SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation has released for public review a Draft Environmental Assessment analyzing the impacts of acquiring refuge water supplies from privately and publically owned groundwater production wells within or near the Grassland Ecological Area and the city of Los Banos. The groundwater acquisitions are proposed as a 5-year action, March 2016 through February 2021.
The proposed action allows for implementation of new water acquisition and exchange agreements between Reclamation and parties in the vicinity of the South-of-Delta refuges. Groundwater acquisitions may be directly funded by Reclamation or by other districts in exchange for a smaller volume of refuge (or Level 2) surface water supplies.
The exchanged Level 2 water would likely be used for agricultural, municipal and industrial purposes within the Central Valley Project’s service area, depending on who the exchange agreements are with and how they intend to put this water to beneficial use. The proposed action includes groundwater production wells that would collectively produce up to 29,000 acre-feet annually of acceptable quality groundwater, which can be conveyed to and used within some of the south-of-Delta refuges.
The Draft EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=23467. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please call 916-978-5100 or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.
Written comments must be received by close of business Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, and should be sent to Brad Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way MP-410, Sacramento, CA 95825, emailed to bhubbard@usbr.gov, or faxed to 916-978-5059. For additional information or to request a copy of the Draft EA, please contact Hubbard at 916-978-5204 (TTY 800-877-8339). Copies of the document may also be viewed at Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Regional Office at the above address.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
