Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Bureau of Reclamation

[DES 99-46]

Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery

Restoration

ACTION: Notice of availability for public comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a joint draft

Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR)

for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration. The U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Hoopa Valley Tribe, and

Trinity County prepared a DEIS/EIR to assist the Secretary of the

Interior in developing recommendations for permanent instream fishery

flow requirements, habitat restoration projects, and operating criteria

and procedures for Trinity River Division of the Central Valley

Project, California, necessary for the restoration and maintenance of

natural production of anadromous fish in the Trinity River. Such

recommendations are required by: the January 14, 1981, Secretarial

Decision that initiated the Trinity River Flow Evaluation; the Trinity

River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management Act (Pub. L. 98-541); and the

Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Pub. L. 102-575).

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS/EIR must be received on or before

December 8, 1999. Oral or written comments on this DEIS/EIR may be

provided at any of the three public hearings. Joint NEPA/CEQA public

hearings will be held from 1-3 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. for each of the

following dates and locations:

Tuesday, November 16, 1999 at the Holiday Inn Appaloosa Room, 1900

Hilltop Drive, Redding, California

Thursday, November 18, 1999 at the Sacramento Grand Ballroom, 629 J

Street, Sacramento, California

Tuesday, November 23, 1999 at the Eureka Inn Colonnade Room, 518 7th

Street, Eureka, California

The Trinity County Board of Supervisors will also hold a CEQA

meeting to receive public comment on December 7, 1999, from 7-9 p.m. at

Trinity County Library, 211 N. Main St., Weaverville, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the DEIS/EIR should be addressed

to Mr. Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room

209, Arcata, CA 95521. Written comments may also be sent by facsimile

to (707) 822-8411. Please see Additional Addresses in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for additional information on the availability of

the DEIS/EIR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service,

1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Construction of the Trinity River Division

(TRD) of the Central Valley Project (CVP) was completed in 1963. The

primary function of the TRD is to store Trinity River water for

regulated diversion to the Central Valley of California for

agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses. Construction and

operation of the TRD resulted in the diversion of up to 90 percent of

the average annual discharge in the Trinity River at Lewiston, and

blocked access to 109 miles of salmon and steelhead spawning and

rearing habitat. Reduced river flows, combined with excessive watershed

erosion and encroachment of the river channel by riparian vegetation,

caused major changes in the channel morphology resulting in the

simplification and degradation of the remaining salmon and steelhead

habitat of the Trinity River below the Lewiston. This, in turn,

resulted in rapid declines of salmon and steelhead populations

following completion of the TRD.

In response to declining fisheries and degraded habitat conditions,

the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) decided in 1981 to increase

flows in the Trinity River ranging from 140,000 acre-feet to 340,000

acre-feet annually, with reductions in dry and critically dry years. In

addition, the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to undertake a

Flow Evaluation Study to assess fish habitat at various flows,

summarize the effectiveness of other instream and watershed restoration

activities, and recommend appropriate flows and other measures

necessary to better maintain favorable habitat conditions. The Flow

Evaluation Study began in October 1984 and was completed in June 1999.

In October 1984, the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management

Act (Management Act) (Pub. L. 98-541) was enacted by Congress with the

goal of restoring fish and wildlife populations to pre-TRD levels. The

Act provided funding for construction, operation, and maintenance of

the 11-item action plan developed by the Trinity River Task Force in

1982.

In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) (Public

Law 102-575) was passed. Section 3406(b)(23) of the CVPIA provides,

through the TRD, an instream release of not less than 340,000 acre-feet

of water into the Trinity River to meet Federal trust responsibilities

to protect fishery resources of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and to meet the

fishery restoration goals of Management Act. The recommendations for

mainstem Trinity River fishery restoration will be developed after

appropriate consultations with Federal, State, Tribal, local agencies,

and affected interests, and after completion of the Flow Evaluation

Study.

To restore the natural production of anadromous fish in the Trinity

River in accordance with the 1981 Secretarial Decision, the Management

Act, and the CVPIA, the DEIS/EIR analyzes the impacts of:

(1) Increased instream releases into the Trinity River to provide

anadromous fish habitat and restore fluvial processes,

(2) Implementation of a channel rehabilitation program,

(3) Implementation of a spawning gravel supplementation program,

(4) Implementation of a watershed rehabilitation program, and

(5) Implementation of an Adaptive Management Program.

On October 12, 1994, a notice was published in the Federal Register

(94 FR 25141) announcing the intent to prepare a joint EIS/EIR on the

Mainstem Trinity River Fishery Restoration, and inviting comments on

the scope of the EIS/EIR. Comments were received and considered and are

reflected in the DEIS/EIR made available for comment through this

notice.

The DEIS/EIR is intended to accomplish the following:

(1) Inform the public of the proposed action and alternatives;

(2) Address public comments received during the scoping period;

(3) Disclose the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental

effects of the proposed action and each of the alternatives; and

(4) Indicate any irreversible commitment of resources that would

result from implementation of the proposed action.

The Service invites the public to comment on the DEIS/EIR. All

comments received will become part of the public record and may be

released. The public will have 45 days to review and comment on this

DEIS/EIR. Written comments regarding the DEIS/EIR should be addressed

to Mr. Joe Polos, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room

209, Arcata, CA 95521.

[[Page 56365]]

Written comments may also be sent by facsimile to (707) 822-8411. Oral

or written comments on this DEIS/EIR may also be provided at any of the

three public hearings. This notice is provided pursuant to Section

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as

implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR

parts 1500-1508), and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970,

as amended.

The Technical Appendixes (TA) for this DEIS/EIR will be made

available upon request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata

Office, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521; (707) 822-7201.

Documents cited in the DEIS/EIR will be available for viewing in

Sacramento (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite

W2606; 916-414-6464), Arcata (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th

Street, Room 209; 707-822-7201), and Weaverville (Trinity County

Library, 211 N. Main Street, Weaverville, California 96093, 530-623-

1373).

Additional Addresses

Copies of the DEIS/EIR, or portions thereof, can be obtained at the

following copy centers for duplication and mailing charges at the

requesters expense: Sir Speedy, 601 North Market Boulevard, 350,

Sacramento, California 95834, (916) 927-7171; Kinko's, 25 Stanyan Blvd,

San Francisco, California 94118, (415) 750-1193; and Kinko's, 2021

Fifth Street, Eureka, California 95501, (707) 445-3334.

The DEIS/EIR will be available at the Fish and Wildlife Service

website at http://www.ccfwo.r1.fws.gov.

Copies of the DEIS/EIR will be available on compact disc which,

along with a summary, can be obtained by contacting the Fish and

Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, California 95521,

(707) 822-7201. The documents are also available for review at the

following government offices and libraries:

Government Offices

Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal California Fish and Wildlife

Office, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, California 95521, (707)

822-7201; Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife

Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W2606 , Sacramento, California 95825,

916-414-6464.

Libraries

Alameda Free Library, 2264 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, California

94501-4506, (510) 748-4669; Beale Memorial Library, 701 Truxtun Ave,

Bakersfield, California, 93301, (661) 868-0700; Cesar Chaves Central

Library, 605 N. El Dorado St, Stockton, California, (209) 937-8415;

California State Library, Information and Reference Center, 914 Capitol

Mall, Room 301, Sacramento, California 95814, (916) 654-0261; Colusa

County Free Library, 738 Market Street, Colusa, California 95932-2398,

(530) 458-7671; Contra Costa County Library, 1750 Oak Park Boulevard,

Pleasant Hill, California 94523-4497, (510) 646-6423; Coos Bay Public

Library, 525 W. Anderson Ave., Coos Bay, Oregon, 97420, (541) 269-1101;

Del Norte County Library District, 190 Price Mall, Crescent City,

California 95531-4395, (707) 464-9793; Fresno County Library, Central

Branch, 2420 Mariposa St. Fresno, California, (559) 488-3195; Humboldt

County Library, 1313 Third Street, Eureka, California 95501-1088, (707)

269-1900; Humboldt State University Library, Humboldt State University,

Arcata, California 95521, (707) 826-4939; Lake County Library, 1425 N.

High Street, Lakeport, California 95453-3800, (707) 263-8816; Los

Angeles Public Library, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, California,

90071-2097, (213) 228-7515; Marin County Free Library, 3501 Civic

Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903-4188, (415) 499-6051;

Mendocino County Library-Ft. Bragg, 499 E Laurel St. Fort Bragg,

California, 95437, (707) 964-2020; Mendocino County Library-Ukiah, 105

N. Main Street, Ukiah, California 95482-4482, (707) 463-4491; Menlo

Park Public Library, 800 Alma Street, Menlo Park, California 94025-

3460, (650) 858-3460; Merced County Library, 2222 M St., Merced,

California, 95340, (209) 385-7434; Modesto Jr. College Library, 425

College Ave, Modesto, California, 95350, (209) 575-6498; Monterey

Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey, California, 93940, (831)

646-3932; Sacramento Public Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento,

California 95814-2589, (916) 264-2770; San Francisco Public Library,

100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California 94102-4796, (415) 557-

4400; San Jose Public Library, 180 W. San Carlos Street, San Jose,

California 95113-2096, (408) 277-4822; Santa Cruz Public Library, 224

Church Street, Santa Cruz, California 95060-3873, (408) 429-3532;

Shasta County Library, 1855 Shasta Street, Redding, California 96001-

0460, (530) 225-5769; Siskiyou County Free Library, 719 Fourth Street,

Yreka, California 96097-3381, (530) 842-8175; Sonoma County Library,

Third and E Streets, Santa Rosa, California 95404-4400, (707) 545-0831;

Tehama County Library, 645 Madison Street, Red Bluff, California 96080-

3383, (530) 527-0607; Trinity County Free Library, 211 N. Main Street,

Weaverville, California 96093-1226, (530) 623-1373; Willows Public

Library, 201 N. Lassen St., Willows, California, 95988, 530-934-5156;

Central Library, 801 SW. 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97205, (503)

248-5123; and National Clearinghouse Library, 624 Ninth Street, NW,

600, Washington, DC 20425, (202) 376-8110.

Dated: October 14, 1999.

Willie R. Taylor,

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.

[FR Doc. 99-27253 Filed 10-18-99; 8:45 am]

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