[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 16 (Monday, January 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3599-3600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1553]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Environmental Water Account, San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR).
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of
Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Water
Resources (DWR) have prepared a Final EIS/EIR for the Environmental
Water Account (EWA).
The purpose of the EWA is to provide water for the protection and
recovery of at-risk native fish species beyond the amount of water
available from existing regulatory actions related to State Water
Project/Central Valley Project operations.
The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR was published in
the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 16, 2003, (66 FR 42130). The
written comment period on the Draft EIS/EIR ended Monday, September 15,
2003. The Final EIS/EIR contains responses to all comments received and
changes made to the text of the Draft EIS/EIR as a result of those
comments and any additional information received during the review
period.
DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action
until at least 30 days after release of the Final EIS/EIR. After the
30-day waiting period, Reclamation will complete a Record of Decision
(ROD). The ROD will state the action that will be implemented and will
discuss all factors leading to the decision.
ADDRESSES: A compact disc of the Final EIS/EIR may be requested from
Ms. Sammie Cervantes, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way,
Sacramento, CA 95825, or by calling 916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608, or
by e-mail at [email protected]. The Final EIS/EIR is accessible at
the following Web sites: http://www.mp.usbr.gov or http://www.dwr.water.ca.gov.
See Supplemental Information section for locations where a compact
disc of the Final EIS/EIR is available for review.
FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sammie Cervantes, Bureau of
Reclamation, at 916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608, or by e-mail at
[email protected]; or Ms. Delores Brown, DWR, at 916-227-2407, or
by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EWA is a cooperative management program,
the purpose of which is to provide protection to the at-risk native
fish species of the Bay-Delta estuary through environmentally
beneficial changes in SWP and CVP operations at no uncompensated water
cost to the projects' water users. This approach to fish protection
requires the acquisition of alternative sources of water supply, called
EWA assets, that allow export pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta to be modified to provide fishery benefits while also replacing
the regular project water supply that otherwise might be interrupted or
lost because of the changes to project operations. EWA assets may also
be used to augment streamflows and Delta outflow.
Public workshops to discuss the purpose and content of the Draft
EIS/EIR were held on the following dates and locations: Wednesday, July
16, 2003, in San Diego, CA; Monday, July 21, 2003, in Red Bluff, CA;
Tuesday, July 22, 2003, in Fresno, CA; Wednesday, July 23, 2003, in
Tracy, CA; and Tuesday, July 29, 2003, in Sacramento, CA. Public
hearings were held on Monday, August 25, 2003, in Sacramento, CA;
Tuesday, August 26, 2003, in Red Bluff, CA; and Thursday, August 28,
2003, in Fresno, CA.
A compact disc of the Final EIS/EIR is available for review at the
following locations:
Department of Water Resources, Division of
Environmental Services, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816;
Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office,
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825;
California Bay-Delta Authority, 650 Capitol
Mall, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95812;
Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library,
Building 67, Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver,
CO 80225, 303-445-2072;
Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of
the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Main Interior Building, Washington,
DC 20240-0001; and
[[Page 3600]]
At various county libraries, contact Sammie
Cervantes at 916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608, for specific locations.
It is Reclamation's practice to publicly disclose respondents'
comments, including names and addresses. Respondents may request that
their address be withheld from disclosure; this will be honored to the
extent allowable by law. There may also be circumstances in which a
respondent's identity may be withheld from disclosure; again, this will
be honored to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold
your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comment. All submissions from organizations or
businesses will be publicly disclosed in their entirety.
Dated: January 14, 2004.
John F. Davis,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 04-1553 Filed 1-23-04; 8:45 am]
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