The Bureau of Reclamation and the Western Municipal Water District (Western) announce that they will prepare a combined Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Riverside-Corona Feeder project to comply with both Federal and California requirements. A notice of intent is being published in the Federal Register.

The proposed project is a large capacity water pipeline associated with aquifer storage and recovery. Up to 20 new groundwater wells may be installed at the Bunker Hill groundwater basin in San Bernardino County. Existing recharge basins will be used to store imported water and local Santa Ana River flows in the Bunker Hill basin during wet years for delivery to communities in western Riverside County in dry years via a 28-mile pipeline ranging up to 78 inches in diameter, designed to deliver up to 40,000 acre-feet per year. Other components of the project may include groundwater treatment facilities and water storage and pumping facilities. The first phase of the pipeline will also provide access to groundwater from the Chino Basin in San Bernardino County.

Western certified an EIR in 2005 under California law and issued a notice of preparation for a supplemental EIR in July 2008 to evaluate a proposed change in the pipeline alignment. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 subsequently authorized the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the project.

A draft EIS/EIR is expected to be available for public review and comment in mid-June 2010. Copies can be downloaded from Reclamation's Southern California Area Office website, at: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/envdocs.html. The public and interested parties are invited to comment on the scope of the draft EIS/EIR and the proposed pipeline route alternatives. Comments should be mailed to Ms. Amy Campbell, Water Resources Planner, Bureau of Reclamation, Southern California Area Office, 27708 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 202, Temecula, CA 92590, or submitted by e-mail to her at: acampbell@usbr.gov.