Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report Regarding the Delta Research Station-Estuarine Research Station and Fish Technology Center Project, 73332-73333 [2014-28891]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 237 (Wednesday, December 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73332-73333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28891]



[[Page 73332]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-FAC-2014-N224]


Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report Regarding 
the Delta Research Station--Estuarine Research Station and Fish 
Technology Center Project

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 
and State CEQA Guidelines, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 
and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) intend to 
prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact 
Report (EIS/EIR) to evaluate impacts regarding construction and 
operation of the Delta Research Station (DRS) in the San Francisco Bay/
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta), California. The 
planned DRS would consist of two facilities, a proposed Estuarine 
Research Station (ERS) and Fish Technology Center (FTC). The USFWS will 
be the lead Federal agency responsible for coordinating the 
environmental analysis for the proposed action under NEPA. DWR will be 
the lead State agency responsible for coordinating the environmental 
analysis under CEQA. With this notice, USFWS and DWR are announcing the 
beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and 
identify issues.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping processes for the EIS/
EIR. Comments on issues must be submitted in writing and postmarked 
January 9, 2015. Two scoping meetings will be held during the scoping 
period, one in Rio Vista and one in Stockton. The dates and locations 
of these scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance 
through the project Web site at www.deltaresearchstation.com.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for information related to the 
preparation of the EIS/EIR should be sent to USFWS, Attn: Barbara 
Beggs, 650 Capitol Mall Suite 8-300, Sacramento, CA 95691; and/or 
emailed to barbara_beggs@fws.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Beggs, USFWS, at 916-930-5637.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview of the DRS

    USFWS and DWR are currently planning development of the DRS, a 
science and research center in the Bay-Delta, which would consolidate a 
number of existing and new activities into the proposed ERS and FTC and 
bring together Federal and State agency staff working on similar Bay-
Delta issues.

Project Purpose

    The purpose of the DRS is to enhance interagency coordination and 
collaboration by developing a shared research facility. The DRS would 
advance the interests of researchers, local communities, and others 
that are dependent on the Bay-Delta. The DRS is needed because current 
Federal and State agency staff working on similar Bay-Delta issues are 
spread out in different locations, located in areas remote from the 
Bay-Delta, or have limited resources, inhibiting efficient research and 
monitoring efforts and collaboration.
    The specific objectives of each component of the DRS are as 
follows:
     ERS--
    [cir] Establish a research station in a central location within the 
Bay-Delta to facilitate ease of conducting monitoring and research; and
    [cir] Co-locate the research station with a facility capable of 
studying fish in captivity (i.e., the FTC); and
    [cir] Provide facilities to conduct monitoring and research on the 
Bay-Delta's aquatic resources.
     FTC--
    [cir] Develop captive propagation technologies for the Bay-Delta's 
rare fish species;
    [cir] Test and refine the captive propagation techniques;
    [cir] Locate the facility where suitable water quality and quantity 
are available, and ability to discharge waste water given its various 
functions and operations is available; and
    [cir] Co-locate the FTC with a facility conducting conservation 
research on Bay-Delta rare fish species (i.e., the ERS).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    At this time, USFWS and DWR are proposing development of the ERS 
and FTC, as these facilities would be co-located with one another and 
potentially built at the same time. Collectively, these facilities are 
referred as the proposed action. Currently, three potential 
alternatives plus the no action/no project alternative are being 
considered for the proposed ERS and FTC. The first two potential 
alternatives involve locating the facilities at the Rio Vista Army Base 
in the City of Rio Vista, with each alternative representing a 
different site configuration within the base. The third alternative is 
to locate the facilities in the City of Stockton, California. All 
alternatives would be evaluated at an equal level of detail in the EIS/
EIR. Below is a description of the two proposed facilities.

Proposed Facilities

    The ERS would be a center for research and study of the Bay-Delta 
ecosystem. The ERS would provide improved and additional facilities for 
science and research activities and would consolidate over 160 State 
and Federal employees from the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP). 
The IEP is a multi-agency cooperative effort to provide ecological 
information to support management of the Bay-Delta. The IEP monitors, 
researches, models, and synthesizes critical information in the Bay-
Delta to support water management and planning and protection of fish 
and aquatic ecosystems. ERS facilities would include office and 
workspace, wet and dry laboratory facilities, warehouse and boat 
storage space, a marina, and a vehicle and boat repair shop. Laboratory 
facilities would include optical equipment (e.g., microscopes), fume 
hoods, computer stations, and water tanks of various sizes for 
processing of field samples and experimental studies of fish and 
ecology. The ERS would also include a dry electrical lab to house 
electronic sensing, monitoring, and telecommunications equipment used 
to monitor tagged fish and the estuarine environment. The ERS would be 
managed by DWR.
    The FTC would be a center for propagation, research, conservation, 
and study of rare Bay-Delta fishes. The FTC is also intended to house 
and maintain a refugial population of rare fish species (i.e., 
captively raised fish). The FTC would include research and study 
facilities, an office and administration building, a shop and vehicle 
storage building, a water treatment facility for surface water, and an 
effluent treatment facility. The FTC would include separate aquaculture 
and research components for individual study species and a laboratory 
space to support water quality, genetic, and fish health analysis. The 
FTC would be managed by USFWS and would be sited immediately adjacent 
to the ERS.

Statutory Authority

    NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires that Federal agencies 
conduct an environmental analysis of their

[[Page 73333]]

proposed actions to determine if the actions may significantly affect 
the human environment. Under NEPA and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1500 et seq.), a reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed 
action is developed and considered in the EIS/EIR. In addition, the 
EIS/EIR will identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and 
cumulative effects, and possible mitigation for those significant 
effects on environmental issues that could occur with implementation of 
the proposed action.

Identification of Environmental Issues

    The EIS/EIR will evaluate potential environmental impacts from the 
ERS and FTC. This notice is intended to inform agencies and the public 
of the potential environmental impacts of the facilities, and to 
solicit comments and suggestions for consideration in the preparation 
of the EIS/EIR. To help the public frame its comments, the following is 
a list of several potential environmental issues that USFWS and DWR 
have identified for analysis:

1. Aesthetics
2. Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
3. Biological Resources--Terrestrial
4. Biological Resources--Fisheries
5. Cultural Resources
6. Geology and Soils
7. Hazards and Hazardous Materials
8. Hydrology and Water Quality
9. Land Use and Planning
10. Noise
11. Population and Housing
12. Public Services, Utilities, and Energy
13. Socioeconomics and Environmental Justice
14. Traffic and Transportation

Request for Comments

    Environmental review of the EIS/EIR will be conducted in accordance 
with the requirements of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other applicable 
regulations, and the USFWS' procedures for compliance with those 
regulations; and according to the requirements of CEQA (PRC Section 
21000 et seq.) and State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of 
Regulations Title 14 Section 15000 et seq.). This notice is being 
furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22 to obtain 
suggestions and information from interested agencies, organizations, 
Native American Tribes, and members of the public on the scope of 
issues and alternatives that will be addressed in the EIS/EIR. The 
primary purpose of the scoping process is to identify important issues 
raised by the public related to development of the proposed action. 
Written comments from interested parties are invited to ensure that the 
full range of issues related to the development of the proposed action 
is identified. Comments during this stage of the scoping process will 
only be accepted in written form. All comments received, including 
names and addresses, will become part of the official administrative 
record and may be made available to the public.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email 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.

Next Steps

    After this scoping process, USFWS and DWR will review public 
comments and then prepare and make publicly available a draft EIS/EIR 
for comment.

Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-28891 Filed 12-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P