[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51937-51938]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18616]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR03510000, XXXR0680R1, RR171260120019400]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Pure Water San Diego Program, 
North City Project, San Diego County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the City of San Diego will 
prepare a joint Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement to evaluate the effects of the North City Project, the first 
phase of the Pure Water San Diego Program (Pure Water Program). The 
Pure Water Program is a water and wastewater facilities plan to produce 
potable water from recycled water.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on the scope of the 
environmental analysis and the proposed alternatives. Two public 
meetings are scheduled.

DATES: Please submit written comments on or before September 6, 2016.
    Public meeting dates:
    1. August 23, 2016, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Scripps Miramar Ranch 
Public Library.
    2. August 25, 2016, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., City of San Diego Public 
Utilities Department.

ADDRESSES: 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].
    Public meeting locations:
    1. Scripps Miramar Ranch Public Library, 10301 Scripps Lake Drive, 
San Diego, CA.
    2. City of San Diego Public Utilities Department, 9192 Topaz Way, 
San Diego, CA.

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).

North City Project

    The proposed project will expand the existing North City Water 
Reclamation Plant and construct an adjacent Advanced Water Purification 
Facility with a purified water pipeline to Miramar Reservoir. A project 
alternative would install a longer pipeline to deliver product water to 
the larger San Vicente reservoir.
    Other project components include: A new pump station and forcemain 
to deliver additional wastewater to the North City Water Reclamation 
Plant, a brine discharge pipeline, and upgrades to the existing 
Metropolitan Biosolids Center to accommodate additional

[[Page 51938]]

biosolids from the increased treatment capacity at the North City Water 
Reclamation Plant.
    A new electrical transmission line is proposed, connecting the 
North City Water Reclamation Plant to the future cogeneration facility 
at the Metropolitan Biosolids Center to deliver power for North City 
Project components. The electrical transmission line would cross Marine 
Corps Air Station Miramar and will require approval by the United 
States Marine Corps.

Background

    On average, eighty-five percent (85%) of the City's water supply is 
imported from the Colorado River and northern California. This reliance 
on imported water causes San Diego to be vulnerable to supply shortages 
and price increases.
    With few local water supply options, the City has explored potable 
and non-potable reuse options of treated wastewater. In 2011, the City 
started operating a one million gallon per day (MGD) demonstration 
scale advanced water purification facility at the North City Water 
Reclamation Plant site and confirmed that the purified water complied 
with all federal and state drinking water standards.

Pure Water San Diego Program

    The Pure Water Program will ultimately produce 83 MGD of locally-
controlled water, recycling a valuable and limited resource that is 
currently discharged to the Pacific ocean. The program will be 
implemented in phases over a 20-year period, grouped by geographical 
area: North City, Central Area and South Bay.
    The North City Project will produce 30 MGD of purified water and is 
scheduled to be operational in 2021. The Central Area and/or South Bay 
projects are scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2035 and will 
produce a combined total up to 53 MGD.
    The Pure Water Program will make San Diego more water independent 
while providing increased protection of the ocean environment. The City 
made a commitment to begin implementing the Pure Water Program in their 
application to renew the Clean Water Act Sec.  301(h) modified ocean 
discharge permit for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (NPDES 
permit no. CA0107409).

Authority

    Federal assistance is authorized by the Reclamation Wastewater and 
Groundwater Study and Facilities Act of 1992 (Title XVI of Pub. L. 102-
575). Section 1612, San Diego Area Water Reclamation Program, directs 
the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the city of San 
Diego, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of 
demonstration and permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse water in 
the San Diego metropolitan service area. This authority is delegated to 
the Bureau of Reclamation. The Federal share of the costs of the 
facilities shall not exceed 25 per cent of the total. Federal Funds for 
the operation or maintenance of the project are not authorized.

Scoping Process

    The City is filing a Notice of Preparation pursuant to the 
California Environmental Quality Act, and will hold two public scoping 
meetings. To avoid duplication with State and local procedures, we plan 
to use the scoping process initiated by the City. The Notice of 
Preparation, Notice of Scoping Meetings, and a proposed Scope of Work 
are available at https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/ceqa.
    The site proposed for the Advanced Water Purification Facility 
contains vernal pool habitat supporting endangered species. The City is 
preparing a Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan to comply with the 
Endangered Species Act.
    Pipeline alignments and/or drinking water service areas may include 
areas of low income and minority populations. Environmental justice 
issues are not anticipated, but will be evaluated. No known Indian 
Trust Assets are associated with the proposed action.
    Written comments are requested to help identify alternatives and 
issues that should be analyzed. 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: July 29, 2016.
Jennifer McCloskey,
Acting Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-18616 Filed 8-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4332-90-P