News Release Archive

Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord Draft EIR/EIS Released for Public Review and Comment

Media Contact: , , 06/25/2007 19:18

For Release: June 25, 2007

The Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord is available beginning June 26, 2007, for a 60-day public review and comment period ending on August 24, 2007.  The Draft EIR/EIS was developed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by the Bureau of Reclamation, Yuba County Water Agency (YCWA), and California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

The purpose of the Lower Yuba River Accord is to resolve instream flow issues associated with the operation of the Yuba River Development Project in a way that protects and enhances lower Yuba River fisheries and local water-supply reliability, while providing revenues for local flood control and water supply projects, water for the CALFED Program to use for protection and restoration of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fisheries, and improvements in State-wide water supply management, including supplemental water for the Federal Central Valley Project and California's State Water Project.  The only identified potentially significant impact for the project is related to energy consumption.  Increases in average annual energy consumption would occur due to increases in ground-water pumping within the Yuba basin.

The Draft EIR/EIS is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=2549.  For a DVD of the document, please contact Ms. Dianne Simodynes at 916-569-1000 or Dianne.Simodynes@hdrinc.com.  Should you encounter problems accessing the document online, please contact Ms. Lynnette Wirth at 916-978-5102 or lwirth@mp.usbr.gov. 

The Draft EIR/EIS may also be viewed at:

Reclamation's Mid-Pacific
Regional Office Library
Yuba County Water Agency
Department of Water Resources

2800 Cottage Way
Sacramento, CA
Map

1220 F Street
Marysville, CA
Map
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA
Map
Sacramento Central Library
Yuba County Library
828 I Street
Sacramento, CA
Map
303 2nd Street
Marysville, CA
Map

Please send comments on the Draft EIR/EIS by close of business Friday, August 24, 2007, to Ms. Dianne Simodynes, HDR|SWRI, 1610 Arden Way, Suite 175, Sacramento, CA 95815, fax 916-569-1001, or Dianne.Simodynes@hdrinc.com.  

As part of the NEPA/CEQA process, two public hearings will give individuals an opportunity to provide verbal or written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS.  The hearings are scheduled from 2-3 p.m. and then again from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at the new YCWA office, 1220 F Street, Marysville, CA. 

For additional information on the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord Draft EIR/EIS, please contact Mr. Curt Aikens, YCWA, at 530-741-6278 or caikens@ycwa.com or Ms. Tamara LaFramboise, Reclamation, at 916-978-5269 or tlaframboise@mp.usbr.gov.

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Relevant Link:

Draft EIR/EIS