve the OPP 
prepared by KWAPA and ensure the OPP is consistent with the KBRA. 
However, Reclamation will consider public input and analysis of impacts 
in the EIS/EIR as part of the process to inform its decision on whether 
or not to approve the OPP.

DATES: Submit written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR by July 15, 
2014. Two public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates 
and times:
     Tuesday, June 24, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Klamath 
Falls, Oregon.
     Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., 
Tulelake, California.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR, or 
requests to

[[Page 33214]]

be added to the EIS/EIR mailing list, to Ms. Tara Jane Campbell 
Miranda, Bureau of Reclamation, 6600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, 
Oregon 97603; or by email to [email protected]. Environmental 
documents for the On-Project Plan EIS/EIR will be available for review 
and download at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/.
    Public scoping meetings will be held at the following locations:

 Klamath Falls--Klamath Community College Building 6, Room 
H138, 7390 South 6th Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603
 Tulelake--the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds, Home 
Economics Building-West Wing, 800 South Main Street, Tulelake, 
California 96134

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tara Jane Campbell Miranda, Bureau 
of Reclamation, (541) 880-2583; or Mark Oliver, Klamath Water and Power 
Agency Consultant, at (530) 229-3316.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Conflicts over water and other natural resources in the Klamath 
Basin between conservationists, Tribes, irrigators, fishermen, and 
State and Federal agencies have existed for decades. In particular, 
several events affecting the Klamath Basin have occurred in recent 
years:
     In 2001, water deliveries to irrigation contractors in the 
Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation) Klamath Project were 
substantially reduced.
     In 2002, returning adult salmon suffered a major die-off.
     In 2006, the commercial salmon fishing season was closed 
along 700 miles of the West Coast to protect weak Klamath River stocks 
and other major river salmon stocks.
     In 2010, 2012, and 2013, due to drought conditions, 
Reclamation's Klamath Project had a reduction in water deliveries 
resulting in short-term idling of farmland and increased groundwater 
pumping.
    The United States, the States of California and Oregon, three 
Klamath River Basin Tribes, Klamath Project water users, and other 
Klamath River Basin stakeholders negotiated the Klamath Hydroelectric 
Settlement Agreement (KHSA) and the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement 
(KBRA) to resolve long-standing disputes regarding a broad range of 
natural resource issues. The Parties entered into the KHSA for the 
purpose of resolving among them the pending Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) relicensing proceeding by establishing a process for 
potential facilities removal and operation of the Klamath Hydroelectric 
Project as licensed by FERC under Project No. 2082.
    The parties, absent the Federal agencies, entered the KBRA which is 
intended to result in effective and durable solutions to: (1) Restore 
and sustain natural fish production and provide for full participation 
in ocean and river harvest opportunities of fish species throughout the 
Klamath Basin; (2) establish reliable water and power supplies which 
sustain agricultural uses, communities, and National Wildlife Refuges; 
and (3) contribute to the public welfare and the sustainability of all 
Klamath Basin communities. Upon the enactment of authorizing 
legislation, Federal agencies would become parties to the KBRA. 
Additional appropriations would likely be necessary for these agencies 
to fully implement their responsibilities under the agreement. 
Additional information about the KHSA and the KBRA is available at: 
http://klamathrestoration.gov and http://www.klamathcouncil.org.
    In June 2013, a Klamath Basin Task Force made up of over 20 
representatives from agencies, Tribes, and other Klamath Basin groups 
was established to address outstanding issues related to comprehensive 
settlement agreements of the Klamath River Basin. Working groups were 
formed to obtain a settlement of the tribal water issues in the Upper 
Basin above Upper Klamath Lake, identify a pathway to provide 
affordable power to basin irrigators, and to reduce the costs of the 
KBRA. Task Force findings or products may be incorporated into Federal 
legislation that may provide authorization and funding for the 
Settlement Agreements. Federal legislation is anticipated to be 
introduced by the Oregon Congressional delegation in 2014.

The On-Project Plan

    The OPP for the Klamath Reclamation Project, one element of the 
KBRA, is described in Section 15.2. In accordance with Section 15.2.1, 
the OPP is to facilitate the use of Klamath Reclamation Project water 
supplies from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River as established 
in the KBRA ``to align water supply and demand'' for an area defined as 
the On-Project Plan Area (OPPA). Pursuant to limitations on water 
availability, the OPP is also to facilitate and fulfill water delivery 
commitments for the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife 
Refuges on an annual and ongoing basis. KBRA section 15.2.2 assigns 
responsibility to develop, implement, and administer the OPP to the 
KWAPA, a Joint Powers/Inter-governmental Agency whose members are water 
agencies within the Klamath Reclamation Project in Oregon and 
California. KWAPA and its member entities are parties to the KBRA.
    Section 15.2.3 of the KBRA states that in the development of the 
OPP, KWAPA: ``shall consider and evaluate the following measures for 
short-term, intermittent, long term, and permanent application to meet 
the purpose of the plan: conservation easements, forbearance 
agreements, conjunctive use programs, efficiency measures, land 
acquisitions, water acquisitions, groundwater development, groundwater 
substitution, other voluntary transactions, water storage, and any 
other applicable measures.'' Each measure was evaluated in detail 
during the development of the OPP using the following goals and 
objectives KWAPA established for the OPP:
 Maintain long-term sustainability of Klamath Reclamation 
Project agriculture
 Minimize reductions in irrigated agriculture in the OPPA and 
avoid any uncompensated reduction in irrigated agriculture
 Develop fair, equitable, and transparent strategies for 
developing and implementing the OPP
 Consider cost effectiveness of alternatives to the overall 
Klamath Basin economy and minimize third-party impacts
 Respect and address individual water district needs, concerns, 
and input throughout the coordination process through the use of the 
On-Project Plan Advisory Committee (a local committee specifically 
developed to provide input solely in the development of the OPP)
 Optimize groundwater use while meeting KBRA requirements and 
obligations, in addition to addressing relevant in-basin groundwater 
management objectives.
    Implementation and administration of the OPP would be in compliance 
with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and 
agreements. Additional information about the OPP is available at: 
http://kwapa.org/programs#OPP.

Additional Information

    The EIS/EIR will present the evaluation of potential impacts on the 
natural and human environment and provide an opportunity through 
scoping for the interested public, Native American tribes, governments, 
and organizations to provide input. Reclamation will consider this 
input and the analysis of impacts in the EIS/

[[Page 33215]]

EIR as part of the process to inform its decision on whether or not to 
approve the OPP. Resources potentially affected by Reclamation's 
approval and KWAPA's implementation and administration of the OPP may 
include, but are not limited to: Water resources, including groundwater 
and water quality, biological resources, land uses including 
agricultural resources, historic and archaeological resources, 
environmental justice, Indian Trust Assets, air quality, climate 
change, greenhouse gas emissions, and socioeconomics including impacts 
to agricultural production.

Special Assistance for Public Scoping Meetings

    Requests for sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired 
and all other special assistance needs to participate in the meetings 
may be submitted by any of the following methods at least five working 
days before the meeting:
 Email to: Ms. Tara Jane Campbell Miranda, Bureau of 
Reclamation, [email protected]
 U.S. Mail to: Ms. Tara Jane Campbell Miranda, Bureau of 
Reclamation, 6600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 97603
 Telephone: Ms. Tara Jane Campbell Miranda (541) 880-2583.
    A telephone device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is available at 1 
(800) 877-8339.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your 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: May 29, 2014.
Anastasia T. Leigh,
Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-13506 Filed 6-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P