[Federal Register: August 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 162)]
[Notices]
[Page 49218-49219]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20au08-82]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
South Coast Conduit/Upper Reach Reliability Project, Santa
Barbara County, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public meeting for the
draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/
EIR).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Federal lead agency and the Cachuma
Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) is the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) State lead agency. Together, these agencies have
made available for public review and comment the draft EIS/EIR.
The South Coast Conduit (SCC)/Upper Reach Project involves
installation of a second water pipeline for improving water supply
reliability to Cachuma Project (CP) and State Water Project (SWP)
customers on the south coast of Santa Barbara County. This draft EIS/
EIR addresses changes to the physical, natural, and human environment
that would occur as a result of installing and operating the second
pipeline.
DATES: Submit written comments on the draft environmental document on
or before October 3, 2008.
A public meeting will be held on September 10, 2008 from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. in Santa Barbara, CA to discuss the purpose and content of the
draft environmental document and to provide the public an opportunity
to comment on the draft environmental document. Written comments will
be accepted at the public meeting.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the draft EIS/EIR to Ms. Judi
Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation, 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831,
or Mr. Brett Gray, Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board, 3301 Laurel
Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105-2017.
The public meeting will be held at the COMB office, 3301 Laurel
Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA.
Copies of the draft document may be requested from Ms. Judi Tapia
at 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831, or at jtapia@mp.usbr.gov, or
from Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, 3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA
93105, or at bgray@cachuma-board.org.
The draft EIS/EIR is also accessible from the following Web sites:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/index.cfm or http://www.comb.org. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where copies of the
draft EIS/EIR are available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Judi Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation,
at 559-487-5138, TDD 559-487-5933, or Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, at 805-687-
4401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The existing SCC/Upper Reach pipeline
provides approximately 80 percent of the water supply for communities
along the South Coast of Santa Barbara County. Reclamation owns the SCC
facilities and COMB manages the facilities under a Transfer of
Operations and Maintenance Contract with Reclamation. The SCC operates
at capacity for extended periods of time, and during peak demands it is
not able to provide the water needed. No redundant supply or pipeline
exists to convey CP or SWP water to the South Coast if the Upper Reach
of the SCC is out of service due to scheduled and/or unexpected
repairs. The proposed project would increase the operational
flexibility, reliability, and conveyance capacity of the SCC between
the South Portal of Tecolote Tunnel and the Corona Del Mar Water
Treatment Plant to accommodate peak demand levels and to allow
maintenance of one pipeline while the other is operational. The total
amount of water delivered per year, however, would not increase.
The draft EIS/EIR considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative
effects on the physical, natural, and human environment that may result
from the construction and operation of the SCC/Upper Reach second
pipeline. The draft EIS/EIR addresses potentially significant
environmental issues and recommends adequate and feasible mitigation
measures to reduce or eliminate significant environmental impacts,
where possible. Two alternative pipeline alignments as well as no
project and no action alternatives are addressed.
Copies of the draft EIS/EIR are available for public review at the
following locations:
Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area
Office, 1243 `N' Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831.
[[Page 49219]]
Santa Barbara Central Public Library, 40 East Anapamu
Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
Goleta Public Library, 500 North Fairview Avenue, Goleta,
CA 93117.
COMB office, 3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA
93105-2017.
Special Assistance for Public Meetings
If special assistance is required at the public meeting, please
contact Mr. Brett Gray, COMB, at 805-687-4401, or at bgray@cachuma-
board.org, no less than five working days before the meeting to allow
Reclamation/COMB to secure the needed services. If a request cannot be
honored, the requestor will be notified.
Public Disclosure
Before including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address,
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should
be aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Dated: July 11, 2008.
Donald R. Glaser,
Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. E8-19246 Filed 8-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P