71424 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 236 / Thursday, December 9, 2004 / Notices 

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). 

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 longterm 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 NoAction 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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation 

Mendota Pool Ten-Year Exchange 

Agreements, Proposed Annual Water 

Exchange, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the final 

environmental impact statement (EIS). 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Reclamation 

(Reclamation), has prepared a final EIS, 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), to evaluate the 

proposed annual water exchange 

agreements of up to 25,000 acre-feet of 

water per year for up to a 10-year period 

with the Mendota Pool Group. 

The purpose of the proposed project 

is to provide water to irrigable lands on 

Mendota Pool Group properties in 

Westlands Water District and San Luis 

Water District to offset substantial 

reductions in contract water supplies 

attributable to the Central Valley Project 

Improvement Act (CVPIA), the 

Endangered Species Act listings and 

regulations, and new Bay-Delta water 

quality rules. This water would thereby 

enable the Mendota Pool Group farmers 

to maintain production on historically 

irrigated lands. The project is not 

intended to increase the amount of 

water for farming activities, but would 

replace some of the contract water lost 

because of increased environmental 

regulations that restrict water deliveries 

south of the export pumps at Tracy, 

California.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a 

decision on the proposed action until at 

least 30 days after release of the Final 

EIS/EIR. After the 30-day waiting 

period, Reclamation will complete a 

Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD will 

state the action that will be 

implemented and will discuss all factors 

leading to the decision.

ADDRESSES: The final EIS may be 

obtained by contacting Mr. David Young 

at the Bureau of Reclamation, SouthCentral California Area Office, 1243 N 

Street, Fresno, CA 93721–1813; by 

telephone at 559–487–5127; (TDD 559–

487–5933); by e-mail at 

dkyoung@mp.usbr.gov; or by fax at 559–

487–5397. The final EIS is also available 

via the Internet at http://www.usbr.gov/

mp/sccao/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Young, Environmental Specialist, at the 

above address or by telephone at 559–

487–5127 (TDD 559–487–5933).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Delta 

export service area of the Central Valley