Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, Riverside-Corona Feeder Project, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA, 8395-8396 [2010-3644]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices (1) ‘‘For use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds’’ (Migratory Bird Conservation Act); and (2) ‘‘For the development, advancement, management, conservation, and protection of fish and wildlife resources for the benefit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’’ (Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956). The refuge is located in Stafford, Rice, and Reno Counties, Kansas. Wetlands, large and small, are present throughout the refuge; there are approximately 7,000 acres of wetlands with slightly to moderately saline water. Thousands of Canada geese, ducks, and other migratory birds, such as sandhill cranes and shorebirds, use these wetlands as they pass through the refuge on their annual migrations. The refuge provides numerous opportunities for the public including hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, interpretation, and environmental education for students and visitors. Scoping: Preliminary Issues, Concerns, and Opportunities We have identified preliminary issues, concerns, and opportunities that we may address in the CCP. During public scoping, we may identify additional issues. We request input as to which issues affecting management or public use should be addressed during the planning process. We are especially interested in receiving public input in the following areas: 8395 (a) What do you value most about this refuge? (b) What problems or issues do you see affecting management of this refuge? (c) What changes, if any, would you like to see in the management of this refuge? We provide the above questions for your optional use. We have no requirement that you provide information; however, any comments the planning team receives will be used as part of the planning process. Public Meetings We will hold the following public meetings. For more, contact the person under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Date Time Location March 8, 2010 ......................................... March 9, 2010 ......................................... 4–7 p.m. ...................................... 4–7 p.m. ...................................... March 10, 2010 ....................................... 4–7 p.m. ...................................... Stafford Senior Center, 103 South Main, Stafford, KS 67578. Front Door Community Center, 1615 Tenth Street, Great Bend, KS 67530. Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 East 29th Street North, Wichita, KS 67220–2200. Public Availability of Comments Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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: December 14, 2009. Hugh Morrison, Acting Regional Director, Region 6. [FR Doc. 2010–3588 Filed 2–23–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, Riverside-Corona Feeder Project, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation and the Western Municipal Water District (Western) will prepare a joint VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:49 Feb 23, 2010 Jkt 220001 EIS/EIR for the proposed RiversideCorona Feeder Project. The public and agencies are invited to comment on the scope of the EIS/EIR and the proposed alternatives. This notice is provided pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4332 (2) (c)) and Department of Interior regulations for implementation of NEPA (43 CFR Part 46). DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR are requested within 30 days of the publication of this notice. ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 27708 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590; or email to ACampbell@usbr.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern California Area Office general telephone number 951–695–5310, or e-mail ACampbell@usbr.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The proposed project is a large capacity water pipeline associated with an aquifer storage and recovery project. The project will install new groundwater wells at the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin in San Bernardino County with pipelines ranging in diameter up to 78 inches to Western’s Service Area in Riverside County. Existing recharge basins will be used to store imported water and local Santa PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Ana River flows in the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin during wet years for delivery to communities in western Riverside County in dry years via 28 miles of pipeline capable of delivering up to 40,000 acre-feet per year of ground water at 100 cubic feet per second (cfs). The proposed pipeline alignment will also provide access to groundwater from the Chino Basin in San Bernardino County. Section 9112 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–11, 123 Stat. 1318), signed by the President on March 30, 2009, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with Western, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Riverside-Corona Feeder Project including: (i) 20 groundwater wells; (ii) groundwater treatment facilities; (iii) water storage and pumping facilities; and (iv) 28 miles of pipeline in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties in the State of California. Western certified a Program EIR (California State Clearinghouse No. 2003031121) under CEQA in 2005, and issued a Notice of Preparation of a draft Supplemental Program EIR on July 30, 2008 to evaluate a proposed change in the pipeline alignment. Our intention is to circulate the supplemental EIR for public review as a joint CEQA/NEPA document, incorporating the earlier Program EIR by reference. The draft document is expected to be available for public review in mid-March 2010. E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM 24FEN1 8396 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices Scoping Process To avoid duplication with State and local procedures, we plan to use the scoping process initiated by Western under CEQA. No additional public scoping meetings are planned at this time. The CEQA Notice of Preparation, comments received, and a map showing the proposed project and pipeline alignment alternatives are available at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/ envdocs.html. No known Indian trust assets or environmental justice issues are associated with the Proposed Action, although the proposed pipeline alignment may include areas of low income and minority populations. Written comments are requested to help identify any additional alternatives and issues that should be analyzed in the EIS/EIR. Federal, State and local agencies, tribes, and the general public are invited to participate in the environmental review process. Public Disclosure Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, please 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: February 18, 2010. Jayne Harkins, Deputy Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region. [FR Doc. 2010–3644 Filed 2–23–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R7–R–2009–N288; 70133–1265–0000– U4] Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Cold Bay, Alaska pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Revised Notice SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed land exchange of certain lands owned by the State of Alaska and certain lands owned by the King Cove Corporation and evaluation of a proposed road corridor through the Izembek National Wildlife VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:49 Feb 23, 2010 Jkt 220001 Refuge and the Izembek Wilderness Area. We published a notice in the Federal Register on August 6, 2009, inviting suggestions on the scope of issues to address in the EIS. We now provide a comment-period end date and announce the dates, times, and locations of upcoming public meetings. Special mailings, newspaper articles, and other media releases will announce additional opportunities to provide written and oral input. DATES: Meetings: Public scoping meetings will be held in Anchorage, Alaska on March 4, 2010, 5–8 p.m. and on March 11, 2010, 1–4 p.m. in Washington, DC. In addition, we will hold public scoping meetings in King Cove, Cold Bay, Sand Point, and Nelson Lagoon in Alaska. We will announce these meeting dates, times, and locations locally, at least 10 days prior to each meeting. Comments: Please provide any written comments, information, or suggestions on the scope of issues to address in the EIS by April 30, 2010. ADDRESSES: Additional information concerning the proposed land exchange is at https://izembek.fws.gov/EIS.htm. Send your comments or requests for information by any of the following methods: • E-mail: izembek_eis@fws.gov; • Fax: Attn: Stephanie Brady, (907) 786–3965; or • U.S. Mail: Stephanie Brady, Project Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Rd., MS–231, Anchorage, AK 99503. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Brady, 907–246–1203 (phone), or at the addresses above. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (417,533 acres) and the North Creek (8,452 acres) and Pavlof (1,447,264 acres) units of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge are located at the westernmost tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The 1,008,697-acre Unimak Island (the easternmost Aleutian Island of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge) lies across the Isanotski Strait. To the north of the Izembek Refuge is the Bering Sea; to the south is the Pacific Ocean. The Alaska Peninsula is dominated by the rugged Aleutian Range, part of the Aleutian arc chain of volcanoes. Landforms include mountains, active volcanoes, U-shaped valleys, glacial moraines, low tundra wetlands, lakes, sand dunes, and lagoons. Elevations range from sea level to the 9,372-foot Shishaldin Volcano. Shishaldin Volcano is a designated National Natural Landmark. PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Several major lagoons are within the Izembek Refuge boundary. These lagoons contain some of the world’s largest eelgrass beds. The lagoons are under the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska. Izembek Lagoon is designated as Izembek State Game Refuge. Birds from all over the Arctic funnel through Izembek Refuge in fall on their way to wintering grounds throughout the world. More than 98 percent of the world’s Pacific black brant use Izembek Lagoon as a staging area for their fall migration to Mexico. Other birds that use the refuge include golden plovers, ruddy turnstones, western sandpipers, tundra swans, Steller’s eiders, and emperor geese. The refuge also is home to large concentrations of brown bears and other large mammals, such as caribou and wolves. The red, pink, chum, and silver salmon that use the waters within the refuge enrich the entire ecosystem with the nutrients they bring from the sea. The refuge also has a rich human history, from ancient settlements of Alaska Natives, through the 18th and 19th century Russian fur traders, to a World War II outpost. The Izembek Wilderness covers much of the refuge and includes pristine streams, extensive wetlands, steep mountains, tundra, and sand dunes, and provides high scenic, wildlife, and scientific values, as well as outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation. Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the southeast panhandle of Alaska and protects breeding habitat for seabirds, marine mammals, and other wildlife on more than 2,500 islands, spires, rocks, and coastal headlands. Sitkinak Island, which lies within the boundaries of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, is primarily owned by the State of Alaska, with two parcels owned by the Service. The King Cove Corporation is an Alaska Native Village Corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Under the authority of ANCSA, Congress granted King Cove Corporation land entitlements within and adjacent to Izembek Refuge. The State of Alaska also owns lands, submerged lands, shorelands, and tidelands within and adjacent to Izembek and Alaska Peninsula Refuges, including the Izembek State Game Refuge. In the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146, Subtitle E; the Act), Congress directed us to prepare an EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM 24FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8395-8396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3644]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, Riverside-Corona Feeder Project, 
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Western Municipal Water District (Western) will 
prepare a joint EIS/EIR for the proposed Riverside-Corona Feeder 
Project. The public and agencies are invited to comment on the scope of 
the EIS/EIR and the proposed alternatives.
    This notice is provided pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4332 (2) (c)) 
and Department of Interior regulations for implementation of NEPA (43 
CFR Part 46).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR are requested 
within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern 
California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 27708 Jefferson Avenue, 
Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590; or e-mail to ACampbell@usbr.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Amy Campbell, Southern California 
Area Office general telephone number 951-695-5310, or e-mail 
ACampbell@usbr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The proposed project is a large capacity water pipeline associated 
with an aquifer storage and recovery project. The project will install 
new groundwater wells at the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin in San 
Bernardino County with pipelines ranging in diameter up to 78 inches to 
Western's Service Area in Riverside County.
    Existing recharge basins will be used to store imported water and 
local Santa Ana River flows in the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin during 
wet years for delivery to communities in western Riverside County in 
dry years via 28 miles of pipeline capable of delivering up to 40,000 
acre-feet per year of ground water at 100 cubic feet per second (cfs). 
The proposed pipeline alignment will also provide access to groundwater 
from the Chino Basin in San Bernardino County.
    Section 9112 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 
(Pub. L. 111-11, 123 Stat. 1318), signed by the President on March 30, 
2009, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with 
Western, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of 
the Riverside-Corona Feeder Project including: (i) 20 groundwater 
wells; (ii) groundwater treatment facilities; (iii) water storage and 
pumping facilities; and (iv) 28 miles of pipeline in San Bernardino and 
Riverside Counties in the State of California.
    Western certified a Program EIR (California State Clearinghouse No. 
2003031121) under CEQA in 2005, and issued a Notice of Preparation of a 
draft Supplemental Program EIR on July 30, 2008 to evaluate a proposed 
change in the pipeline alignment. Our intention is to circulate the 
supplemental EIR for public review as a joint CEQA/NEPA document, 
incorporating the earlier Program EIR by reference. The draft document 
is expected to be available for public review in mid-March 2010.

[[Page 8396]]

Scoping Process

    To avoid duplication with State and local procedures, we plan to 
use the scoping process initiated by Western under CEQA. No additional 
public scoping meetings are planned at this time. The CEQA Notice of 
Preparation, comments received, and a map showing the proposed project 
and pipeline alignment alternatives are available at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/envdocs.html. No known Indian trust assets or 
environmental justice issues are associated with the Proposed Action, 
although the proposed pipeline alignment may include areas of low 
income and minority populations.
    Written comments are requested to help identify any additional 
alternatives and issues that should be analyzed in the EIS/EIR. 
Federal, State and local agencies, tribes, and the general public are 
invited to participate in the environmental review process.

Public Disclosure

    Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, please 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: February 18, 2010.
Jayne Harkins,
Deputy Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-3644 Filed 2-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P

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