[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6765-6766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01942]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR03510000, XXXR0680A1, RX.20116000.0019400]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report for the Clean Water Factory Project, San 
Bernardino County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the City of San Bernardino 
Municipal Water Department will prepare a joint Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to evaluate the effects 
of the Clean Water Factory project. The proposed Clean Water Factory is 
a water reclamation project to treat and reuse municipal wastewater 
that is currently discharged to the Santa Ana River. The reclaimed 
water will be used for groundwater recharge and landscape irrigation. 
The purpose of the project is to reduce dependence on imported water 
and establish a reliable, sustainable source of clean water. The public 
and agencies are invited to comment on the scope of the EIS/EIR and the 
proposed alternatives.

DATES: Submit written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR on or before 
March 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Doug McPherson, Southern 
California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 27708 Jefferson Avenue, 
Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590; or email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug McPherson, Southern California 
Area Office general telephone number 951-695-5310; or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)), and 
Department of the Interior regulations for implementation of NEPA (43 
CFR part 46).

Background

    The San Bernardino Municipal Water Department (SBMWD) is preparing 
a feasibility study report for approval under the Reclamation 
Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act of 1992 (Title XVI 
of Pub. L. 102-575, as amended). If the Bureau of Reclamation 
determines that the feasibility study report meets the requirements 
defined at 43 U.S.C. 390h-2, and Congress amends Title XVI to 
specifically authorize Federal appropriations for the project, it will 
be eligible for construction funding under the Title XVI program.
    The proposed project will install treatment improvements within the 
existing San Bernardino Water Reclamation Plant (SBWRP) to achieve 
product water quality approved for groundwater recharge by the 
California Department of Public Health and the Santa Ana Regional Water 
Quality Control Board. New pipelines will convey treated effluent to 
the existing Waterman Basins and East Twin Creek Spreading Grounds for 
recharge into the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin. Recycled water will be 
delivered for non-potable irrigation uses along the pipeline alignment. 
The project may also include a pipeline to convey recycled water from 
the existing Rapid Infiltration and Extraction (RIX) facility to the 
Inland Empire Utilities Agency service area.
    SBWRP effluent is currently discharged to the Santa Ana River 
through the RIX facility, under National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System permit no. CA8000304. The Santa Ana River is 
designated critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus 
santaanae), a fish species listed as threatened under the Endangered 
Species Act. The existing RIX discharge contributes to dry season 
baseflows that support the Santa Ana sucker.
    Pursuant to California Water Code section 1211, SBMWD filed 
Wastewater Change Petition WW0059 with the California State Water 
Resources Control Board to reduce recycled water discharge from the RIX 
facility to the Santa Ana River by up to 31,500 acre-feet per year. 
Reductions in RIX discharge will be phased over time through an 
Adaptive Management Plan to monitor and manage downstream flows, to 
comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

[[Page 6766]]

Scoping Process

    SBMWD filed a Notice of Preparation (California State Clearinghouse 
no. 2014111012) on November 6, 2014, pursuant to the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (P.R.C. section 21092, C.C.R. section 
15082) and held two public scoping meetings on November 19, 2014. To 
avoid duplication with State and local procedures, we plan to use the 
scoping process initiated by SBMWD under CEQA. No additional public 
scoping meetings are planned at this time. The CEQA Notice of 
Preparation is available at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/envdocs.html.
    No known Indian trust assets or environmental justice issues are 
associated with the proposed action, although the pipeline alignments 
may include areas of low income and minority populations.
    Written comments are requested to help identify alternatives and 
issues that should be analyzed in the EIS/EIR. Federal, State and local 
agencies, tribes, and the general public are invited to participate in 
the environmental review process.

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: January 27, 2015.
Terrance J. Fulp,
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 2015-01942 Filed 2-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P