[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29607-29608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11282]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 9556]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Otay Mesa Conveyance and 
Disinfection System Project, San Diego County, California, Presidential 
Permit Application Review

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of Availability, solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of State (Department) announces 
availability for public review and comment of the Draft Environmental 
Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Otay Mesa 
Conveyance and Disinfection System Project, San Diego County, 
California Presidential Permit Application Review (Draft EIR/EIS). This 
document analyzes the potential environmental effects of issuing a 
Presidential Permit to the Otay Water District (District) for the 
construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of transboundary 
pipeline facilities for the importation of desalinated seawater from 
Mexico to the United States in San Diego County, California (Otay Water 
Pipeline). The Draft EIS/EIR was prepared consistent with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321, et seq.), 
the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 CFR 
1500-1508), and the Department's implementing regulations (22 CFR part 
161), and pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 
of 1970. It evaluates the potential environmental impacts of issuing a 
Presidential Permit to the District to construct, connect, operate, and 
maintain an approximately four-mile-long, 48- to 54-inch-diameter 
potable water pipeline, and a metering station as well as a possible 
pump station and disinfection facility within the Otay Mesa area of the 
County of San Diego, just north of the United States-Mexico border.

DATES: The Department invites the public, governmental agencies, tribal 
governments, and all other interested parties to provide comments on 
the Draft EIS/EIR during the 45-day public comment period. The public 
comment period starts on May 12, 2016, with the publication of this 
Federal Register Notice and will end June 27, 2016.
    All comments received during the review period may be made public, 
no matter how initially submitted. Comments are not private and will 
not be edited to remove identifying or contact information. Commenters 
are cautioned against including any information that they would not 
want publicly disclosed. Any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
from other persons is further requested to direct those persons not to 
include any identifying or contact information, or information they 
would not want publicly disclosed, in their comments.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft EIS/EIR may be submitted at 
www.regulations.gov by entering the title of this Notice into the 
search field and following the prompts. Comments may also be submitted 
by mail, addressed to: Otay Water Pipeline Project Manager, Office of 
Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues (OES/EQT): Suite 2726, 
U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20520. All 
comments from agencies or organizations should indicate a contact 
person for the agency or organization.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project details for the Otay Water 
Pipeline project and a copy of the Presidential Permit application, as 
well as information on the Presidential Permit process are available on 
the following Web sites: http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/app/otaypermit/index.htm and http://www.owd-desalconveyance.com/. Please 
refer to these Web sites or contact the Department at the address 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 11423, as amended, delegates 
to the Secretary of State the President's authority to receive 
applications for permits for the construction, connection, operation, 
or maintenance of certain facilities at the borders of the United 
States, and to issue or deny such Presidential Permits upon a national 
interest determination. To make this determination, the Department 
considers many factors, including foreign policy; environmental, 
cultural and economic impacts; and compliance with applicable law and 
policy.

[[Page 29608]]

    In November 2013, the District submitted an application to the 
Department for a Presidential Permit authorizing the construction, 
connection, operation, and maintenance of a cross-border water pipeline 
facility for the proposed project, which would convey desalinated 
seawater from Mexico to the District's Roll Reservoir in San Diego 
County, which is approximately four miles northeast of the border.
    The proposed Mexican desalination plant (not a part of the proposed 
project) is envisioned to produce 100 million gallons per day (MGD) of 
desalinated sea water. The District intends to initially purchase 
approximately 20-25 MGD of desalinated sea water, and ultimately 
increase the amount to 50 MGD. Due to seasonal variation in demand, the 
District anticipates that 10 MGD would be conveyed in the winter 
months, and up to 50 MGD would be conveyed during peak demand periods 
in the summer months. Numerous alignment routes for the pipeline were 
considered; however, after initial consideration of environmental and 
engineering opportunities and constraints, the District, together with 
the Department, determined three alternative alignments, and addressed 
those alignments in the Draft EIR/EIS. The District's preferred 
alternative is approximately 21,810 linear feet and extends from the 
border in a northwesterly direction within established right-of-ways 
and terminates on the east side of the Roll Reservoir.
    The District will be responsible for approving the expenditure of 
public funds for the proposed project and the Department will be 
responsible for determining whether the proposed project serves the 
national interest pursuant to Executive Order 11423, and if so, issuing 
a Presidential Permit authorizing the construction, connection, 
operation, and maintenance of the cross-border pipeline facility.
    Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR: Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR have 
been distributed to state and governmental agencies, tribal 
governments, and other interested parties. Printed copies of the 
document may be obtained by visiting the Otay Mesa-Nestor Library in 
San Diego, California or by contacting the Otay Project Manager at the 
above address. The Draft EIS/EIR is available on these project Web 
sites at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/app/otaypermit/index.htm 
and http://www.owd-desalconveyance.com/.

Deborah Klepp,
Director, Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues, 
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2016-11282 Filed 5-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-09-P