News Release Archive

Final EIR/EIS Released for the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord

Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken, 916-978-5100, 12/11/2007 17:34

For Release: December 11, 2007

The Bureau of Reclamation, Yuba County Water Agency (YCWA), and California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announce the release of the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (FEIR/FEIS) for the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord.  The document was developed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

The Draft EIR/EIS was released to the public on June 26, 2007, for a 60-day public review and comment period.  Two public hearings were held August 1, 2007, at the YCWA office in Marysville, CA.  The FEIR/FEIS includes comments received during the 60-day public review of the Draft EIR/EIS and provides Reclamation, YCWA, and DWR's responses to those comments.  The FEIR/FEIS is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=2549.  For a CD of the document, please contact
Ms. Dianne Simodynes at 916-569-1000 or Dianne.Simodynes@hdrinc.com. 

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.  The Project provides:  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 associated with the conjunctive use of water resources under the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord.

For NEPA purposes, a Record of Decision (ROD) will be signed no sooner than 30 days after the Notice of Availability of the FEIR/FEIS is published in the federal register.  The ROD will identify the recommended actions to be implemented, including any measures found necessary to avoid, reduce, or mitigate any significant adverse project effects.

For additional information on the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord, please contact Mr. Curt Aikens, YCWA, at
530-741-6278 or caikens@ycwa.com or Mr. Tim Rust, Reclamation, at 916-978-5516 or trust@mp.usbr.gov.

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Relevant Link:

The Draft EIR/EIS