The Bureau of Reclamation and the Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) have prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment /Initial Study/Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (EA/IS/MND) for the Mission Creek South Coast Conduit (SCC) Crossing and Fish Passage Improvement Project. Reclamation owns the SCC facilities and COMB manages the facilities under a Transfer of Operations and Maintenance contract with Reclamation.

The SCC provides approximately 80 percent of the water supply for communities along the South Coast of Santa Barbara County. Under the proposed project, the SCC would be buried deeper and a fish passage barrier would be removed where the SCC intersects with Mission Creek. The proposed project and a No Action Alternative are considered in the document.

Reclamation is the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and COMB is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Draft EA/IS/MND was prepared in accordance with NEPA and is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=3712. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please call 916-978-5100, or e-mail ibr2mprpao@mp.usbr.gov.

Copies of the Draft EA/IS/MND will be available for review on April 27, 2009, or shortly thereafter, at the Goleta Public Library (500 N. Fairview Ave.), Santa Barbara Central Public Library (40 E. Anapamu St.), and the COMB office in Santa Barbara (3301 Laurel Canyon Road). Copies of the Draft EA/IS/MND may be requested from Ms. Judi Tapia, Reclamation, at 559-487-5138, TDD 559-487-5933, or jtapia@mp.usbr.gov. The document is also available online at http://www.cachuma-board.org/docsphotos.

Please send written comments relating to the project's environmental impacts to Brett Gray at COMB, 3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105-2017, or Judi Tapia, Reclamation, 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721-1831, by close of business May 27, 2009.