Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 105 / Thursday, May 31, 2001 / Notices 29589

In the absence of any adverse

comments, the classification will

become effective 60 days from the date

of publication of this notice in the

Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Francis Rodriguez, Realty Specialist,

Yuma Field Office, 2555 E. Gila Ridge

Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365, telephone

(520) 317–3213.

Dated: May 16, 2001.

Maureen A. Merrell,

Assistant Field Manager, Business and Fiscal

Services/Acting Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 01–13589 Filed 5–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–32–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Renewal of the Grassland Bypass

Project, Fresno, Merced, and

Stanislaus Counties, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the final

environmental impact statement/

environmental impact report (Final EIS/

EIR).

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act and the

California Environmental Quality Act,

the Bureau of Reclamation

(Reclamation) and the San Luis and

Delta-Mendota Water Authority

(Authority) prepared a joint Final EIS/

EIR for the renewal of the Grassland

Bypass Project through 2009. Since

October 1996, the current Grassland

Bypass Project has significantly

improved the quality of water in more

than 93 miles of channels used to

deliver water to wetland habitat areas in

central California, while sustaining the

agricultural economy of the Grassland

Drainage Area. Action taken by

Reclamation would continue the Project

through December 2009. The Final EIS/

EIR addresses the potential

environmental impacts expected to

result from renewal of this Project and

two alternatives.

DATES: Reclamation will not make a

decision on the proposed action until 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: Copies of the Final EIS/EIR

may be requested from Mr. Michael

Delamore, Bureau of Reclamation, 1213

N Street, Fresno, California 93721;

telephone (559) 487–5039; e-mail:

mdelamore@mp.usbr.gov. The

Executive Summary for the Final EIS/

EIR will be posted on the Internet at

http://www.mp.usbr.gov. See the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for

locations where copies of the Final EIS/

EIR are available for public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Michael Delamore, at the address listed

above, or Mr. Joe McGahan, Regional

Drainage Coordinator, Summers

Engineering Inc., P.O. Box 1122,

Hanford, California 93232; telephone

(559) 582–9237; e-mail

jmcgahan@summerseng.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purposes of the Grassland Bypass

Project are to (1) continue separation of

unusable agricultural drainwater

discharged from the Grassland Drainage

Area from wetland water supply

conveyance channels for the period

2001–2009, and (2) facilitate drainage

management that maintains the viability

of agriculture in the Grassland Drainage

Area and promote continuous

improvement in water quality in the San

Joaquin River.

Under the Proposed Action, unusable

agricultural drainwater from about

98,000 acres of prime farmland would

continue to be separated from wetland

water supply channels and conveyed to

Mud Slough, a tributary of the San

Joaquin River. The monthly and annual

loads of selenium and other constituents

in this drainwater would be

progressively reduced to meet water

quality requirements in the river that

will become effective in 2005 and 2010.

The term of this Project will be October

1, 2001, through December 31, 2009.

In the Final EIS/EIR, the Proposed

Action is compared with two

alternatives: a No-Action Alternative,

and the Mud Slough Bypass Alternative

that would be the Grassland Bypass

Project plus the construction of a facility

that would convey drainwater directly

to the San Joaquin River. The latter

alternative would remove drainwater

from 6 additional miles of Mud Slough

and discharge it into the San Joaquin

River downstream of its confluence with

the Merced River.

Notice of the Draft EIS/EIR was

published in the Federal Register on

December 26, 2000 (65 FR 81545).

Public hearings were held on February

2, 6, and 7, 2001. The written comment

period ended February 27, 2001. The

Final EIS/EIR contains responses to all

comments received and changes made

to the text of the Draft EIS/EIR as a

result of those comments.

Copies of the Final EIS/EIR are

available for inspection at the following

locations:

• San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water

Authority, 800 6th Street, Los Banos,

California 93635; telephone: (209) 826–

9696

• Bureau of Reclamation, SouthCentral California Area Office, 1243 N

Street, Fresno, California 93721;

telephone (559) 487–5116

• Bureau of Reclamation, Public

Affairs Office, 2800 Cottage Way,

Sacramento, California 95825; telephone

(916) 978–5100

• Fresno County Public Library,

Government Publications, 2420

Mariposa Street, Fresno, California

93721; telephone (559) 488–3198

• Merced County Public Library, Los

Banos Branch, 1312 South 17th Street,

Los Banos, California 93635; telephone

(209) 826–5254

• University of California, Berkeley,

Water Resources Center Archives, 410

O’Brien Hall, Berkeley, California

94720; telephone (510) 642–2666

• Bureau of Reclamation, Office of

Policy, Room 7456, 1849 C Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20240; telephone: (202)

208–4662

• Natural Resources Library, U.S.

Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street

NW., Main Interior Building,

Washington, DC 20240–0001

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public

review. Individual respondents may

request that we withhold their home

address from public disclosure, which

we will honor to the extent allowable by

law. There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold a

respondent’s identity from public

disclosure, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. We will make all submissions

from organizations or businesses, and

from individuals identifying themselves

as representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public disclosure in their entirety.

Dated: May 24, 2001.

Kirk. C. Rodgers,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 01–13617 Filed 5–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P