59730 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 213 / Tuesday, November 4, 1997 / Notices

facilities on the American and

Sacramento rivers. A new pipeline

would be constructed to convey the

water to the City’s E.A. Fairbairn Water

Treatment Plant and to a point on FSC.

Water for EBMUD would then be

conveyed from that point through FSC

to its terminus, where a new pipeline

would be constructed to convey the

water to EBMUD’s Mokelumne

Aqueducts.

The DEIR/DEIS describes the

environmental effects of taking delivery

of water under EBMUD’s contract from

the FSC and from the lower American

River near its confluence with the

Sacramento River. Emphasis is directed

toward potential effects related to

American River fisheries, endangered

species, Central Valley Project water

users, pipeline construction, and

biological resources in the EBMUD

service area.

Public Hearings

Public hearings to receive comments

on the DEIR/DEIS will be held as

follows:

• December 1, 1997, from 6:00 to 8:00

p.m. at the EBMUD Training Room, 375

Eleventh Street, Oakland, California

• December 3, 1997, from 6:00 to 8:00

p.m. at the Littleton Community Center,

420 Civic Drive, Galt, California

• December 4, 1997, from 6:00 to 8:00

p.m. at the Loel Senior Center, 105

South Washington Street, Lodi,

California

• December 9, 1997, from 6:30 to 8:30

p.m. at the Sequoia Elementary School,

3333 Rosemont Drive, Sacramento,

California

• December 11, 1997, from 7:00 to

9:00 p.m. at the Hart Senior Center, 915

27th Street, Sacramento, California

Requests to speak may be made at the

hearing; these speakers will be called

upon in order at the meeting. Oral

comments/presentations will be limited

to 10 minutes per individual.

The hearing facilities have disabled

access, but there are no facilities for the

deaf. A telephone device for the hearing

impaired (TDD) is not available.

DEIR/DEIS Public Inspection and

Review

Copies of the DEIR/DEIS are available

for public inspection and review at the

following locations:

1. East Bay Municipal Utility District,

375 Eleventh Street, Oakland, CA

94607–4240.

2. Sacramento County Water Agency,

827 Seventh Street, Room 301,

Sacramento, CA 95814.

3. City of Sacramento Utilities

Department, 5770 Freeport Boulevard,

Suite 100, Sacramento CA 95822.

4. Sacramento County Clerk-Recorder’s

Office, 600 Eighth Street, Sacramento,

CA 95814.

5. Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage

Way, Room E–1704, Sacramento, CA

95825.

6. Bureau of Reclamation, Folsom Area

Office, 7794 Folsom Dam Road,

Folsom, CA 95630.

7. Library, Bureau of Reclamation, 6th

Avenue and Kipling, Room 167,

Building 67, Denver Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225–0007.

8. Natural Resources Library, U.S.

Department of the Interior, 1849 C

Street NW, Main Interior Building,

Washington DC 20240–0001.

9. Sacramento Central Library, 828 I

Street, Sacramento, CA.

10. Lodi Public Library, 201 W. Locust

Street, Lodi CA 95240

11. Caesar Chavez Central Library, 605

N. El Dorado Street, Stockton CA

95202.

12. Science, Social Science &

Government Documents Department,

Oakland Public Library, 125 14th

Street, Oakland CA 94612.

13. Contra Costa County Clerk’s Office,

730 Las Juntas, Martinez CA 94553.

14. Alameda County Clerk’s Office, 1225

Fallen Street, Oakland CA 94612.

15. San Joaquin County Clerk’s Office,

24 S. Hunter, Room 304, Stockton CA

95202.

Dated: October 29, 1997.

Kirk C. Rodgers,

Deputy Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 97–29137 Filed 11–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Proposed Orange County Regional

Water Reclamation Project (OCR

Project), Orange County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare

a draft environmental impact statement

(EIS) and notice of scoping meetings.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of

Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to

prepare a draft EIS on the proposed

Orange County Regional Water

Reclamation Project, Orange County,

California. Reclamation proposes to

partially fund this joint project with the

Orange County Water District (OCWD)

and County Sanitation Districts of

Orange County (CSDOC).

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Two formal

scoping meetings in connection with

preparation of the draft EIS are

scheduled to be held as follows:

November 18, 1997–3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

and 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Orange County

Water District, 10500 Ellis Avenue,

Fountain Valley, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Del Kidd, Environmental Protection

Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, (Mail

Stop LC–2511), Environmental

Compliance Group, P.O. Box 61470,

Boulder City, NV, 89006–1470,

Telephone: (702) 293–8698 or Ms. Tama

Snow, Senior Engineer, Orange County

Water District, Advance Planning

Group, P.O. Box 8300, Fountain Valley,

CA 92728–8300, Telephone: (714) 378–

3200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Orange County Water District (OCWD)

and the County Sanitation Districts of

Orange County (CSDOC) propose to

develop an advanced water treatment

plant, pipeline and related facilities

within the Cities of Fountain Valley,

Santa Ana, Orange, Garden Grove, and

Anaheim. The OCR Project will further

process water from the County

Sanitation Districts of Orange County.

The water from CSDOC, which is

typically discharged into the ocean, will

be treated through a sophisticated,

advanced water treatment process that

will include microfiltration, reverse

osmosis and disinfection. The

mirofiltration process uses a series of

microscopically fine filters to remove

fine particles, nitrogen, salts, and

organic matter that might be in the

water. The water from this advanced

treatment process will be of better

quality than the current water that is

infiltrated into the groundwater basin

from the Santa Ana River and will

surpass (be cleaner and better than) the

drinking water standards set by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, the

California Department of Health

Services and other healths and

regulatory agencies.

The water from this process will be

piped to injection wells to create a

barrier against saltwater intrusion and to

spreading fields for infiltration into the

groundwater basin. The OCR Project

will provide a new, reliable water

supply to meet increased demands for

potable water within the OCWD service

area and continue to protect the existing

groundwater from further contamination

from seawater intrusion. OCR Project

water will also be used to supplement

the existing Green Acres Project which

uses recycled water for landscape

irrigation and industrial applications.

The project will help reduce the

dependency on the uncertain water

supplies currently received from
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 213 / Tuesday, November 4, 1997 / Notices 59731

northern California and the Colorado

River.

Extensive evaluations have been

conducted over the past seven years to

define and determine the feasibility of a

reclamation project. A study was

performed by OCWD to evaluate the

water supply alternatives to meet the

future needs of Orange County Water

District’s customers. The OCR Project

was identified to be one of the most

reliable and cost effective project

alternatives to providing a new local

water supply to Orange County. The

project is proposed to be implemented

in three phases. Phase I is proposed to

be implemented by the year 2003 and

would supply 50,000 acre-feet per year

(afy) (one afy is enough water to supply

two families of four for an entire year).

Phases II and III would supply an

additional 25,000 afy by the years 2010

and 2020 respectively, or sooner if

required.

An EIS will be prepared and a full

environmental analysis will be

completed to address any significant

impacts the project may have on the

surrounding environment. The draft EIS

is expected to be completed and

available for review and comment by

April, 1998.

The present investigation began in

1994. Since that time, OCWD and

CSDOC have held public meetings to

discuss study progress with interested

individuals and affected agencies.

Additional public meetings will be

scheduled to encourage public and

agency involvement in the study and

the environmental analysis.

Dated: October 21, 1997.

John A. Johnson,

Deputy Director, Resource Management

Office.

[FR Doc. 97–29142 Filed 11–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Ecosystem Roundtable Meeting

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meetings.

SUMMARY: The Ecosystem Rountable (a

subcommittee of the Bay-Delta Advisory

Council) (BDAC) will meet in November

to discuss the following issues: an

update on restoration coordination and

the CVPIA FY 98 annual workplans.

The Ecosystem Rountable will also meet

in December to discuss the following

issues: the planning and decision

making process for the 1998 funding

cycle. Interested persons may make oral

statements to the Ecosystem Rountable

or may file written statements for

consideration.

DATES: The Ecosystem Rountable will

meet from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on

Friday, November 14, and 9:30 a.m. to

12:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 4,

1997.

ADDRESSES: The Ecosystem Rountable

will meet in Room 1412, 1416 Ninth

Street, Sacramento, CA for the

November meeting and Room 1131,

1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA for

the December meeting.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

For the Ecosystem Rountable meeting

contact Kate Hansel, CALFED Bay-Delta

Program, at (916) 657–2666. If

reasonable accommodation is needed

due to a disability, please contact the

Equal Employment Opportunity Office

at (916) 653–6952 or TDD (916) 653–

6934 at least one week prior to the

meeting.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The San

Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin

Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta system) is a

critically important part of California’s

natural environment and economy. In

recognition of the serious problems

facing the region and the complex

resource management desicions that

must be made, the state of California

and the Federal government are working

together to stabilize, protect, restore,

and enhance the Bay-Delta system. The

State and Federal agencies with

management and regulatory

responsibilities in the Bay-Delta system

are working together as CALFED to

provide policy direction and oversight

for the process.

One area of Bay-Delta management

includes the establishment of a joint

State-Federal process to develop longterm solutions to problems in the BayDelta system related to fish and wildlife,

water supply reliability, natural

disasters, and water quality. The intent

is to develop a comprehensive and

balanced plan which addresses all of the

resource problems. This effort, the

CALFED Bay-Delta Program (Program),

is being carried out under the policy

direction of CALFED. The CALFED BayDelta Program is exploring and

developing a long-term solution for a

cooperative planning process that will

determine the most appropriate strategy

and actions necessary to improve water

quality, restore health to the Bay-Delta

ecosystem, provide for a variety of

beneficial uses, and minimize Bay-Delta

system vulnerability. A group of citizen

advisors representing California’s

agricultural, environmental, urban,

business, fishing, and other interests

who have a stake in finding long term

solutions for the problems affecting the

Bay-Delta system has been chartered

under the Federal Advisory Committee

Act (FACA) as the BDAC to advise

CALFED on the program mission,

problems to be addressed, and

objectives for the CALFED Bay-Delta

Program. BDAC provides a forum to

help ensure pubic participation, and

will review reports and other materials

prepared by CALFED staff. BDAC has

established a subcommittee called the

Ecosystem Rountable to provide input

on annual work plans to implement

ecosystem restoration projects and

programs.

Minutes of the meetings will be

maintained by the CALFED Bay-Delta

Program, Suite 1155, 1416 Ninth Street,

Sacramento, CA 95814, and will be

available for public inspection during

regular business hours, Monday through

Friday within 30 days following the

meeting.

Dated: October 29, 1997.

Roger Patterson,

Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.

[FR Doc. 97–29112 Filed 11–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

Request for Determination of Valid

Existing Rights Within the

Monongahela National Forest

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of request for

determination of valid existing rights,

reopening and extension of the

comment period.

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is

in the process of determining whether

Mr. Walter D. Helmick has valid

existing rights (VER) to surface mine

coal on Federal lands within the

Monongahela National Forest in

Pocahontas County, West Virginia. By

this notice, OSM is reopening and

extending the comment period during

which interested persons may submit

relevant factual material on the matter.

DATES: OSM will accept written

materials on this request for a VER

determination until 5 p.m. local time on

November 12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Hand deliver or mail

written materials to: Peter R. Michael,

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement, Appalachian Regional

Coordinating Center, room 218, Three

Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15200.