SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact analyzing the impacts of approving an exchange of up to 6,000 acre-feet of tertiary treated water for up to 3,000 acre-feet of refuge (or Level 2) water with the San Luis Water District and Panoche Water District. Up to 3,000 acre-feet of Incremental Level 4 water would also be provided to south-of-Delta refuges.
By law, Level 2 water amounts are to be provided annually and must be of suitable quality to maintain and improve wetland habitat areas on 19 federal, state and private lands - collectively referred to as refuges. The acquired water would be discharged directly into Bear Creek and delivered to the East Bear Creek Unit of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex to meet a component of its Level 2 water demand. This water exchange is authorized under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Section 3406(d).
The Final EA and FONSI were 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=26061. If you encounter problems accessing the document, please call 916-978-5100 or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.
For additional information or to request a copy of the documents, please contact Brad Hubbard, at 916-978-5204 or bhubbard@usbr.gov.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
