[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 6 (Friday, January 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1432-1433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00168]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[15XR5173F7, RX120560500000004, RR02142500]


Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the 
North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the City of Modesto have made 
available for public review and comment the North Valley Regional 
Recycled Water Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). The North Valley Regional 
Recycled Water Program would provide recycled water from the Cities of 
Turlock and Modesto via the Central Valley Project's Delta-Mendota 
Canal to Del Puerto Water District for irrigation purposes, and would 
further provide annual supplemental water to south of the Sacramento-
San Joaquin River Delta Central Valley Project Improvement Act 
designated wildlife refuges for wetlands.

[[Page 1433]]


DATES: Written comments on the Draft EIS/EIR should be submitted on or 
before March 10, 2015.
    A meeting to receive oral or written comments will be held on 
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 from 5 to 8 p.m. Staff will be available 
to take comments and answer questions during this time.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mr. Ben Lawrence, Bureau of 
Reclamation, 1243 N Street, Fresno, California 93721; or via email to 
[email protected].
    The public meeting will be held at Modesto City Hall, Room 2001, 
1010 10th Street, Modesto, California.
    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=17241, or at the following locations:
    1. Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area Office, 
1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721.
    2. Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 
C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001.
    To request a compact disc of the Draft EIS/EIR, please contact Mr. 
Ben Lawrence as indicated above, or call (559) 487-5039.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ben Lawrence, Natural Resources 
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, via email at [email protected], or 
at (559) 487-5039; or Mr. Scott Taylor, Repayment Specialist, Bureau of 
Reclamation, via email at [email protected], or at (559) 487-5504.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Del Puerto Water District (Del Puerto 
WD) and the Cities of Turlock and Modesto propose to implement a 
regional solution to address water supply shortages within Del Puerto 
WD's service area on the west side of the San Joaquin River in San 
Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced Counties. Specifically, the project 
proposes to deliver up to 59,000 acre-feet per year by 2045 of recycled 
water produced by the cities to the Delta Mendota Canal (DMC). After 
introduction to the DMC, the recycled water would be conveyed to Del 
Puerto WD customers, to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act-
designated refuges or to San Luis Reservoir for storage, depending on 
time of year and water demand. The Draft EIS/EIR assesses the 
environmental effects of four alternatives being considered, which are 
described below. In each case (except for the No Action Alternative), 
operational exchanges with the Bureau of Reclamation may be necessary 
in order to balance seasonal supply and demand.
    Under Alternative 1, the Combined Alignment Alternative, a new pipe 
would be constructed to deliver treated water from Turlock's facilities 
to the city of Modesto's pumping plant. From there, a pipeline would be 
constructed to deliver the combined water from both cities west, 
underneath the San Joaquin River. The pipeline would end at a new 
discharge structure on the DMC. The DMC would then be used to convey 
water to downstream users.
    Alternative 2, the Separate Alignment Alternative, is similar to 
Alternative 1, except that separate pipelines would be constructed from 
the Modesto and Turlock water treatment facilities. There would be two 
crossings underneath the San Joaquin River, and two new discharge 
structures on the DMC.
    Under Alternative 3, the Patterson Irrigation District (PID) 
Conveyance Alternative, Modesto and Turlock would continue to discharge 
their treated water to the San Joaquin River. The water would be 
diverted by PID at their existing intake on the river, which would need 
to be expanded, delivered to the DMC by way of an expanded PID 
conveyance system, and discharged to the DMC by way of a new outfall 
structure. From there, the water would be conveyed to downstream users. 
This alternative would require an expansion of PID's fish screen 
facility and a pipeline parallel to PID's main canal to accommodate 
increased water volume, but no new river crossings.
    Alternative 4, the No Action Alternative, represents the state of 
the environment without implementation of any action alternatives. 
Modesto and Turlock would continue to discharge their treated municipal 
water to the San Joaquin River, and no additional water would be 
supplied to Del Puerto WD or the Central Valley Project Improvement Act 
refuges.

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    If special assistance is required to participate in the scoping 
meeting, please contact Mr. Benjamin Lawrence at (559) 487-5039, or via 
email at [email protected]. Please contact Mr. Lawrence at least 10 
working days prior to the meeting. A telephone device for the hearing 
impaired (TTY) is available at (559) 487-5933.

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: December 12, 2014.
Pablo Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-00168 Filed 1-8-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P