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- Informational Release: Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources Issue Decision Documents for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program; Agencies Select the Preferred Alternative
News Release Archive
Informational Release: Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources Issue Decision Documents for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program; Agencies Select the Preferred Alternative
Media Contact:
Pete Lucero, MP Region Public Affairs Officer, 916-978-5100, plucero@usbr.gov
For Release: October 04, 2012
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources have signed decision documents selecting the preferred alternative from the Final Program Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program for implementation.
The final environmental documents describe the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of implementing the Settlement in NRDC, et al., v. Kirk Rodgers, et al. that resolved more than 18 years of litigation related to Reclamation’s operation of Friant Dam and established the SJRRP.
Of the seven alternatives studied in the Final PEIS/R, Reclamation’s Record of Decision and DWR’s Notice of Determination select Alternative C1, the Preferred Alternative. This alternative includes the use of the river channel and bypass system to convey restoration flows and allows for recapture of these flows at existing facilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and in the San Joaquin River upstream of the Delta at existing facilities or at new facilities that may be constructed in the future. Alternative C1 provides the greatest flexibility in implementing the Settlement and the greatest opportunity to fulfill the purpose and need of the SJRRP.
Both the ROD and NOD are available on the SJRRP website at www.restoresjr.net. The ROD is also available on Reclamation’s website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=2940.
For additional information or to request a copy of the ROD, please contact Michelle Banonis, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-170, Sacramento, CA 95825-1898, 916-978-5457, TTY 916-978-5608, mbanonis@usbr.gov or at peisrcomments@restoresjr.net. To request a copy of the NOD and/or related CEQA documents, please contact Karen Dulik, DWR, at 559-230-3361 or kdulik@water.ca.gov.
The SJRRP is a comprehensive, long-term effort to restore flows to the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam to the confluence of the Merced River (153 miles), restoring a self-sustaining Chinook salmon fishery in the river while reducing or avoiding adverse water supply impacts from the release of restoration flows. The SJRRP is being implemented by Reclamation, DWR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.
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