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- Reclamation Releases Draft EA for Stanislaus Afterbay Dam Removal for Public Review and Comment
News Release Archive
Reclamation Releases Draft EA for Stanislaus Afterbay Dam Removal for Public Review and Comment
Media Contact:
Pete Lucero, 916 978-5100, plucero@usbr.gov
Melissa Vignau , 916 989-7182 , mvignau
For Release: July 01, 2011
The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) on demolishing and removing the Stanislaus Afterbay Dam on the upper arm of the Stanislaus River, approximately 12 miles east of Angels Camp, Calif., between Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties.
The dam is located on Reclamation land within the New Melones Lake Area and is part of the Spring Gap-Stanislaus Project, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) No. 2130, owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). The timber-faced, steel-buttress dam, built in 1962, is obsolete and no longer fulfills its intended function which was storing water for pumped-storage hydroelectric operations prior to the construction of New Melones Dam in 1982. The dam is submerged when flows in the Stanislaus River are greater than 800 cubic feet per second, and it has been damaged by accumulated debris, including logs and tree branches. Further, FERC, PG&E and Reclamation have determined that the dam poses a public safety hazard.
PG&E proposes to remove the dam in compliance with Article 302 of the Spring Gap-Stanislaus Project's operating license (FERC 2009) to enhance public safety and increase fish passage and public accessibility for recreation. PG&E is paying costs associated with dam removal and restoring the site to preconstruction conditions. Reclamation is the lead agency responsible for preparing the environmental documentation.
The Draft EA was developed under the National Environmental Policy Act and is available online. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please contact the Public Affairs Office at 916-978-5100 or mpPublicAffairs@usbr.gov.
Written comments on the Draft EA are due by close of business Monday, August 1, 2011, and should be sent to Melissa Vignau or Patti Clinton, Bureau of Reclamation, 7794 Folsom Dam Road, Folsom, CA 95630, or faxed to 916-989-7109, or e-mailed to mvignau@usbr.gov or pclinton@usbr.gov. For a copy of the document or for additional information, please contact Ms. Vignau at 916-989-7182 or Ms. Clinton at 916-989-7173.
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