[Federal Register: October 16, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 200)]
[Notices]
[Page 63942]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16oc02-104]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Evaluating
Water Conservation Plans
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: To meet the requirements of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982
and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA), the
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and published the
Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Criteria). Note: For
the purpose of this announcement, Water Management Plans are considered
the same as Water Conservation Plans (Plans). The CVPIA requires
Reclamation to evaluate, and revise if necessary, the Criteria every 3
years. Reclamation is publishing this notice to allow the public to
comment on the revised draft 2002 Criteria. Public comment on the
revised Criteria is invited at this time. The draft revision is
available for review and comment. A copy of the draft revision can be
found at the following website: http://www.mp.usbr.gov/watershare/
documents/files/cvpia/draft2002cvpiacriteria.pdf.
A copy of the draft revision can be obtained by contacting persons
at the address below. After the review period, if no significant
changes are made based on comments from the public, the Criteria will
be final. After the Criteria is final, it will be used to evaluate
water conservation plans.
DATES: All public comments must be received by November 15, 2002.
ADDRESSES: 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. We will honor such requests 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. We will make all
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety. For
copies contact Leslie Barbre, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way,
Sacramento, California 95825, 916-978-5232 (TDD 978-5608), or e-mail at
lbarbre@mp.usbr.gov. Please mail comments to Bryce White, Bureau of
Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California, 95825, or
contact at 916-978-5208 (TDD 978-5608), or e-mail at
bwhite@mp.usbr.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To be placed on a mailing list for any
subsequent information, please contact Leslie Barbre or Bryce White at
the e-mail address or telephone number above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are inviting the public to comment on the
revision of the Criteria. Section 3405(e) of the CVPIA (Title 34 Pub.
L. 102-575), requires the ``Secretary of the Interior to establish and
administer an office on Central Valley Project water conservation best
management practices that shall * * * develop Criteria for evaluating
the adequacy of all water conservation plans developed by project
contractors, including those plans required by Section 210 of the
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982.'' Also, according to Section
3405(e)(1), these criteria must be developed ``* * * with the purpose
of promoting the highest level of water use efficiency reasonably
achievable by project contractors using best available cost-effective
technology and best management practices.'' The Criteria have the
following applicability statements:
Who Must Use These Criteria. These Criteria apply to water
management plans submitted to Reclamation as required by applicable
Central Valley Project water delivery contract or any contract that
specifically invokes these criteria.
Exceptions. The following are excepted from the requirement to
prepare a water management plan using these criteria:
[sbull] All Contractors that receive only irrigation water from any
Federal Reclamation project, and deliver said water to less than 2,000
acres of land.
[sbull] All Contractors that receive only municipal and industrial
(urban) water from any Federal Reclamation project, and provide said
water to less than 3,300 people.
[sbull] All Contractors that receive less than an annual average of
2,000 acre-feet from any Federal Reclamation project.
Reclamation will evaluate Plans based on the Criteria. The CVPIA
requires Reclamation to evaluate, and revise if necessary, the Criteria
every 3 years. The Criteria were previously revised in 1996 and 1999.
Dated: October 1, 2002.
Donna E. Tegelman,
Regional Resources Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-26068 Filed 10-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P