News Release Archive

Reclamation Releases Draft Environmental Documents for Arroyo Canal Fish Screen and Sack Dam Fish Passage Project

Media Contact: Pete Lucero, 916 978 5100, plucero@usbr.gov

For Release: June 01, 2012

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Bureau of Reclamation and the Henry Miller Reclamation District No. 2131 today jointly released for public review draft environmental documents for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program’s Arroyo Canal Fish Screen and Sack Dam Fish Passage Project.

The project includes installation of a fish screen on the Arroyo Canal to prevent entrainment of juvenile Chinook salmon in the canal and modifications to Sack Dam to allow for fish passage around the structure. The proposed action, required under a 2006 Stipulation of Settlement, is in Fresno and Madera counties, about seven miles southeast of Dos Palos, California. Sack Dam is on the San Joaquin River in the western region of the San Joaquin Valley, just north of the Arroyo Canal. Henry Miller Reclamation District No. 2131 (HMRD) owns the facilities and operates them for the San Luis Canal Company.

The Draft Environmental Assessment/Initial Study (EA/IS) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact/Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (FONSI/MND) for the proposed action were prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and are available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=9797. HMRD is the lead agency under CEQA and Reclamation is the lead agency under NEPA. If you encounter problems accessing the documents online, please call 916-978-5100 or e-mail mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

Please send written comments to Michelle Banonis, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-170, Sacramento, CA, 95825, by 5 p.m. Monday, July 2, 2012. Comments may also be faxed to 916-978-5469 or e-mailed to mbanonis@usbr.gov. For additional information or to request a copy of the Draft EA/IS and Draft FONSI/MND, please contact Margaret Gidding at 916-978-5461 (TTY 800-735-2922) or mgidding@usbr.gov. For more information about the SJRRP, visit www.restoresjr.net.

# # #

The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.