[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3655-3656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1127]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, Riverside-Corona Feeder Project,
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of
Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Western Municipal Water District
(Western) have prepared a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact
Report and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIR/DEIS) for the
proposed Riverside-Corona Feeder (RCF) Project. Interested parties are
invited to comment on the SDEIR/DEIS.
The Federal action will provide funds for a proposed aquifer
storage and recovery project, including new groundwater wells and a 28-
mile water pipeline with pump stations and a reservoir storage tank.
The project is intended to improve the reliability of Western's water
supply through managed storage, extraction and distribution of local
and imported water supplies, using available capacity in the Bunker
Hill Groundwater Basin and the Chino Basin.
DATES: Submit written comments on the SDEIR/DEIS by March 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mrs. Amy Witherall, SCAO-7300,
Bureau of Reclamation, Southern California Area Office, 27708 Jefferson
Avenue, Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590; facsimile (951) 695-5319; e-
mail: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Amy Witherall, telephone (951)
695-5310; facsimile (951) 695-5319; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SDEIR/DEIS can be downloaded from our
Web site: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/envdocs.html. Copies are also
available for public review and inspection at the following locations:
[[Page 3656]]
Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Regional Office, 500
Fir Street, Boulder City, Nevada 89005
Bureau of Reclamation, Southern California Area Office,
27708 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 202, Temecula, California 92590
Western Municipal Water District, 14205 Meridian Parkway,
Riverside, California 92518
San Bernardino Public Library, 555 West 6th Street, San
Bernardino, California 92410
Corona Public Library, 650 South Main Street, Corona,
California 92882
Riverside Public Library, 9556 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside,
California 92503
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), and
Department of the Interior regulations for the implementation of NEPA,
43 CFR Part 46.
Section 9112 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
(Public Law 111-11, 123 Stat. 1318), signed by the President on March
30, 2009, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with
Western, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of
the Riverside-Corona Feeder Project including: (i) 20 groundwater
wells; (ii) groundwater treatment facilities; (iii) water storage and
pumping facilities; and (iv) 28 miles of pipeline in San Bernardino and
Riverside Counties in the State of California.
Background
The proposed project will install up to 20 groundwater wells in the
Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, San Bernardino County, California.
Existing recharge basins will be used to store imported water and local
Santa Ana River flows in the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin when
supplies are available. The stored groundwater will be extracted later
for delivery to communities in Western's service area in Riverside
County, California, via 28 miles of pipeline ranging in diameter up to
78 inches, capable of delivering up to 40,000 acre-feet per year of
groundwater at 100 cubic feet per second. The first phase of the
project will also provide access to groundwater from the Chino Basin in
San Bernardino County.
The currently proposed RCF alignment is a modification to a project
previously evaluated by Western in 2005 and revised in 2008. The
original project included eight segments, Reaches A through H, analyzed
in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the
Riverside-Corona Feeder, California State Clearinghouse (SCH) No.
2003031121, certified by Western on May 18, 2005. Reaches E, F, and G
were refined slightly in 2007 and evaluated in the Environmental Impact
Report for the La Sierra Avenue Water Transmission Pipeline Project
(SCH No. 2006101152), certified by Western on February 20, 2008.
Western issued a Notice of Preparation of a draft Supplemental Program
EIR on July 30, 2008, to evaluate a change in the pipeline alignment.
Reclamation issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement on February 24, 2010 (75 FR 8395).
The new alignment will not change the number of wells or the Bunker
Hill groundwater extraction described in the 2005 PEIR, but will now
allow Western to access available groundwater from existing desalter
facilities in Chino Basin under an approved Optimum Basin Management
Plan. The current project includes realignment of Reaches A through D,
now referred to as the Northern and Central Reaches, with Reach H
remaining as proposed in the original project. The refined alignment
for Reaches E, F, and G will remain consistent with the approvals in
the 2008 EIR.
Additional connection facilities were added to the project
including a new well field for five (5) of the 20 wells, two (2)
additional pump stations, one (1) five-million gallon reservoir, and
connecting pipelines.
Reclamation is incorporating the two previous CEQA Environmental
Impact Reports by reference. They are included as appendices to the
draft SDEIR/DEIS.
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: January 13, 2011.
Lorri Gray-Lee,
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-1127 Filed 1-19-11; 8:45 am]
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