17524 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Joint 

Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Report for the 

Coyote Dam Study 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 

204 of the 1950 Flood Control Act (Pub. 

L. 516, 81st Congress, 2nd Session), as 

recommended by the Chief of Engineers 

in House Document Number 585, 81st 

Congress, 2nd Session, the Coyote Dam 

(also known as the ‘‘Lake Mendocino 

Project’’), Ukiah, CA, is authorized to be 

raised 36 feet to a total storage capacity 

of 199,000 acre-feet (ac-ft) when the 

need for additional water supply arises. 

Since construction of Coyote Dam, 

increased development of Mendocino 

County and the accelerated rate of 

sedimentation in Lake Mendocino have 

resulted in the need for additional water 

supply. The additional storage capacity 

achieved by raising the dam would 

address future demands on water 

supply and also increase flood damage 

reduction functions. This is a notice of 

intent to prepare a joint environmental 

Impact Statement/Environmental 

Impact Report (EIS/EIR), and to consider 

all reasonable alternatives, evaluate 

potential impacts of the proposed 

action, and identify appropriate 

mitigation measures. The U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the lead 

agency for this project under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), and the Mendocino County 

Inland Water and Power Commission 

(IWPC) is the lead agency and local 

sponsor under the California 

environmental quality Act (CEQA). 

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be 

held on April 26, 2007 from 7 p.m. to 

9 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting will be 

held at the Ukiah Valley Conference 

Center, Cabernet Room 1, 200 South 

School Street, Ukiah, CA 95482. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

can be answered by Karen Mason at 

(415) 503–6851, 

Karen.P.Mason@usace.army.mil; Susan 

Ma at (415) 503–6838, 

Susan.Ma@usace.army.mil; or by Chris 

Eng at (415) 503–6868, 

Christopher.K.Eng@usace.army.mil, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco 

District, 1455 Market Street, 15th Floor, 

San Francisco, CA 94103. Questions and 

comments can also be faxed to (415) 

503–6692. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coyote 

Dam is located on the East Fork of the 

Russian River, Ukiah, CA, and is part of 

a system that provides water to 

Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin 

counties. The Congressional 

authorization for construction of Coyote 

Dam included provisions for increase in 

water storage capacity by raising the 

dam an additional 36 feet, thereby 

increasing the total storage capacity 

from 122,500 ac-ft to 199,000 ac-ft. The 

dam was designed to be built in two 

stages: the initial stage was completed 

in 1959, and the second stage would be 

built when water storage capacity 

became inadequate. The growth of 

Mendocino County has contributed to 

an expanded need for water in order to 

meet future demands. In addition, the 

accelerated rate of sedimentation in 

Lake Mendocino further impacts the 

storage capacity of the dam by 

encroaching on the water supply pool. 

The goal of the project is to provide 

increased water storage capacity and 

increased flood damage reduction 

benefits to the area. the local sponsor for 

the project is the Mendocino County 

Inland Water and Power Commission 

(IWPC), a Joint Powers Authority 

representing the County of Mendocino, 

the City of Ukiah, Mendocino County 

Russian River Flood Control and Water 

Conservation Improvement District, 

Redwood Valley County Water District, 

and the Potter Valley Irrigation District. 

1. Proposed Action. Based on the need 

for additional water supply and flood 

damage reduction benefits, it is 

determined that increased water storage 

capacity at Coyote Dam should be 

evaluated. 

2. Project Alternatives. The following 

are some of the alternatives that will be 

evaluated in the EIS/EIR: 

a. Raise the dam. Following the 

original plans of the authorized project, 

the dam would be raised 36 feet to an 

elevation of 820 feet, increasing the 

storage capacity from 122,400 ac-ft to 

199,000 ac-ft. Some provisions were 

made on various features of the existing 

dam to accommodate the future height 

increase. 

b. Increase seasonal water supply 

storage elevation. Utilizing the existing 

dam and reservoir area, the water 

surface elevation of the flood control 

pool would be raised from 748.0 to 

761.8 for seasonal use between April 1 

and October 15. This would provide an 

additional 25,700 ac-ft of storage. 

Although the Corps has authority over 

the flood control pool, the Mendocino 

County IWPC must demonstrate that the 

extra storage capacity is needed for 

current demands and would not result 

in an excess storage of water, which 

would unnecessarily flood recreational 

areas and access roads situated at 

elevation 750. 

c. Dredging. Of the original 122,400 

ac-ft storage capacity, 4,400 ac-ft was 

allocated for sedimentation, but the 

capacity of Lake Mendocino has since 

decreased to 116,470 ac-ft. The rate of 

sedimentation is higher than the 

estimate provided by the original 

sediment study. This alternative would 

increase storage capacity by dredging 

sediment from the reservoir. Dredging is 

not expected to affect current reservoir 

operations. 

3. Scoping Process. The Corps is 

seeking participation of all interested 

federal, state, and local agencies, Native 

American groups, and other concerned 

private organizations or individuals 

through this public notice. The public 

scoping meeting will be held in Ukiah, 

CA (see DATES). Any changes to the date, 

time, or location will be published in 

the newspaper or provided by mail to 

those requesting information. The 

purpose of the meeting is to solicit 

comments and questions regarding the 

potential impacts, environmental issues, 

and alternatives associated with the 

proposed action. Public participation 

will help to define the scope of the 

environmental analysis in the EIS/EIR; 

identify other significant issues; provide 

other relevant information; and 

recommend mitigation measures. The 

public comment period closes on May 

10, 2007. 

4. Availability of EIS. The public will 

have an additional opportunity to 

comment on project alternatives once 

the draft EIS/EIR is released. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 07–1742 Filed 4–6–07; 8:45 am] 

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