Continuation of the Grassland Bypass Project

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Continuation of the Grassland Bypass Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and notice of public scoping

meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the San Luis and

Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority) are preparing a joint EIS/

EIR, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to evaluate the proposal to

continue the Grassland Bypass Project (Project) until 2009. The purpose

of the proposed project is as follows:

1. To continue separating unusable agricultural drainage water from

wetland water supply conveyance channels and discharge from the

Grassland Drainage Area for the period 2001 to 2009; and

2. To facilitate drainage management that maintains the viability

of agriculture in the project area and promotes continuous improvement

in water quality in the San Joaquin River.

Existing drainage management in the Grassland Drainage Area is

based upon use of a segment of the San Luis Drain under terms and

conditions of a Use Agreement between the Authority and Reclamation.

Current drainage management is also regulated by Waste Discharge

Requirements (WDRs) issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board

and by the Basin Plan. The Use Agreement expires on September 30, 2001,

and the WDRs require submission of a Report of Waste Discharge for

discharges beyond that date. The proposed Project is needed to assure

that any future use of the San Luis Drain beyond September 30, 2001,

is: (1) Consistent with long-term drainage options, and (2) provides

for compliance with applicable water quality objectives.

DATES: A series of public scoping meetings will be held to solicit

public input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in

the EIS/EIR as follows:

Monday, September 27, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Los Banos CA

Wednesday, September 29, 1999, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Walnut

Creek CA

Thursday, September 30, 1999, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Sacramento

CA.

Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR may be mailed to

Reclamation at the address below by October 6, 1999. Comments received

after this date will be considered but may not be included in the

resulting EIS/EIR scope.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:

Los Banos at the Miller-Lux Building, Floor 1, 830 6th Street,

Los Banos CA

Walnut Creek at the Walnut Creek City Hall, City Council

Chamber, 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek CA

Sacramento at the Best Western Expo Inn, Expo Conference Room,

1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento CA

Written comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR should be sent to Mr.

Michael Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area

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

telephone: (559) 487-5039; fax (559) 487-5130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Delamore at the above address or

by telephone at (559) 487-5039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project and the Grassland Drainage Area

are located in Merced and Fresno Counties in the Central Valley of

California. The Project is designed to improve water quality in the

channels used to deliver water to wetland habitat areas. Prior to 1996

when the interim project was implemented, subsurface agricultural

drainage water was conveyed through those channels, which limited their

availability to deliver fresh water to the wetlands.

The Project consolidates subsurface drainage flows on a regional

basis and utilizes a portion of the Federal San Luis Drain (Drain) to

convey the flows around wetland habitat areas. The Project collects

drainage water from the 97,000-acre Grassland Drainage Area and places

it into the Drain at a point near Russell Avenue (Milepost 105.72,

Check 19).

The original Grassland Bypass Project was for interim use of a

portion of the Drain for conveyance of drainage water through the

Grassland Water District and adjacent Grassland area. It was

implemented in November 1995 through an ``Agreement for Use of the San

Luis Drain'' (Agreement No. 6-07-20-w1319) between Reclamation and the

Authority. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI No. 96-1-MP) was

adopted by Reclamation for the original project, and environmental

commitments set forth in the FONSI were made an integral component of

the Use Agreement. The Use Agreement and its renewal in 1999 allow for

use of the Drain for a 5-year period that concludes September 30, 2001.

Continued use of the Drain after the term of the existing Use Agreement

requires additional environmental compliance with NEPA and CEQA.

In March 1996, the Grassland Area Farmers (GAF) formed a regional

drainage entity under the umbrella of the Authority to implement the

Project and manage subsurface drainage within the Grassland Drainage

Area. Participants include the Broadview Water District, Charleston

Drainage District, Firebaugh Canal Water District, Pacheco Water

District, Panoche Drainage District, Widren Water District, and the

Camp 13 Drainers (an association of landowners located in the Central

California Irrigation District). The GAF's drainage area is

approximately 97,000 gross acres of irrigated farmland on the westside

of the San Joaquin Valley and is known as the Grassland Drainage Area.

In September 1998, the GAF and the Authority developed a long-term

drainage management strategy and plan of implementation. The Long-Term

Drainage Management Plan for the Grassland Drainage Area (Plan) was

submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board as required by

Waste Discharge Requirement Order 98-171 for public review on September

30, 1998, and updated July 1, 1999. The Plan outlines several steps and

measures to achieve water quality objectives in the Basin Plan and

includes continuation of the Project. The long-term Plan consists of a

combination of both short-and long-term approaches (GAF and Authority,

September 1998). Presently, available mechanisms for the management and

control of subsurface drainage discharges are inadequate to both

maintain long-term viable agriculture and meet water quality objectives

for selenium (and possibly for salinity and other constituents). The

Project is needed in the short-term (2001-2009) to allow time for

additional research and evaluation of long-term options. The proposed

Project needs to be consistent with long-term drainage options and not

preclude any of these options from being implemented.

The Project also includes a monitoring program with biological,

water quality, and sediment components. Results of the monitoring

program are reviewed by an Oversight Committee quarterly, or as

necessary, to implement the Use Agreement. The Project would not

involve new construction or significant alteration of canals and other

drainage facilities, but instead would rely on existing canals and

waterways. Minor alterations of existing facilities would be necessary

in order to collect subsurface agricultural discharges from up to 5,000

acres of adjoining lands if these are added to a new Use Agreement. The

proposed project is a major component of the Authority's long-term

drainage management plan.

If special services are required at the meeting, please contact

Janet Harp at (916) 978-5112 as far in advance of the meeting as

possible, but no later than September 20, 1999, to enable the agency to

secure the needed services.

[[Page 47862]]

Dated: August 24, 1999.

Neil Stressman,

Acting Deputy Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 99-22717 Filed 8-31-99; 8:45 am]

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