Los Banos, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority have made available for public review and comment the joint Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR) for the Proposed 25-Year Extension of San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Transfer Program, 2014-2038 (Proposed Action). Reclamation and the Exchange Contractors are lead federal and state agencies, respectively, for the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act.

Water transfers under the Proposed Action would occur between the Exchange Contractors and Central Valley Project (CVP) and non-CVP water contractors and wildlife refuges largely within California’s San Joaquin Valley, but may also include water users south and east of the San Francisco Bay and east of Monterey Bay. The proposed new transfer program would provide for the transfer and/or exchange of up to 150,000 acre-feet of substitute water from the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority to several potential users over 25 years.

A public meeting to receive public and agency comments on the Draft EIS/EIR will be held: Los Banos - Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 5 to 7 p.m., Miller & Lux Building, 830 6th Street, First Floor.

The Draft EIS/EIR may be viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=9086. If you encounter problems accessing the documents online, please call 916-978-5100 or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

Comments on the Draft EIS/EIR may be submitted at the meeting or by close of business Tuesday, July 3, 2012, to Brad Hubbard, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, Room 2905, Sacramento, CA 95825 or by email to bhubbard@usbr.gov.

If special accommodations are required, please contact Mr. Hubbard at 916-978-5204 or email bhubbard@usbr.gov, by Friday, June 8, 2012.