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[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 71424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27005]

[[Page 71424]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

San Luis Unit Long-Term Contract Renewals

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft environmental impact 
statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (as 
amended) and the California Environmental Quality Act, the Bureau of 
Reclamation has made available for public review and comment a Draft 
EIS for the renewal of long-term water service contracts for the San 
Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project (CVP). The Draft EIS describes 
and presents the environmental effects of three alternatives, including 
no action, for implementing the renewal of the long-term water service 
contracts. A 45-day public comment period will be allowed to receive 
comments from individuals and organizations on the Draft EIS.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted on or before 
January 24, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the Draft EIS to Joe Thomson, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, 1243 ``N'' Street, Fresno, CA 93644.
    Copies of the Draft EIS may be requested from Ms. Sammie Cervantes, 
Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825 or by 
calling 916-978-5104, TDD 916-978-5608. See Supplementary Information 
section for locations where copies of the Draft EIS are available for 
public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Thompson, Environmental 
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, at 559-487-5179.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS will address impacts related 
to the renewal of long-term water service contracts between Reclamation 
and the contractors in the San Luis Unit. The alternatives present a 
range of water service agreement provisions that could be implemented 
for long-term contract renewals. The first alternative, the No-Action 
Alternative, consists of renewing water service contracts as described 
by the preferred alternative of the Programmatic EIS for the Central 
Valley Project Improvement Act. A proposal by Reclamation was submitted 
to the contractors in 1999 with an alternative contract being submitted 
by the contractors in 2000. Reclamation and the contractors have 
continued to negotiate the CVP-wide terms and conditions with these 
proposals serving as the basis for analysis of such ``bookends.'' The 
EIS also evaluates the proposals against the No-Action Alternative as 
bookends to be considered for the environmental documentation that 
evaluates the impacts and benefits of renewing the long-term water 
service contracts.
    Copies of the Draft EIS are available for public inspection and 
review at the following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Building 67, 
Room 167, Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver, CO 80225; 
telephone: 303-445-2072.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Office of Public Affairs, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825-1898; telephone: 916-978-5100.
     Bureau of Reclamation, South Central California Area 
Office, 1243 ``N'' Street, Fresno, CA 93721.
     Natural Resources Library, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 
20240-0001.
    Public Libraries:
     Fresno County Public Library, 2420 Mariposa Street, 
Fresno, CA 93721.
     Los Banos Public Library, 1312 S. 7th Street, Los Banos, 
CA 93635.
    Oral and written comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents will be available for public review. Individual respondents 
may request that we withhold their home address from public disclosure, 
which will be honored to the extent allowable by law. There may be 
circumstances in which respondent's identity may also be withheld from 
public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish to have your name 
and/or address withheld, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your comment. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: September 28, 2004.
John F. Davis,
Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 04-27005 Filed 12-8-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P
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