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Ten-Year Water Exchange Agreements With Mendota Pool Group, California
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: July 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 145)]
[Notices]
[Page 44542-44543]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jy03-68]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[DES03-44]
Ten-Year Water Exchange Agreements With Mendota Pool Group, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft environmental impact
statement (EIS) and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), has prepared a draft EIS, pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to evaluate the proposed exchange of
up to 25,000 acre-feet of water per year over a 10-year period with the
Mendota Pool Group.
The purpose of the proposed project is to provide water to
irrigable lands on Mendota Pool Group properties in Westlands Water
District and San Luis Water District to offset substantial reductions
in contract water supplies attributable to the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (CVPIA), the Endangered Species Act listings and
regulations, and new Bay-Delta water quality rules. This water would
thereby enable the Mendota Pool Group farmers to maintain production on
historically irrigated lands. The project is not intended to increase
the amount of water for farming activities but would replace some of
the contract water lost because of increased environmental regulations
that restrict water deliveries south of the export pumps at Tracy,
California.
Reclamation has obtained public input on the scope of the project
and potential alternatives through comment letters and a public scoping
meeting. The EIS addresses the comments received.
There are no known Indian Trust Assets or environmental justice
issues associated with the proposed action.
DATES: The draft EIS is available for a 60-day public comment period
ending on September 29, 2003. Submit written comments on the draft EIS
on or before this date at the address provided below.
ADDRESSES: The draft EIS may be obtained by contacting Mr. David Young
at the address provided below. The draft EIS is also available on the
Internet at http://www.usbr.gov 
or http://www.entrix.com
Young, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area
Office, 1243 N Street, Fresno CA 93721-1813; by telephone at
559-487-5127; (TDD 559-487-5933); by e-mail at dkyoung@mp.usbr.gov; or
faxed to 559-487-5397.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Young, Environmental Specialist,
at the above address or by telephone at 559-487-5127 or TDD 559-487-
5933.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Delta export service area of the Central
Valley Project (CVP) has total contractual obligations and delivery
losses of approximately 3.45 million acre-feet per year. The
theoretical maximum pumping capability of CVP facilities serving this
area is approximately 3.09 million acre-feet per year. Available
supplies are apportioned under a hierarchy of allocation in which
agricultural water service contracts, totaling about 1.85 million acre-
feet per year, are provided water only after all other obligations are
met. Implementation of the CVPIA (1992), Endangered Species Act (1993-
1995) and revised Bay-Delta water quality standards have further
reduced pumping capabilities and water supplies available to
agricultural contractors. Currently these parties can expect to receive
a long-term average supply of about 50 to 55 percent of contract water
as compared to a pre-1992 average of 88 to 92 percent.
Alternatives identified and evaluated provide for continued
agricultural production, and include the proposed project, construction
of new wells, and fallowing of farmland. The project proponents propose
to pump up to 269,600 acre-feet of groundwater over the 10-year period
from non-CVP wells located adjacent to the Mendota Pool into the
Mendota Pool to make up for a portion of the annual shortfall in the
contract water to be delivered via the CVP. The actual quantity of
water to be pumped would depend on whether the year is classified as
wet (0 acre-feet per year), normal (maximum of 31,600 acre-feet per
year), or dry (maximum of 40,000 acre-feet per year). Of the total
quantity pumped each year, a maximum of 25,000 acre-feet would be
exchanged with Reclamation. This water would be made available to
Reclamation in the Mendota Pool to offset their existing water contract
obligations. In exchange, Reclamation would make an equivalent amount
of CVP water available to the members of the Mendota Pool Group for
irrigation purposes at Check 13 of the Delta-Mendota Canal. Any
quantity of water pumped beyond the 25,000 acre-feet exchanged would be
delivered directly to other lands that are presently under irrigation
around the Pool. As part of this program, a maximum of 12,000 acre-feet
per year of groundwater would be pumped from deep wells (i.e., screened
interval greater than 130 feet deep), with the remainder coming from
shallow wells (i.e., screened interval less than 130 feet deep). The
proposed project will comply with the terms specified in the Settlement
Agreement for Mendota Pool Transfer Pumping Program, effective January
1, 2001.
The primary environmental resource issues that are evaluated in the
EIS include groundwater levels, groundwater quality, subsidence,
surface water quality, and biological resources. Other resource areas
evaluated include cost of water, CVP operations, archaeological and
cultural resources, Indian Trust assets, environmental justice,
socioeconomic resources, land use, transportation, air quality, and
noise.
The environmental review was conducted pursuant to NEPA, the
Endangered Species Act, and other applicable laws, and analyzes the
potential environmental impacts of implementing each of the feasible
alternatives. The EIS is based upon previously prepared environmental
reports and ongoing monitoring activities. Public input on alternatives
and the criteria for evaluation of the alternatives was obtained
through the initial scoping meeting and initial comment letters.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's
identity from public disclosure, as 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 letter. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of
[[Page 44543]]
organizations or businesses, available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Dated: April 23, 2003.
Frank Michny,
Regional Environmental Officer, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 03-19264 Filed 7-28-03; 8:45 am]