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Fish Passage Improvement Project at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, Tehama County, CA

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: January 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 19)]
[Notices]
[Page 4292-4293]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja07-105]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation

Fish Passage Improvement Project at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam,
Tehama County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR), recirculation of the
document.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Tehama-Colusa
Canal Authority (TCCA) are re-circulating the DEIS/EIR for the Fish
Passage Improvement Project at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam for public
review and comment. The document is being re-circulated for any
additional comments since it was originally available to the public
from August 14 through October 29, 2002, given the length of lapsed
time and the recent selection of Alternative 2B as Reclamation's
Preferred Alternative. The public comments sent in 2002 are also
available although no responses have yet been completed. The final EIS/
EIR will be prepared after the end of the new comment period.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS/EIR will be accepted on or before March 16,
2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS/EIR should be sent to Mr. David
Bird, General Manager, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, P.O. Box 1025,
Willows, CA 95988. Comments may be submitted electronically by e-
mailing the project team: dbird@tccanal.com.
    A copy of the Executive Summary, DEIS/EIR, and/or technical
appendices may be obtained by calling Mr. Bird at the telephone number
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Freeman, Bureau of
Reclamation, telephone: 530-529-3890, fax: 530-529-3895, e-mail: 
pfreeman@mp.usbr.gov; or Mr. David Bird, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority,
telephone: 530-934-2125, e-mail: dbird@tccanal.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since construction of the Red Bluff
Diversion Dam, concern has been expressed regarding the dam's effect on
both upstream and downstream fish migration. The dam was built with 11
movable gates. Raising the gates eliminates the dam's effect and allows
the river to flow unimpeded. Lowering the dam gates allows for gravity
diversion into canals and results in the creation of Lake Red Bluff.
    Over the years, the dam gates have been raised more frequently in
an attempt to enhance fish passage. Therefore, the ability to divert
irrigation water has been gradually decreased from year-round to the
current 4-month (gates-in) operations from May 15 to September 14.
During the remainder of the year, the dam gates are open, allowing a
free flowing, unimpeded river. Detailed studies show the current design
of the fish ladders and the operations of the dam gates do not
adequately allow passage of all threatened and endangered fish species.
    The DEIS/EIR outlines the proposed project alternatives that seek
to address issues related to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, including
fish passage and water supply. Current dam operations do not adequately
allow passage of threatened and endangered fish species. Additionally,
current dam operations limit the dam's capacity to meet the
agricultural demand. To address these critical issues, TCCA and
Reclamation are working together to determine an appropriate solution.
    The project goals are to:
    ? Substantially improve the long-term reliable level of
anadromous fish passage, both upstream and downstream, past the Red
Bluff Diversion Dam.
    ? Substantially improve the long-term ability to reliably
and cost-effectively move sufficient water into the Tehama-Colusa Canal
and the Corning Canal systems to meet the needs of the water districts
served by the TCCA.
    The TCCA and Reclamation are working together as ``co-lead''
agencies on this project to achieve the project purpose and need.
However, they are independent agencies with various interests and
methods for approaching a project such as this one. Work conducted to
date has built upon a wide array of previous studies conducted at the dam.
    Through detailed feasibility studies, six alternatives, including
the No Action alternative, were created based on various combinations
of new facilities and operational changes. These have been created to
encompass the range of options available to address the identified
water delivery and fish passage issues.
    The alternatives identified in the DEIS/EIR are:
    No action--The current operating conditions remain the same with a
4-month dam ``gates-in,'' that creates Lake Red Bluff from May 15 to
September 14. The impacts of this option must be studied to a similar
level of detail as the others. It is used as a benchmark for comparison
of the other alternatives.
    1B--4-Month Bypass--This option creates a fish-friendly channel
around the dam with sufficient water flow to attract and transport fish
moving upstream and deliver juvenile fish moving downstream when the
dam gates are lowered in late spring and early fall. Gates would
continue to be lowered in the May 15 to September 14 period. A new
pumping station would be required to provide reliable agricultural
water supply from the river into the water delivery canals.
    1A and 2A--Improved fish ladders--These two alternatives are being
considered and are aimed at improving the efficiency of the ``fish
ladders'' designed to create a passage for fish to swim around the dam.
The design improvements will increase the flow of water through the
fish ladders. By increasing the flow, more fish will be attracted to
the ladders and successfully pass the dam. The two alternatives differ
in the operations of the dam gates. Alternative 1A proposes lowering
the dam gates for the current 4-month operation and Alternative 2A for
a 2-month operation (July 1 through August

[[Page 4293]]

31). A new pumping station would be required to provide reliable
agricultural water supply from the river into the water delivery canals
under Alternative 2A.
    2B--Existing fish ladders with gates up 10 months--Alternative 2B
retains the current fish ladders and decreases lowering of the dam
gates to 2 months (July 1 through August 31). The source of improved
fish passage would be the reduction in gate operations. A new pumping
station would be required to provide reliable agricultural water supply
from the river into the water delivery canals. Reclamation has
identified Alternative 2B as the preferred alternative.
    3--Gates out--Alternative 3 keeps the dam gates open year round,
creating a free flowing river, unimpeded by the dam. Fish ladders or
other bypass options would no longer be necessary and Lake Red Bluff
would no longer be created. A new pumping station would be required to
provide reliable agricultural water supply from the river into the
water delivery canals.

Additional Information

    Comments received in response to this notice will become part of
the administrative record and are subject to public inspection. Our
practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses, home
phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of respondents, available for
public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their names and/or home addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider
withholding this information, you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comments. In addition, you must present a rationale
for withholding this information. This rationale must demonstrate that
disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.
Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden. In the absence of
exceptional, documentable circumstances, this information will be
released. We will always make submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: December 28, 2006.
Frank Michny,
Assistant Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. E7-1405 Filed 1-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P

 
 

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