[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51420-51422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18197]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
construction of the Proposed Delta Conveyance Project, Sacramento, San 
Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties, CA

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District (USACE), 
as the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for construction 
of the Delta Conveyance Project. The California Department of Water 
Resources (DWR) is the project proponent and will be referred to 
hereafter as the Applicant. The EIS will analyze the Applicant's 
proposed action to construct new conveyance facilities in the 
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) which includes intake facilities 
on the Sacramento River, tunnel reaches and tunnel shafts, a southern 
forebay and pumping plant, and south Delta Conveyance facilities that 
would connect to the existing State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento Regulatory 
Division, Attn: Mr. Zachary Simmons, 1325 J Street, Room 1350, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Questions about the proposed action 
and EIS can be answered by Mr. Zachary Simmons, at (916) 557-6746, by 
email at [email protected]; or mail at U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, Sacramento Regulatory Division, Attn: Mr. Zachary 
Simmons, 1325 J Street, Room 1350, Sacramento, CA 95814-2922. Requests 
to be placed on the electronic or surface mail notification lists 
should also be sent to this address. For further information or media 
inquiries, contact Mr. Paul Bruton at (916) 557-5166, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action requires permission from 
USACE is required under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA). 
In addition, the proposed work in navigable waters and discharge of 
dredge or fill material into waters of the U.S. requires authorization 
from USACE under Section 10 of the RHA of 1899 and Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act.

[[Page 51421]]

    1. Proposed Action. The project requiring an EIS involves 
construction of new conveyance facilities in the Delta that would 
connect to the existing SWP infrastructure. USACE's jurisdiction is 
limited to construction activities resulting in the discharge of dredge 
or fill material within waters of the U.S., work or structures within 
navigable waters, and modifications to the federal levees and 
navigation projects. The scope of the USACE NEPA review for operations 
of the new facilities is limited to potential effects to navigation and 
long-term operations and maintenance of the modifications to federal 
levees. The scope does not extend to the potential downstream effects 
from the diversion of water through new intakes or to the overall SWP 
and water deliveries.
    The proposed action includes the construction of new intake 
facilities, a tunnel, and a forebay. Two new intake facilities would be 
located in the north Delta along the east bank of the Sacramento River 
between the communities of Clarksburg and Courtland. The new conveyance 
facilities would include a tunnel to convey water from the new intakes 
to a pumping plant and new southern forebay on Byron Tract, immediately 
west of the existing Clifton Court Forebay. A dual tunnel would connect 
the new facilities to the existing State Water Project (SWP) Banks 
Intake Canal in the south Delta. The new facilities would provide the 
SWP with an alternate location for diversion of water from the Delta 
and would be operated in coordination with the existing SWP south Delta 
pumping facilities, resulting in a system also known as ``dual 
conveyance'' because there would be two complementary methods to divert 
and convey water. Under the proposed project, the new north Delta 
facilities would be sized to convey up to 6,000 cubic feet per second 
(cfs) of water from the Sacramento River to the SWP facilities in the 
south Delta.
    Because the proposed action would alter Federal levees and cross 
under a federal navigation project, permission from USACE is required 
under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) (33 U.S.C. 408) 
(Section 408). In addition, the proposed work in navigable waters and 
discharge of dredge or fill material into waters of the U.S. requires 
authorization from USACE under Section 10 of the RHA (33 U.S.C. 403) 
and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). Proposed 
project elements requiring a permit under Section 404 and/or Section 10 
include the construction of the intakes within the Sacramento River and 
associated intake facilities which include setback levees, two tunnel 
shafts, and temporary construction work areas. Project elements along 
the tunnel corridor include 13 crossings of navigable waterways, eight 
tunnel shafts, access roads and access road improvements, staging 
areas, tunnel material storage areas, and a barge landing within the 
Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (SDWSC) at Lower Roberts Island. 
Project elements at the southern forebay facilities include 
construction of the new Southern Forebay, three tunnel shafts, one 
crossing of a navigable waterway, a pumping plant, outlet and control 
structure, tunnel material storage area, and temporary construction 
work areas. Proposed project elements requiring authorization under 
Section 408 include the crossing under the SDWSC, the barge landing 
within the SDWSC, and alterations to the Sacramento River Flood Control 
Project (SRFCP) to construct the intakes within the Sacramento River, 
associated intake facilities, and construction and maintenance of the 
setback levees along the Sacramento River. Compensatory mitigation 
would be required for unavoidable impacts to waters of the U.S. and 
would be developed during the EIS process.
    Construction of the overall conveyance project, if approved, would 
take approximately 13 years, but the duration of construction at most 
locations would vary and would not extend for this full construction 
period. The future operation of the intakes after completion of 
construction would not be within control or responsibility of the 
Corps.
    2. Alternatives. A number of project alternatives, including the no 
action alternative and the Applicant's preferred alternative will be 
evaluated in the EIS in accordance with NEPA (33 CFR part 230 (USACE 
NEPA Regulations) and 33 CFR part 325, Appendix B (NEPA Implementation 
Procedures for USACE Regulatory Projects). Current alternatives to be 
analyzed include variations of the proposed project. Options include 
two of three possible intake structures, multiple intake structure 
designs based on impact footprint and fish screen designs, intake and 
tunnel capacity between 3,000 to 7,500 cfs, and optimizing a tunnel 
alignment to minimize impacts within either a central Delta or eastern 
Delta corridor.
    3. Scoping Process.
    a. Affected Federal, State, regional, and local agencies; Native 
American Tribes; other interested private organizations; and the 
general public are invited to participate in the scoping process. 
Comments can be submitted to the contacts identified above or submitted 
via the website identified in 4. Scoping Meetings below.
    b. The EIS will analyze the environmental effects of construction 
on the aquatic environment and all other impacts that fall within the 
USACE jurisdiction. Potentially significant issues to be analyzed in 
depth include impacts to waters of the United States (including 
wetlands), the federal flood control project, and air quality. Other 
impacts include biological resources, special status species, hydrology 
and water quality, land use, navigation, water supply, aesthetics, 
recreation, and socioeconomic effects.
    c. USACE has invited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency to participate as cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of the EIS. The Applicant is lead agency for the 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the 
California Environmental Quality Act for the proposed project. The two 
environmental reviews will be completed as separate, but parallel 
processes, and result in separate documents.
    d. USACE will consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer 
and with Native American Tribes to comply with the National Historic 
Preservation Act, and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 
and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to comply with the 
Endangered Species Act. USACE will also coordinate with the USFWS to 
comply with the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and with NMFS to 
comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act.
    4. Scoping Meetings. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and in 
compliance with Army and USACE directives, no in-person public scoping 
meetings will be held. Members of the public are invited to view 
project information and a presentation on the USACE proposed action at 
https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permitting/Environmental-Impact-Statements/. Comments may be submitted via the 
website or through email or written comments submitted to the contacts 
listed above.
    5. Availability of the Draft EIS. The draft EIS is scheduled to be 
available for

[[Page 51422]]

public review and comment in mid-2021.

Paul E. Owen,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2020-18197 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P