Reclamation Bureau 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Truckee River Restoration and Golf Course Reconfiguration Project is available for public review and comment. The Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency have evaluated comments and are recommending a preferred alternative for approval. The preferred alternative includes river ecosystem restoration with a reconfigured 18-hole golf course.

Notice is hereby given of contractual actions that have been proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation and are new, modified, discontinued, or completed since the last publication of this notice on July 27, 2011. From the date of this publication, future notices during this calendar year will be limited to new, modified, discontinued, or completed contract actions. This notice is one of a variety of means used to inform the public about proposed contractual actions for capital recovery and management of project resources and facilities consistent with section 9(f) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Additional announcements of individual contract actions may be published in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the areas determined by Reclamation to be affected by the proposed action.

Current Federal policy encourages non-Federal development of environmentally sustainable hydropower potential on Federal water resource projects. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), in consultation with the Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration (Western), will consider proposals for non-Federal development of hydroelectric power at Caballo Dam, a feature of the Rio Grande Project. Reclamation is considering such hydroelectric power development under a lease of power privilege. No Federal funds will be available for such hydroelectric power development. Western would have the first opportunity to purchase and/or market the power that would be generated by such development under a lease of power privilege. The Rio Grande Project is a Federal Reclamation project. This notice presents background information, proposal content guidelines, and information concerning selection of a non-Federal entity to develop hydroelectric power at Caballo Dam.

This notice provides information regarding the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) approval of the Buy American waiver requested by the Sunnyside Division Board of Control (SDBOC) to purchase foreign- produced ductile iron flanges also known as bolt rings used to connect high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant for the Enclosed Lateral Improvement Project (ELIPS) located in Sunnyside, Washington.

The following Water Management Plans are available for review: Del Puerto Water District. Chowchilla Water District. Orange Cove Irrigation District. James Irrigation District. Tranquility Irrigation District. Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District. To meet the requirements of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, the Bureau of Reclamation developed and published the Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Criteria). For the purpose of this announcement, Water Management Plans (Plans) are considered the same as Water Conservation Plans. The above entities have each developed a Plan, which Reclamation has evaluated and preliminarily determined to meet the requirements of these Criteria. Reclamation is publishing this notice in order to allow the public to review the plans and comment on the preliminary determinations. Public comment on Reclamation's preliminary (i.e., draft) determination is invited at this time.

Reclamation provides assistance for appraisal investigations and feasibility studies for rural water supply projects intended to serve a community or group of communities with domestic, industrial, and municipal water. This assistance helps rural communities assess their potable water needs and identify options to address those needs. Three appraisal reports were approved in Fiscal Year 2010 and two were approved in Fiscal Year 2011. The initial appraisal investigations were submitted by the participants for review to assess technical adequacy and completeness. Once reviewed, Reclamation prepared these reports to document the findings and conclusions of the appraisal investigations that identified the water supply problems, needs, and opportunities in the planning study areas. The approval of an appraisal report indicates that there is a viable alternative that warrants a more detailed investigation through a feasibility study.

The Bureau of Reclamation is extending the time period for accepting written proposals detailed in the Notice of Intent to Accept Proposals, Select One Lessee, and Contract for Hydroelectric Power Development at the Pueblo Dam River Outlet, a feature of the Fry-Ark Project, Colorado. This notice was originally published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2011 (76 FR 22143). The due date was originally to end on August 19, 2011.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Madera Irrigation District Water Supply Enhancement Project (MID WSEP). Reclamation proposes to approve the banking of up to 55,000 acre-feet per year of Central Valley Project (CVP) water outside the MID service area and the alteration of Reclamation-owned facilities. The total banking capacity of the MID WSEP is 250,000 acre-feet. Portions of the 24.2 Canal, Section 8 Canal, Main Number 1 Canal, Cottonwood Creek, and Gravelly Ford Canal would be enlarged, extended, or improved. The MID WSEP would be completed in two phases. Phase 1 would involve recharge-related facilities only. Phase 2 would involve supplemental recharge facilities and facilities for recovery of banked water. The Final EIS addresses both phases.

The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (AMP) was implemented as a result of the Record of Decision on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement to comply with consultation requirements of the Grand Canyon Protection Act (Pub. L. 102-575) of 1992. The AMP includes a Federal advisory committee, the Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG), a technical work group (TWG), a Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and independent review panels. The AMWG makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning Glen Canyon Dam operations and other management actions to protect resources downstream of Glen Canyon Dam consistent with the Grand Canyon Protection Act. The TWG is a subcommittee of the AMWG and provides technical advice and recommendations to the AMWG.