Flow Objectives for the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP), California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Flow Objectives for the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP),

California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact

statement/environmental impact report.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as

amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), in cooperation with

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposes to prepare a

joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/

EIR) on the water made available on the San Joaquin River and its

tributaries to provide pulse flows at Vernalis during April and May and

to help meet anadromous fish flow objectives. The San Joaquin River

Group Authority (Authority) will be the lead agency under the

California Environmental Quality Act.

Reclamation proposes to contract for water on the San Joaquin River

and its tributaries under Pub. L. 102-575, Title 34, Section 3406(b)(3)

of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). The water would

be made available to Reclamation from the San Joaquin River Group

Authority (Authority). The purpose of the proposed project is to use

the water to provide a pulse flow at Vernalis during April and May and

other flows identified by the CVPIA water acquisition program. This

water is needed to support the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP)

which is being implemented to provide protective measures for fall-run

chinook salmon and to gather scientific information on the effects of

various flows in the lower San Joaquin River, Central Valley Project

and State Water Project export pumping rates, operation of a fish

barrier, and survival of salmon smolts through the Delta. Water is

needed also to provide environmental benefits in the lower San Joaquin

River, San Joaquin River tributaries, and Delta. The EIS/EIR will

address potential impacts to the environment which may result from the

modified flows in the San Joaquin River and its tributaries.

Reclamation and the Authority seek public input on alternatives,

concerns, and issues to be addressed in the EIS/EIR. A series of

scoping meetings will be held to receive oral and written comments.

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held as follows:

Tuesday, January 6, 1998, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the

Miller-Lux Building, First Floor, 830 Sixth Street, Los Banos,

California, 93635.

Wednesday, January 7, 1998, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the

Fairfield Community Center, Studio C, 1000 Kentucky Street, Fairfield,

California, 94533.

Thursday, January 8, 1998, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the

Modesto Irrigation District, (South Entrance) Multi-Purpose Room,

Second Floor, 1231 Eleventh Street, Modesto, California, 95354.

Written comments on the project scope should be sent to Reclamation

by January 13, 1998. Comments received after this date will be

considered, but will not be included in the resulting scoping report.

The draft EIS/EIR should be available for public review in

September or October 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to

Michael Delamore, Program Manager, South-Central California Office,

2666 N. Grove Industrial Drive, Suite 106, Fresno, California, 93727;

or Dan M. Fults, Friant Water Users Authority, 1521 I Street,

Sacramento, California, 95814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Delamore, telephone (209) 487-

5039, fax (209) 487-5130; or Mr. Fults, telephone (916) 441-1931, fax

(916) 441-1581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In May 1995, the State Water Resources

Control Board (State Board) adopted a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP)

for the San Francisco/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. The WQCP

included water quality and flow objectives pertaining to the San

Joaquin River basin. During 1997, Reclamation purchased water within

the San Joaquin River system to help meet the WQCP's defined flow

objectives. The science supporting the flow objective for the San

Joaquin River as measured at Vernalis has been disputed. In an effort

to clarify the science for the flow objective and resolve the dispute,

the San Joaquin River interests collaborated to identify feasible

actions to protect the San Joaquin River's fish resources and to

implement the State Board's fishery objectives. This collaboration led

to a scientifically-based adaptive fishery management plan known now as

VAMP. This VAMP Agreement provides the basis for the project

information described below.

The VAMP will be implemented through experimental flows on the San

Joaquin River and export pumping flow rates with an Old River fish

barrier during the 1-month period each year, from approximately April

15 to May 15, in the spring of each year. Additional attraction flows

are targeted for October. The experimental design of the VAMP will use

the water identified by this action in various regimes, depending upon

smolt survival and passage through the Delta.

In addition to the total water from the VAMP Agreement, an

additional amount of water may be contracted for release at any time

during the year. The EIS/EIR will analyze the impacts of a maximum

amount of water in any year over the period 1999-2009 for release to

the San Joaquin River and its tributaries.

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(Specific quantities of water from the VAMP Agreement and from willing

sellers are currently under negotiation and will be identified in the

EIS/EIR.)

Issues or resources that may be affected by the proposed project

that will be evaluated in the EIS/EIR are the following: surface water,

groundwater, biological resources (vegetation, wildlife, fisheries),

land use (including agriculture), recreation, cultural resources, and

environmental justice. Impacts to other resources would be evaluated if

public scoping determines the need for such an evaluation. Cumulative

impacts and other short-term and long-term impacts required by CEQA and

NEPA will be evaluated as well.

The Draft EIS/EIR will analyze a range of alternatives that

include, but are not limited to, the no-action alternative and other

flow regimes in support of VAMP and related San Joaquin River flows

under Section 3406(b)(3). The impact analysis may include combinations

of one or more alternatives as well as other alternatives identified

during the public scoping process. Alternatives to the proposed project

have not yet been identified and will depend upon the results of public

scoping. Alternatives to be evaluated in depth in the EIS/EIR need to

be consistent with the project purpose described above.

Dated: December 2, 1997.

Kirk C. Rodgers,

Deputy Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 97-32155 Filed 12-8-97; 8:45 am]

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