2

Purpose and Need

Purpose and Need for the Federal Action

The Federal action to be taken by the Department of the

Interior (Interior) is to implement provisions of the CVPIA.

The general purposes of the CVPIA and the action proposed

by Interior were identified by Congress in Section 3402.

These purposes respond to a need to modify the existing

water operations and physical facilities of the CVP. 

Purpose and Use of the Programmatic

Environmental Impact Statement

The purpose of the PEIS is to evaluate the impacts of

implementing the CVPIA. The PEIS addresses the CVPIA’s

region-wide impacts on communities, industries,

economies, and natural resources and provides a basis for

selecting a decision among the alternatives. Because it is a

programmatic document, the PEIS presents a system-wide

analysis, rather than presenting detailed analyses of specific projects and sites.

While the Final PEIS examines the "big picture" of the

CVPIA, a more detailed evaluation will also be done for

many of the actions as they are implemented. The PEIS will

be used as a basis for tiered environmental documentation

to be completed prior to long-term implementation of

some CVPIA provisions.

Provisions of the CVPIA that are addressed

in this PEIS include:

■ CVP water contract renewals

■ Water transfers

■ Tiered water pricing

■ CVP operational changes

■ Fish and wildlife water dedication and management

■ Fish and wildlife water acquisitions

■ Fish and wildlife habitat improvements

■ Refuge water supplies

■ Land retirement

■ Facility modifications

The proposed action would not include programmatic

implementation of increased instream fish flows in the

Trinity River. That program is being analyzed in a separate

and concurrent EIR/EIS. This PEIS includes assumptions

about Trinity River flows solely for the purpose of programmatic analysis of the proposed action.
3

Definition of the Study

Area and Study Period

Study Area

The Study Area for the PEIS includes the Central Valley and

coastal areas in California. Criteria for defining the Study

Area were developed through an extensive public scoping

process and includes:

■ Areas that include CVP facilities, CVP water users, or

water rights holders affected by CVP operations.

■ Areas that could be directly impacted by changes in CVP

operations or actions implemented under the CVPIA.

■ Areas that could be directly impacted by water transfer

programs that involve CVP water users or CVP facilities.

Study Period

The PEIS analyzes projected conditions in the Year 2025

which allows for the period to complete the environmental

documentation and the term of 25 years for the long-term

water service contracts. 

CVPIA P URPOSES (SECTION 3402)

a. to protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife,

and associated habitats in the Central Valley

and Trinity River basins of California; 

b. to address impacts of the CVP on fish, wildlife,

and associated habitats;

c. to improve the operational flexibility of the CVP;

d. to increase water-related benefits provided by

the CVP to the State of California through

expanded use of voluntary water transfers and

improved water conservation;

e. to contribute to the State of California’s interim

and long-term efforts to protect the San

Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Estuary; 

f. to achieve a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of CVP water, including the

requirements of fish and wildlife, agriculture,

and municipal, industrial, and power contractors.