[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20368-20369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8664]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-R-2011-N042; 1261-0000-80230-W2]
Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/
Fish Screen Facility Protection Project, California; Intent To Prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), in
coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG),
are preparing a joint environmental impact statement/environmental
impact report (EIS/EIR) for the proposed Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary
Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection
Project, in Glenn and Butte Counties, California. The proposed project
includes riparian restoration and protection of the Princeton-Cordora-
Glenn and Provident Irrigation Districts (PCGID-PID) pumping plant and
fish screen facility. This notice advises the public that we intend to
gather information necessary to prepare an EIS pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We encourage the public and other
agencies to participate in the NEPA scoping process by sending written
suggestions and information on the issues and concerns that should be
addressed in the draft EIS/EIR, including the range of alternatives,
appropriate mitigation measures, and the nature and extent of potential
environmental impacts.
DATES: To ensure that we have adequate time to evaluate and incorporate
suggestions and other input, we must receive your comments on or before
May 27, 2011. A public scoping meeting will be held on May 10, 2011
from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Ord Bend Community Hall, 3241 Highway
45, Ord Bend, California 95943-9654.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments or requests to be added to our project
mailing list to: Daniel W. Frisk, Project Leader, Sacramento National
Wildlife Refuge Complex, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 752 County
Road 99W, Willows, CA 95988. Alternatively, you may send written
comments or requests by fax to (530) 934-7814, or by e-mail to dan_frisk@fws.gov. Please indicate that your comments refer to the Riparian
Sanctuary Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection
Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Moroney, Refuge Manager, (530)
934-2801.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit was acquired by the Service
in 1991 and added to the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge. The
Service acquired the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit as part of the
Joint Management Agreement between Parrot Investment Co., The Nature
Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, and the Service to
cooperatively manage lands on the Llano Seco Ranch. The Llano Seco
Riparian Sanctuary Unit is one piece of the larger Llano Seco Ranch,
and was cleared of riparian vegetation for agricultural production by
the previous landowner during the 1970s. Although the property has been
out of agricultural production for close to 15 years, the habitat
remains dominated by nonnative and invasive noxious weeds. Currently,
just over 200 acres is farmed to dryland row crops to help control
nonnative weeds.
Prior to acquisition by the Service, rock revetment was placed on
the north end of the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit by the
Department of Water Resources in 1985 and 1986. The rock was placed in
order to lock the Sacramento River in place ensuring that flood flows
would continue to be diverted from the Sacramento River through the
Goose Lake overflow structure and into the Butte Basin. When the
Service acquired the ranch property in 1991, we did so with the
understanding that our management activities would not impact the Goose
Lake overflow structure that diverts flood water into the Butte Basin.
Since the placement of rock revetment in 1986, the natural
riverbank that is south of the revetment has eroded approximately 600
feet. The erosion on refuge property is directly across from the PCGID-
PID pumping plant and fish screening facility. In 1999, the PCGID-PID
consolidated three pumping plants into one new facility equipped with
state-of-the-art fish screens. The fish-screening efficiency of the new
PCGID-PID pumping plant is now endangered by the bank erosion on the
refuge property and the migration of the Sacramento River. Although the
rock revetment on the north edge of refuge property is decades old and
eroding, it plays a key role in protecting the PCGID-PID pumping plant.
As the bank erodes, the angle of flow and velocity of the water passing
the screens will change, trapping fish against the screen rather than
sweeping them past. Without some type of protection, it is likely the
bank will continue to erode and the pumping plant facility will fail to
meet guidelines for operation of the pumping-plant fish screens that
were published by the National Marine Fisheries Service of National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce).
To address these issues we are proposing the restoration of
approximately 500 acres of the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit to
improve habitat for wildlife with an emphasis on endangered and
threatened species and the protection of the PCGID-PID pumping plant
and fish screen facility.
Previous Planning Studies
In 2001, River Partners submitted a planning proposal to the CALFED
Bay-Delta Program for grant funding to investigate the following
problems:
River meander may threaten the operation of the PCGID-PID
fish screen and pumping plant located across the river from the Llano
Seco Riparian Sanctuary (part of the Sacramento River National Wildlife
Refuge).
Current site conditions on much of the 950-acre Llano Seco
Riparian Sanctuary have contributed little to endangered species
recovery and overall riparian health.
[[Page 20369]]
Few restoration projects integrate an interdisciplinary
scientific approach into project implementation, limiting the
opportunities to learn restoration.
In 2004, following approval of CALFED Bay-Delta Program grant
funding, River Partners and an interdisciplinary team began studies to
examine measures to protect the PCGID-PID pumping plant and fish screen
facility and develop restoration options for the Llano Seco Riparian
Sanctuary Unit.
River Partners initiated a cooperative process with the Service and
the PCGID-PID to address complex and potentially controversial issues
associated with restoration activities and pumping plant and fish
screen facility protection measures. MBK Engineers completed the Llano
Seco Unit Sacramento River Mile 178 Pumping Plant Protection
Feasibility Study in August 2005 to identify alternatives that meet the
PCGID-PID's pumping plant and fish screen protection objectives.
In 2005, River Partners prepared a Riparian Feasibility Study for
the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit to investigate the feasibility
of restoration and other management options for this area.
Approximately 500 acres of the site was found to be dominated by
nonnative plants, with poor wildlife habitat values, and suitable for
restoration.
In 2010, Ayres Associates refined the alternatives identified in
the MBK study, identifying the most feasible alternatives that should
be considered for protection of the PCGID-PID facility.
Summary of Alternatives
No Action Alternative
Under the No Action alternative, only the ongoing removal and
management of invasive plant species would occur at the Riparian
Sanctuary. No active restoration of native plants would occur.
Maintenance activities for the PCGID-PID pumping plant and fish screens
would continue, but no new actions would be taken to prevent river
meander.
Action Alternatives
A full range of reasonable alternatives will be developed based on
the River Partners 2005 feasibility study, the 2010 Ayres feasibility
study, and public input received during this scoping period. The 2005
River Partners study identified restoration measures consisting of full
plantings or site-specific plantings of the Llano Seco Riparian
Sanctuary Unit. The 2010 Ayres feasibility study identified the
following measures to protect the PCGID-PID pumping plant and fish
screen facility: Construction of spur dikes, traditional riprap
revetment, traditional riprap with a low berm, and traditional riprap
with removal of existing revetment. A combination of these measures
will be used to develop a range of alternatives.
Public Comment
We are furnishing this notice in accordance with section 1501.7 of
the NEPA implementing regulations to obtain suggestions and information
from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be
addressed in the EIS/EIR. We invite written comments from interested
parties to ensure identification of the full range of issues.
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that the 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.
Public Scoping Meeting
In addition to providing written comments, the public is encouraged
to attend a public scoping meeting to provide us with suggestions and
information on the scope of issues and alternatives to consider when
drafting the EIS/EIR. A public scoping meeting will be held on the date
shown in the DATES section.
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public meeting should contact us at the address
listed in the ADDRESSES section no later than 1 week before the public
meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available in
alternative formats upon request. We will accept both oral and written
comments at the scoping meeting.
NEPA Compliance
Information gathered through this scoping process will assist us in
developing a range of alternatives to address restoration of the Llano
Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit and protection of the PCGID-PID pumping
plant and fish screen facility. A detailed description of the proposed
action and alternatives will be included in the EIS/EIR. The EIS/EIR
will identify the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the
alternatives on biological resources, cultural resources, land use, air
quality, water quality, water resources, and other environmental
resources. It will also identify appropriate mitigation measures for
adverse environmental effects.
We will conduct environmental review in accordance with the
requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other applicable
regulations, and our procedures for compliance with those regulations.
The environmental document will be prepared to meet both the
requirements of NEPA and the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). The CDFG is the CEQA lead agency. We anticipate that a draft
EIS/EIR will be available for public review in the fall of 2011.
Dated: April 6, 2011.
Alexandra Pitts,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-8664 Filed 4-11-11; 8:45 am]
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