FOLSOM, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation has released a Draft Environmental Assessment on the issuance of Special Event Permits (SEP) to evaluate opportunities for an
intermittent whitewater boating program identified in the 2010 New Melones Resources Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement and approved in the
Record of Decision. Under the Proposed Action, Reclamation would issue SEPs to up to four local outfitter companies to conduct commercial whitewater
boating operations on the main stem Stanislaus River between New Melones Lake’s Camp Nine area and the Mark Twain Recreation Area.
The Proposed Action would use existing roads to transport customers, outfitter staff, and equipment along Highways 4 and 49, Parrotts Ferry Road and Camp
Nine Road, including the access route to the Mark Twain Recreation Area on former Highway 49. The Camp Nine Road extends about nine miles from Parrotts
Ferry Road to the Collierville Power Plant.
The put-in would be located below Camp Nine Road near Mile 8 and the former Camp Nine Bridge, which was removed in 2008. Proposed operations would involve
putting boats into the river at the three-rail raft slide just downstream from the former bridge. The boats would navigate downstream to New Melones Lake
where they would contact prearranged services to tow them to the Mark Twain Recreation Area take-out.
The Draft EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and is available at
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=25758
. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please call 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.
Comments must be received by close of business Friday, August 5, 2016, and should be sent to Sarah Perrin, Bureau of Reclamation, Central California Area
Office, 7794 Folsom Dam Road, Folsom, CA 95630. Comments may also be emailed to sperrin@usbr.gov or faxed to
916-989-7208.
For questions or to request a copy of the Draft EA, please contact Perrin at 916-989-7173 (TTY 800-877-8339). Copies of the Draft EA may also be viewed at
Reclamation’s Folsom office at the above address.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
