Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 46 / Friday, March 9, 2007 / Notices 10719 

The EA and draft FONSI are available 

for review on the DNSC Web site 

(https://www.dnsc.dla.mil/ 

EAandDraftFONSI.asp). Comments 

should be sent to Mr. Michael Pecullan, 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 3229, 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060–6221. 

Comments may also be faxed to Mr. 

Pecullan at (703) 767–7716. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael Pecullan, Phone (703) 767–

7620 or E-Mail: michael.pecullan 

@dla.mil. 

Dated: March 6, 2007. 

Essie Schloss, 

Deputy Administrator, Defense National 

Stockpile Center. 

[FR Doc. E7–4234 Filed 3–8–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3620–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

South Bay Salt Pond Restoration 

Project, San Francisco Bay, CA 

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of availability: Draft 

environmental impact statement/ 

environmental impact report; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service) and the California 

Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) 

are proposing a restoration plan for 

15,100 acres (6,111 hectares) of former 

commercial salt ponds in south San 

Francisco Bay. This South Bay Salt 

Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project would 

use a combination of restored tidal 

marsh, managed ponds, flood control 

measures and public access features to 

meet the three goals of the plan: to 

restore wildlife habitat, to provide flood 

protection and to provide wildlifeoriented public access. The ponds are 

located at the Don Edwards San 

Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge 

and at the Eden Landing State 

Ecological Reserve. 

The Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement/Environmental Impact Report 

(EIS/EIR) includes program-level 

evaluation of the SBSP long-term 

alternatives as well as project-level 

analysis of the first phase of restoration 

(the Phase 1 actions). 

The Draft EIS/EIR has been prepared 

jointly by the Service, the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the 

CDFG to analyze the impacts of the 

SBSP. The EIS/EIR presents a limited 

evaluation of the potential impacts 

associated with the list of possible 

South San Francisco Bay Shoreline 

Study (Shoreline Study) actions. The 

Shoreline Study area includes the SBSP 

Restoration Project area as well as 

shoreline and floodplain areas in the 

counties of Alameda, San Mateo, and 

Santa Clara. The Corps and non-Federal 

sponsors will prepare an EIS/EIR for the 

Shoreline Study, which will tier off of 

this EIS/EIR and cover specific projectlevel actions. 

Note that the Draft SBSP EIS/EIR is 

being submitted for public review under 

separate Federal and State processes. 

The following addresses and due dates 

are applicable to the Federal NEPA 

review process: 

DATES: For the Federal process, written 

comments under the National 

Environmental Policy Act should be 

received on or before April 23, 2007. We 

will hold two public meetings in March 

2007 to solicit comments on the draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. Dates, 

times, and addresses for the public 

meetings follow. 

• March 28, 2007, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 

NASA Research Center, Building 943 

(Eagle Room), Moffett Field, CA 94035. 

• March 29, 2007, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 

Centennial Hall, 22292 Foothill 

Boulevard, Room 4, Hayward, CA 

94541. 

Call Anna Schneider at (510) 286–

1015 if directions are needed. Persons 

needing reasonable accommodations in 

order to attend and participate in these 

public meetings should contact Anna 

Schneider at (510) 286–1015 sufficiently 

in advance of the meeting to allow time 

to process the request. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

requests for information should be sent 

to Clyde Morris, Refuge Manager, Don 

Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR, 9500 

Thornton Avenue, Newark, CA 94560. 

Written comments may also be sent by 

facsimile to (510) 792–5828 or through 

the public comments link on the South 

Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project Web 

site, at http:// 

www.southbayrestoration.org/ 

Question_Comment.html. All comments 

received, including names and 

addresses, will become a part of the 

administrative record and be made 

available to the public. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions regarding the Federal 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) process may be directed to 

Clyde Morris, Refuge Manager, Don 

Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR, at the 

above address; telephone (510) 792–

0222, or Yvonne LeTellier, Project 

Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

1455 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 

94103; (415) 503–6744. Questions 

related to the California Environmental 

Quality Act (CEQA) process may be 

directed to John Krause, California 

Department of Fish and Game, Region 3 

Headquarters, P.O. Box 47, Yountville, 

CA 94599; telephone (707) 944–5500. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents 

Individuals wishing copies of the 

Draft EIS/EIR should contact the Service 

by letter, facsimile to the San Francisco 

Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

or contact through the restoration 

project Web site (see ADDRESSES). The 

document is also available for public 

inspection, by appointment, during 

regular business hours, at the San 

Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge 

Complex, Fremont, California, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, San 

Francisco, California, the California 

Dept. of Fish and Game, Region 3 

Headquarters, 7329 Silverado Trail, 

Napa, CA 94558, and the Santa Clara 

Valley Water District, 5750 Almaden 

Expressway, San Jose, California, 95118. 

Copies are also available for public 

review at: 

• Alviso Branch Library: 5050 North 

First St., San Jose ́, CA 95002, (408) 263–

3626; 

• City of Mountain View Library: 585 

Franklin Street, Mountain View, CA 

94041, (650) 903–6337; 

• Palo Alto Main Library: 1213 

Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, (650) 

329–2436; 

• Menlo Park Library: 800 Alma 

Street, Menlo Park, CA 94025, (650) 

330–2500; 

• Sunnyvale Public Library: 665 West 

Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, 

(408) 730–7300; 

• Hayward Public Library: 835 C 

Street, Hayward, CA 94541, (510) 293–

8685; and 

• Fremont Main Library: 2400 

Stevenson Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538, 

(510) 745–1400. 

The document may also be viewed on 

the restoration project Web site http:// 

www.southbayrestoration.org. 

Background 

On March 16, 2003, the State of 

California and the Service acquired 

15,100 acres of commercial salt ponds 

from Cargill, Inc. in South San 

Francisco Bay which are the subject of 

the SBSP. The purpose of the 

acquisition was to protect, restore and 

enhance the property for fish and 

wildlife, as well as to provide 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
10720 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 46 / Friday, March 9, 2007 / Notices 

opportunities for wildlife-oriented 

recreation and education. Of the 

acquired lands, CDFG owns and 

manages the 5,500-acre Eden Landing 

pond complex and the Service owns the 

8,000-acre Alviso pond complex and the 

1,600-acre Ravenswood pond complex. 

The SBSP Restoration Project was 

planned in close coordination with a 

related but separate project, the 

Shoreline Study. The Congressionallyauthorized Shoreline Study will identify 

and recommend for Federal funding one 

or more projects for flood damage 

reduction, ecosystem restoration and 

related purposes such as public access. 

Because they have similar objectives 

and geographic scope and include 

restoration and flood management 

components, the planning and 

management of these two projects is 

being closely integrated. Planning for 

the Shoreline Study will be conducted 

through several stages referred to as 

Interim Feasibility Studies, and the 

Corps is currently developing 

alternatives for the first stage of the 

Shoreline Study (the Alviso Ponds and 

Santa Clara County Interim Feasibility 

Study) in partnership with the Study’s 

non-Federal sponsors, the Santa Clara 

Valley Water District and the California 

Coastal Conservancy and in cooperation 

with the Service. Potential Shoreline 

Study actions include flood protection 

improvements, ecosystem restoration, 

and recreation and public access 

features, which may overlap 

considerably with proposed SBSP 

Restoration Project actions. 

The Initial Stewardship Plan (ISP) is 

an interim plan now in operation to 

maintain and enhance the biological 

and physical conditions within the 

SBSP area in the interim period between 

the cessation of salt production and the 

implementation of the long-term 

restoration plan that will emerge from 

the SBSP Restoration Project planning 

process. Because the SBSP Restoration 

Project will be implemented in phases 

over time, some ponds may be managed 

under the ISP for many years. The ISP 

actions include construction and 

operation of water control structures to 

circulate bay waters through a series of 

pond clusters to maintain low salinity, 

provide wildlife habitat, and maintain at 

least the current level of flood 

protection. Three of the ponds’ levees 

were breached to allow full tidal 

wetland restoration. Additionally, some 

ponds are managed as seasonal 

wetlands that are allowed to fill with 

rain water in the winter and dry through 

evaporation during the summer months 

while other ponds are operated as high 

salinity ponds to provide habitat for 

wildlife requiring those conditions. 

Certain ponds are still being managed 

by Cargill while they reduce the salinity 

levels by moving the saltiest brines to its 

plant site in Newark, California. 

The actual long-term restoration of the 

salt ponds is the subject of the SBSP 

Restoration Project. Implementation of 

the long-term restoration plan is 

expected to be conducted in phases 

with some phases extending beyond 20 

years. This EIS/EIR is programmatic, 

covering the long-term plan for the 

entire SBSP planning area and is project 

specific for the Phase 1 projects which 

will be implemented in the near term. 

Alternatives Analyzed 

The Draft EIS/EIR considers three 

programmatic alternatives for the SBSP: 

a No Action Alternative (Alternative A), 

a Managed Pond Emphasis Alternative 

(Alternative B), and a Tidal Emphasis 

Alternative (Alternative C). 

Under the No Action alternative 

(Alternative A), the expected scenario at 

Year 50 is evaluated as if no long-term 

restoration plan is implemented. CDFG 

and the Service would continue to 

operate and maintain the ponds in a 

manner similar to the ISP, although it is 

assumed that CDFG and the Service 

would not have the funding to maintain 

full ISP operations over the 50-year 

planning horizon. No new public access 

or recreational facilities are proposed 

under this alternative. 

Under the Managed Pond Emphasis 

Alternative (50 percent tidal habitat: 50 

percent managed ponds by area) 

(Alternative B), the expected scenario at 

Year 50 would contain approximately 

7,500 acres of tidal habitat and 7,500 

acres of managed pond habitat. 

Approximately 20 percent of the 

managed ponds would be reconfigured 

to improve foraging, roosting, and 

nesting opportunities for shorebirds, 

waterfowl, and other waterbirds. In 

addition, Alternative B would provide a 

cohesive line of flood protection along 

the perimeter of the project area. This 

alternative would also provide public 

access and recreation features in the 

form of trails and viewing platforms, 

interpretive stations, waterfowl hunting, 

access to and interpretation of cultural 

resource features, opportunities for 

education and interpretation, nonmotorized boat launching points and 

associated staging and parking areas. 

Under the Tidal Emphasis Alternative 

(90 percent tidal habitat : 10 percent 

managed ponds by area), the expected 

scenario at Year 50 would contain 

approximately 13,400 acres of tidal 

habitat and 1,600 acres of managed 

pond habitat. All managed ponds in 

Alternative C would be reconfigured to 

substantially enhance foraging, roosting 

and nesting opportunities for 

shorebirds, waterfowl and other 

waterbirds. Flood protection under 

Alternative C would be similar to 

Alternative B, with the exception that 

the length of existing slough levees 

abandoned would increase in 

Alternative C. Alternative C would also 

provide public access and recreation 

features similar to those described for 

Alternative B. 

Alternatives B and C are ‘‘bookends’’

that represent possible outcomes 

ranging from a 50:50 tidal to managed 

pond scenario to a 90:10 tidal to 

managed pond scenario. The optimal 

configuration of tidal habitat and 

managed ponds that achieves the SBSP 

objectives while avoiding significant 

impacts to environmental resources 

would fall somewhere between these 

bookends and would be guided by the 

Adaptive Management Plan, the 

cornerstone of the SBSP. 

The Draft EIS/EIR also addresses, at 

the project level, Phase 1 of the SBSP. 

The Phase 1 actions are common 

elements of the long-term Alternatives B 

and C. Phase 1 actions would include a 

range of habitat types and early 

experiments that will be used to inform 

the Adaptive Management Plan. These 

include creating tidal, muted tidal and 

managed pond habitats as well as a 

variety of public-access features. 

The Service and the Corps invite the 

public to comment on the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement during 

a 45-day public comment period. The 

Service and the Corps will evaluate the 

comments submitted thereon to prepare 

a Final EIS/EIR. A decision will be 

made no sooner than 30 days after the 

publication of the Final EIS/EIR. It is 

anticipated that a Record of Decision 

will be issued by the Service in the fall 

of 2007. 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

regulations for implementing the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: February 28, 2007. 

Steve Thompson, 

Manager, California/Nevada Operations, 

Sacramento, CA. 

Dated: March 1, 2007. 

Craig W. Kiley, 

Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Commanding. 

[FR Doc. 07–1061 Filed 3–8–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES