Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for Long-Term Water Transfers, Central Valley and Bay Area, California, 15030-15031 [2015-06409]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Reclamation

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 54 (Friday, March 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15030-15031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06409]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR02015200, 15XR0687NA, RX185279294000000]


Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for Long-Term Water Transfers, 
Central Valley and Bay Area, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota 
Water Authority have prepared the Long-Term Water Transfers Final 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). 
The Final EIS/EIR addresses water transfers to Central Valley Project 
(CVP) contractors south of the Delta and in the San Francisco Bay area 
from CVP and non-CVP sources from north of the Delta using Delta pumps 
(both CVP and State Water Project (SWP) facilities). Water transfers 
could occur through various methods such as groundwater substitution, 
cropland idling, reservoir release, and conservation, and could include 
individual and multiyear transfers from 2015 through 2024.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action 
until at least 30 days after the 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: Send written correspondence or requests for copies to Mr. 
Brad Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 
95825; or via email to bhubbard@usbr.gov.
    To request a compact disc of the Final EIS/EIR, please contact Mr. 
Brad Hubbard as indicated above, or call (916) 978-5204. The Final EIS/
EIR may be viewed at the Bureau of Reclamation's Web site at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=18361. See 
Supplementary Information section for locations where copies of the 
Final EIS/EIR are available for public review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad Hubbard, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Reclamation, via email at bhubbard@usbr.gov, or at (916) 978-
5204; or Ms. Frances Mizuno, Assistant Executive Director, San Luis & 
Delta-Mendota Water Authority, via email at frances.mizuno@sldmwa.org, 
or at (209) 832-6200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hydrologic conditions, climatic variability, 
and regulatory requirements for operation of water projects commonly 
affect water supply availability in California. Project supplies are 
often the primary source of water for south of Delta users, and the 
complex factors constraining operational decisions not only strain 
total annual water supplies, but regularly create mismatched timing 
between planting decisions and announcement of final water supply 
allocations, making advance planning for water shortages necessary and 
routine. These conditions and resulting shortages create a need for 
water transfers to help meet water demands.
    The purpose of the Long-Term Water Transfers EIS/EIR is to 
facilitate voluntary water transfers from willing sellers upstream of 
the Delta to water users south of the Delta and in the San Francisco 
Bay Area. The maximum approvable quantity transferable to any 
contractor cannot exceed that contractor's total contract supply, but 
instead helps to make up for shortages. Such transfers need to be 
implementable within narrow annual windows for decisions on each end 
and flexible enough to address highly

[[Page 15031]]

variable shortages and annual differences in farming decisions north 
and south of the Delta.
    The EIS/EIR analyzes four alternative actions. Alternative 1 is No 
Action. Alternative 2, Full Range of Transfers, is the Proposed Action. 
This alternative combines all potential transfer measures that met the 
purpose and need and were carried forward through the screening 
process. Alternative 3, No Cropland Modifications, includes 
conservation, groundwater substitution, and reservoir release. 
Alternative 4, No Groundwater Substitution, includes conservation, 
cropland idling transfers-- rice, field and grains, crop shifting, and 
reservoir release.
    Transfers of CVP supplies and transfers that require use of CVP 
facilities are subject to review by the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) in accordance with the Central Valley Project Improvement 
Act of 1992, Reclamation's water transfer guidelines, and California 
State law. Pursuant to Federal and State law and subject to separate 
written agreement, Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources 
would facilitate water transfers involving CVP contract water supplies 
and CVP and SWP facilities. Buyers and sellers would be responsible for 
negotiating the terms of the transfers, including amount of water for 
transfer, method to make water available, and price.
    The EIS/EIR identifies potential selling parties in northern 
California, methods by which water could be made available for 
transfer, and maximum amounts of water available through each method. 
The EIS/EIR also identifies potential purchasing agencies south of the 
Delta and the proposed use of transfer water.
    The EIS/EIR analyzes alternative transfer methods to make water 
available through operational flexibility of the existing system. 
Groundwater substitution transfers occur when sellers forego diversion 
of their surface water supplies and pump an equivalent amount of 
groundwater as an alternative supply. The purchasing agency would 
receive the foregone surface water supply. The quantity of water 
available for transfer would account for potential stream flow losses 
as a result of groundwater-surface water interaction. Cropland idling 
would make water available for transfer that would have been used for 
agricultural irrigation without the transfer. Typically, the proceeds 
from the water transfer would pay farmers to idle land that they would 
have placed in production. Reservoir release transfers would involve 
releasing water from non-Project entities (not part of the CVP or SWP) 
for transfer that would have otherwise remained in storage. 
Conservation transfers involve actions to reduce the diversion of 
surface water by the transferring entity by reducing irrecoverable 
water losses.
    Water transfers under the Proposed Action involving conveyance 
through the Delta would be implemented within the operational 
parameters of the existing system, which includes Biological Opinions 
on the Continued Long-term Operations of the CVP/SWP and any other 
regulatory restrictions in place at the time of implementation of the 
water transfers. Current operational parameters applicable to the 
transfer water include use of the SWP's Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant 
and CVP's C.W. ``Bill'' Jones Pumping Plant during July through 
September only.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR was published in the 
Federal Register on September 30, 2014 (79 FR 58802). The comment 
period on the Draft EIS/EIR ended on December 1, 2014. The Final EIS/
EIR contains responses to all comments received and reflects comments 
and any additional information received during the review period.
    Copies of the Final EIS/EIR are available for public review at the 
following locations:
    1. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, Regional Library, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
    2. Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 
C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001.
    3. San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 842 6th Street, Los 
Banos, CA 93635.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in any correspondence, you 
should be aware that your entire correspondence--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your correspondence to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: February 23, 2015.
Pablo R Arroyave,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2015-06409 Filed 3-19-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4332-90-P