|
Meeting Flow Objectives
for the San Joaquin River Agreement 1999 - 2010
Environmental impact Statement and Environmental
Impact Report
FINAL
Lead Agencies: U.S. Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific
Region, Sacramento, California; and San Joaquin
River Group Authority, Modesto, California
Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; National Marine Fisheries
Service; California Department of Water Resources;
California Department of Fish and Game
This Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Impact Report (EIS/EIR) has been prepared in compliance
with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) procedures
for NEPA compliance.
Reclamation and the Authority are
jointly preparing this EIS/EIR for meeting the flow
objectives for the Draft San Joaquin River Agreement
(Agreement) over the period 1999-2010. The Agreement
developed as an alternative that provides a level
of protection equivalent to the San Joaquin River
flow objectives contained in the State Water Resources
Control Board’s 1995 Water Quality Control
Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta Estuary (1995 WQCP). Discussion over the
flow objective led to a proactive problem-solving
process to develop an adaptive fishery management
plan and the water supplies to support that plan.
The process of developing the Vernalis Adaptive
Management Plan (VAMP) resulted in the Agreement
in April 1998. The Agreement identifies where the
water to support the VAMP study would be obtained,
specifically from the San Joaquin River Group Authority
whose members are willing sellers.
The purpose of the proposed action
is to acquire water identified in the Agreement
and use the water for:
- a pulse flow for a 31-day period at Vernalis
during April and May, and
- other flows identified by the CVPIA water acquisition
plan to facilitate migration and attraction of
anadromous fish, including fall attraction flows
and other flows as needed by the adaptive management
study to support anadromous fish and provide environmental
benefits in the project area.
This water is needed to support
VAMP and to provide protective measures for fall-run
chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River. The adaptive
management study means that the flow requirement
is to change annually in response to hydrologic
and biologic conditions. As a result, varying amounts
of water would be needed. The Agreement provides
for up to 137,500 acre-feet of water.
The EIS/EIR examines one other
alternative that was determined to meet the project’s
purpose and need: the State Water Right Priority
System. This alternative is identical to Flow Alternative
3 in the SWRCB’s DEIR for implementation of
the 1995 WQCP for the Bay/Delta Estuary.
The proposed action is located
in the following counties in California: San Joaquin,
Stanislaus, Madera, Merced, Fresno, Tuolumne, Mariposa,
and Calaveras.
For further information regarding
this EIS/EIR, contact Mr. Michael Delamore, U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California
Area Office, 2666 N. Grove Industrial Dr., #106,
Fresno, CA 93727-1551, (209) 487-5039, fax: (209)
487-5130; or Mr. Dan Fults, Friant Water Users Authority,
1521 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 441-1931,
fax: (916) 441-1581.
SCH#: 98092062
Contents
January 28, 2023
Prepared for
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation
Sacramento, California
and
San Joaquin River Group Authority
Modesto, California
Prepared by
EA Engineering, Science, and Technology
Lafayette and Sacramento, California
|
