[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13737-13738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06343]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project; Notice of 
Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final environmental impact report/
environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: California American Water Company (CalAm) submitted a permit 
application to NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) to 
construct and operate a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination facility 
project (Project) in Monterey County, California. NOAA is conducting 
the permit review process in accordance with review and consultation 
requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
other applicable statutes. NOAA, as Federal lead agency for purposes of 
NEPA, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the state 
lead agency for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act 
(CEQA), have prepared a joint final environmental impact review/
environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) that analyzes the potential 
effects on the physical and human environment of the proposed action 
and alternatives.

DATES: This notice is applicable March 30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIR/EIS can be downloaded or viewed on the 
internet at https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/desal-projects.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Grimmer at 99 Pacific Ave., 
Bldg. 455a, Monterey, CA 93940 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    CalAm submitted a permit application for construction and operation 
of its proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP or 
Project). The purpose of the MPWSP is to replace existing water 
supplies for CalAm's Monterey District service area that have been 
constrained by legal decisions affecting the Carmel River and Seaside 
Groundwater Basin water resources. The MPWSP comprises various 
facilities and improvements, including: A sub-surface seawater intake 
system; a 9.6-million-gallons-per-day (mgd) reverse osmosis (RO) 
desalination plant; desalinated water storage and conveyance 
facilities; and expanded Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) facilities.
    The desalination facility would be capable of producing 9.6 million 
gallons per day (MGD) of potable water on a 46-acre site located north 
of the City of Marina on unincorporated Monterey County property. The 
MPWSP proposes ten subsurface slant wells (nine new wells and 
conversion of an existing test well) to draw seawater from beneath the 
ocean floor in Monterey Bay to produce the source water for the 
desalination plant. The subsurface slant wells would be located 
primarily within the City of Marina, in the active mining area of the 
CEMEX sand mining facility. The slant wells would be approximately 700 
to 1000 feet in length and extend beneath the coastal dunes, sandy 
beach, and the surf zone, terminating approximately 161 to 356 feet 
seaward of the Mean High Water line and at a depth of 190 to 210 feet 
below the seafloor. Up to 24.1 mgd of source water would be needed to 
produce 9.6 mgd of desalinated product water.
    Under the proposed project, the desalination plant would generate 
approximately 13.98 mgd of brine, including 0.4 mgd of decanted 
backwash water. The brine would be discharged into Monterey Bay via a 
36-inch diameter pipeline to a new connection with the existing 
Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency's (MRWPCA) outfall and 
diffuser located offshore.

II. NOAA Proposed Action and Alternatives

    NOAA is releasing a final EIR/EIS prepared in accordance with 
section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), and the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA. 40 CFR 1500-1508. NOAA's proposed action would be 
to authorize the installation of a subsurface seawater intake system, 
authorize the discharge of brine into MBNMS via an existing outfall 
pipe, and permit the continued presence of pipelines in MBNMS to 
transport seawater to or from a desalination facility.
    The Final EIR/EIS identifies and assesses potential environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed project, and identifies six 
alternatives, plus a no action alternative. Federal agencies would use 
the EIR/EIS to consider related permits or other approvals for the 
Project as proposed. NOAA's preferred alternative is Alternative 5a, 
which is also the environmentally preferred alternative. Alternative 5a 
would be implemented in conjunction with the Pure Water Monterey 
Groundwater Replenishment Project (GWR), which would offer the same 
amount of freshwater as the proposed project through a 6.4 mgd 
desalination plant and the purchase and extraction of 3,500 afy of GWR 
Project water from the Seaside Groundwater Basin. Although the combined 
Alternative 5a and GWR project would result in a larger physical 
footprint than the proposed action alone, the pairing of Alternative 5a 
and the GWR project would result in reduced operational energy use and 
reduced GHG emissions compared to the proposed project. In addition, 
the combination of Alternative 5a and the GWR Project would result in 
reduced effects on groundwater levels influenced by fewer slant wells 
and less volume of pumping compared to the proposed project, and the 
GWR project would provide water to the Castroville Seawater Intrusion 
Project that would benefit the groundwater basin. Lastly, Alternative 
5a paired with the GWR project would be consistent with the 2016 
California Action Plan seeking integrated water supply solutions, the 
Governor's drought proclamations, the CPUC Water Action Plan goal of 
promoting water infrastructure investment, the California Ocean Plan, 
and MBNMS Desalination Guidelines.

III. NEPA Process and Federal Consultations

    In accordance with Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA, NOAA published a 
Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the proposed project on 
August 26, 2015 (80 FR 51787). During the EIS scoping meeting held on 
September 10, 2015, five participants commented publically on the 
proposed project. Twelve written comments were received throughout the 
public comment period. The complete written comments are available for

[[Page 13738]]

review at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NOS-2015-0105.
    On January 13, 2017 a Draft EIR/EIS was released for public 
comment. NOAA and CPUC received approximately 82 comment letters, two 
form letter submissions, as well as 18 oral comments from the public 
hearing. Public and agency comments on the Draft EIR/EIS did not result 
in finding any impacts more adverse than disclosed in the DEIR/EIS. 
Furthermore, there were no substantial changes to the proposed project 
relevant to environmental concerns or significant new circumstances or 
information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the 
proposed action or its impacts. All comments are available and 
addressed in the FEIR/EIS. In addition, the complete written comments 
are available for review at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NOS-2016-0156.
    As part of the NEPA process, NOAA has completed federal interagency 
consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service under section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act and under the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act for Essential Fish Habitat. 
Consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service under section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act is ongoing. NOAA has also completed federal 
interagency consultation under section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act. With respect to the Coastal Zone Management Act, 
Subpart D of the federal consistency regulations governs consistency 
review for activities requiring a federal license or permit. This 
section requires the applicant to conduct any required consistency 
review with the state coastal commission, and provide the Federal 
permitting agency with a consistency certification. CalAm is currently 
in discussions with the California Coastal Commission. All final 
consultation documents will be made available on the website listed 
above. Finally, the United States Department of the Army and the United 
States Army Corps of Engineers were cooperating agencies on this FEIR/
FEIS.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.

    Dated: March 23, 2018.
John Armor,
Director for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2018-06343 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P