[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68912-68913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27372]



[[Page 68912]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR02054000, 14XR0680A1, RX021489433320900]


Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meetings for the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Central Valley Project 
Municipal and Industrial Water Shortage Policy, Central Valley, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation has made available for public review 
and comment the Central Valley Project (CVP) Municipal and Industrial 
Water Shortage Policy (M&I WSP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). The Draft EIS addresses updating the CVP M&I WSP and 
implementation guidelines. The CVP M&I WSP would be used by Reclamation 
to: (1) Define water shortage terms and conditions for applicable CVP 
M&I water service contractors, as appropriate; (2) establish CVP water 
supply levels that, together with the M&I water service contractors' 
drought water conservation measures and other water supplies, would 
assist the M&I water service contractors in their efforts to protect 
public health and safety during severe or continuing droughts; and (3) 
provide information to M&I water service contractors for their use in 
water supply planning and development of drought contingency plans.

DATES: Send written comments on the Draft EIS on or before January 12, 
2015.
    Four meetings to receive oral or written comments will be held on 
the following dates:
     Monday, December 8, 2014, 2-4 p.m., Sacramento, 
California.
     Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 6-8 p.m., Willows, 
California.
     Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 6-8 p.m., Fresno, California.
     Wednesday, December 17, 2014, 6-8 p.m., Oakland, 
California.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments or requests for copies to Mr. Tim 
Rust, Bureau of Reclamation, Resources Management Division, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825, or via email to [email protected].
    The meeting locations are:
     Sacramento--Sacramento Inn and Conference Center, 1401 
Arden Way, Sacramento, California 95825.
     Willows--Veteran's Memorial Hall, 525 W. Sycamore Street, 
Willows, California 95988.
     Fresno--Piccadilly Inn Airport, 5113 E. McKinley Avenue, 
Fresno, California 93727.
     Oakland--Oakland Courtyard Airport, 350 Hegenberger Road, 
Oakland, California 94621.
    To request a compact disc of the Draft EIS, please contact Mr. Tim 
Rust as indicated above, or call (916) 978-5516. The Draft EIS may be 
viewed at Reclamation's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvp/mandi/index.html. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where 
copies of the Draft EIS are available for public review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tim Rust, Program Manager, Bureau 
of Reclamation, via email at [email protected], or at (916) 978-5516; or 
Mr. Michael Inthavong, Natural Resources Specialist, Bureau of 
Reclamation, via email at [email protected], or at (559) 487-5295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CVP is operated under Federal statutes 
authorizing the CVP, and by the terms and conditions of water rights 
acquired pursuant to California law. During any year, constraints may 
occur on the availability of CVP water for M&I water service 
contractors. The cause of the water shortage may be drought, 
unavoidable causes, or restricted operations resulting from legal and 
environmental obligations or mandates. Those legal and environmental 
obligations include, but are not limited to, the Endangered Species 
Act, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), and conditions 
imposed on CVP's water rights by the California State Water Resources 
Control Board. The 2001 draft CVP M&I WSP, as modified by Alternative 1 
B of the 2005 draft environmental assessment, establishes the terms and 
conditions regarding the constraints on availability of water supply 
for the CVP M&I water service contracts.
    Allocation of CVP water supplies for any given water year is based 
upon forecasted reservoir inflows and Central Valley hydrologic 
conditions, amounts of storage in CVP reservoirs, regulatory 
requirements, and management of Section 3406(b)(2) resources and refuge 
water supplies in accordance with CVPIA. In some cases, M&I allocations 
in water shortage years may differ between CVP divisions due to 
regional CVP water supply availability, system capacity, or other 
operational constraints.
    The purpose of the update to the 2001 CVP M&I WSP, as modified by 
Alternative 1 B of the 2005 draft environmental assessment, is to 
provide detailed, clear, and objective guidelines for the distribution 
of CVP water supplies during water shortage conditions, thereby 
allowing CVP water users to know when, and by how much, water 
deliveries may be reduced in drought and other low water supply 
conditions.
    The increased level of clarity and understanding that will be 
provided by the update to the 2001 draft CVP M&I WSP is needed by water 
managers and the entities that receive CVP water to better plan for and 
manage available CVP water supplies, and to better integrate the use of 
CVP water with other available non-CVP water supplies. The update to 
the 2001 draft CVP M&I WSP is also needed to clarify certain terms and 
conditions with regard to its applicability and implementation. The 
proposed action is the adoption of an updated CVP M&I WSP and its 
implementation guidelines.
    The EIS analyzes five alternative actions. Alternative 1 is No 
Action, and represents the current 2001 draft CVP M&I WSP, as modified 
by Alternative 1 B of the 2005 Environmental Assessment, which is 
currently guiding Reclamation's allocation of water to agricultural and 
M&I water service contractors during water shortage years. Alternative 
2, Equal Agricultural and M&I Allocation, provides M&I and agricultural 
water service contractors with equal allocation percentages during 
water shortage conditions. Alternative 3, Full M&I Allocation 
Preference, provides M&I contractors with 100 percent of their contract 
allocation until CVP supplies are not available to meet those demands, 
while agricultural water service contractor deliveries are reduced as 
needed. Alternative 4, Updated M&I WSP, modifies Alternative 1 to 
provide a different definition of unconstrained years used in 
calculating historical use, and provides higher level of deliveries to 
M&I water service contractors by attempting to provide minimum public 
health and safety (PH&S) unmet need amounts without a guarantee. 
Alternative 5, M&I Contractor Suggested WSP, is similar to Alternative 
4 but attempts to meet PH&S unmet need deliveries through modification 
of operational priorities.

Public Review of Draft EIS

    Copies of the Draft EIS 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. Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 
C Street

[[Page 68913]]

NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001.

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the public 
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 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: October 28, 2014.
 Pablo Arroyave,
 Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-27372 Filed 11-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P