[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58802-58804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23234]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR02015200, 14XR0687NA, RX185279294000000]


Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Hearings for the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for 
Long-Term Water Transfers, Central Valley and Bay Area, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota 
Water Authority have made available for public review and comment the 
Long-Term Water Transfers Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). The Draft EIS/EIR addresses 
water transfers to Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors south of 
the Delta and in the San Francisco Bay area from CVP and non-CVP 
sources from north of the Delta using Delta pumps (both CVP and State 
Water Project (SWP) facilities). Water transfers would occur through 
various methods such as groundwater substitution, cropland idling, 
reservoir release, and conservation, and would include individual and 
multiyear transfers from 2015 through 2024.

DATES: Send written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR on or before December 
1, 2014.
    Three hearings to receive oral or written comments will be held on 
the following dates:
     Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., 
Sacramento, California.
     Thursday, October 16, 2014, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Los 
Banos, California.

[[Page 58803]]

     Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Chico, 
California.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments or requests for copies to Mr. Brad 
Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825; 
or via email to [email protected].
    The hearing locations are:
     Sacramento--Quality Inn and Suites at Cal Expo, 1413 Howe 
Avenue, Sacramento, California 95825, (916) 922-9833.
     Los Banos--San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 842 
Sixth Street, Los Banos, California 93635, (209) 826-9696.
     Chico--Chico Masonic Family Center, 1110 W. East Avenue, 
Chico, California 95926, (530) 342-7143.
    To request a compact disc of the Draft EIS/EIR, please contact Mr. 
Brad Hubbard as indicated above, or call (916) 978-5204. The Draft EIS/
EIR may be viewed at the Bureau of Reclamation's Web site at  http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=18361. 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, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Reclamation, via email at [email protected], or at (916) 978-
5204; or Ms. Frances Mizuno, Assistant Executive Director, San Luis & 
Delta-Mendota Water Authority, via email at [email protected], 
or at (209) 832-6200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hydrologic conditions, climatic variability, 
and regulatory requirements for operation of water projects commonly 
affect water supply availability in California. Project supplies are 
often the primary source of water for south of Delta users, and the 
complex factors constraining operational decisions not only strain 
total annual water supplies, but regularly create mismatched timing 
between planting decisions and announcement of final water supply 
allocations, making advance planning for water shortages necessary and 
routine. These conditions and resulting shortages create a need for 
water transfers to help meet water demands.
    The purpose of Long-Term Water Transfers is to facilitate voluntary 
water transfers from willing sellers upstream of the Delta to water 
users south of the Delta and in the San Francisco Bay Area. The maximum 
approvable quantity transferable to any contractor cannot exceed that 
contractor's total contract supply, but instead helps to make up for 
shortages. Such transfers need to be implementable within narrow annual 
windows for decisions on each end and flexible enough to address highly 
variable shortages and annual differences in farming decisions north 
and south of the Delta.
    The objectives for long-term water transfers through 2024 include:
     Develop supplemental water supply for the San Luis & 
Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) member agencies during times of 
CVP shortages to meet anticipated demands up to the total CVP contract 
quantities.
     Allow for transfers to meet the need of SLDMWA member 
agencies for a supplemental water supply that are quickly implementable 
and flexible enough to respond to changes in hydrologic conditions and 
CVP allocations.
     Provide a framework to facilitate transfers that will be 
needed in most years.
    The EIR/EIS analyzes four alternative actions. Alternative 1 is No 
Action.
    Alternative 2, Full Range of Transfers, is the Proposed Action. 
This alternative combines all potential transfer measures that met the 
purpose and need and were carried forward through the screening 
process. Alternative 3, No Cropland Modifications, includes 
conservation, groundwater substitution, and reservoir release. 
Alternative 4, No Groundwater Substitution, includes conservation, 
cropland idling transfers--rice, field and grains, crop shifting, and 
reservoir release.
    Transfers of CVP supplies and transfers that require use of CVP 
facilities are subject to review by the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) in accordance with the Central Valley Project Improvement 
Act of 1992, Reclamation's water transfer guidelines, and California 
State law. Pursuant to Federal and State law and subject to separate 
written agreement, Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources 
would facilitate water transfers involving CVP contract water supplies 
and CVP and SWP facilities. Buyers and sellers would be responsible for 
negotiating the terms of the transfers, including amount of water for 
transfer, method to make water available, and price.
    The EIS/EIR identifies potential selling parties in northern 
California, methods by which water could be made available for 
transfer, and maximum amounts of water available through each method. 
The EIS/EIR also identifies potential purchasing agencies south of the 
Delta and the proposed use of transfer water.
    The EIS/EIR analyzes alternative transfer methods to make water 
available through operational flexibility of the existing system. 
Groundwater substitution transfers occur when sellers forego diversion 
of their surface water supplies and pump an equivalent amount of 
groundwater as an alternative supply. The purchasing agency would 
receive the foregone surface water supply. The quantity of water 
available for transfer would account for potential stream flow losses 
as a result of groundwater-surface water interaction. Cropland idling 
would make water available for transfer that would have been used for 
agricultural irrigation without the transfer. Typically, the proceeds 
from the water transfer would pay farmers to idle land that they would 
have placed in production. Reservoir release transfers would involve 
releasing water from non-Project entities (not part of the CVP or SWP) 
for transfer that would have otherwise remained in storage. 
Conservation transfers involve actions to reduce the diversion of 
surface water by the transferring entity by reducing irrecoverable 
water losses.
    Water transfers under the Proposed Action involving conveyance 
through the Delta would be implemented within the operational 
parameters of the existing system, which includes Biological Opinions 
on the Continued Long-term Operations of the CVP/SWP and any other 
regulatory restrictions in place at the time of implementation of the 
water transfers. Current operational parameters applicable to the 
transfer water include use of the SWP's Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant 
and CVP's C.W. ``Bill'' Jones Pumping Plant during July through 
September only.

Public Review of Draft EIS

    Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
    1. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, Regional Library, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
    2. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, Room 
167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, CO 80225.
    3. Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 
C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001.
    4. San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 842 6th Street, Los 
Banos, CA 93635.

Special Assistance for Public Hearings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the scoping 
meeting, please contact Mr. Louis Moore at (916) 978-5106, or via email 
at [email protected]. Please contact Mr. Moore at least 10 working days 
prior to the

[[Page 58804]]

meeting. A telephone device for the hearing impaired (TDD) is available 
at (916) 978-5608.

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: August 13, 2014.
Pablo R Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-23234 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P