SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation has released for public review a Draft Environmental Assessment for a project to amend an existing 35 cubic feet per second
(cfs) water service contract to provide the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) with an additional 20 cfs for a total of 55 cfs. The
increased delivery will allow CDFW to operate their soon-to-be constructed Salmon Conservation and Research Facility (SCARF).
To accommodate the additional 20 cfs, Reclamation would replace approximately 350 feet of an existing 24-inch diameter water pipeline from Friant Dam with
a 30-inch diameter pipeline. The new line would connect to the existing 45-inch diameter pipeline that runs from the Orange Cove Irrigation District
hydroelectric power facility to the CDFW hatchery and SCARF.
The actions would provide sufficient water supply from Friant Dam to support CDFW efforts to incubate, raise, spawn and eventually release spring-run
Chinook salmon into the San Joaquin River in support of Paragraph 14 of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement and the San Joaquin Restoration
Settlement Act (Public Law 111-11, Title X, Part I, sec 10011). These efforts will help the San Joaquin River Restoration Program establish populations of
salmon in the river to be maintained in “good condition" with the goal of creating self-sustaining populations in the future.
The Draft EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and may be viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=24476. If you
encounter problems accessing the document online, please call 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.
Written comments are due by close of business Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, to Adam Nickels, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-170, Sacramento, CA
95825. Comments may also be faxed to 916-978-5469 or emailed to anickels@usbr.gov. For additional information, please contact Nickels at 916-978-4415.
For information on the Restoration Program, please visit www.restoresjr.net.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
