News Release Archive

San Joaquin River Restoration Program: Final Environmental Document Available for the Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Channel Improvements Project

Media Contact: Shane Hunt, 916-978-5101, shunt@usbr.gov

For Release: July 08, 2016

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation and the California State Lands Commission today released a Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) on the Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Channel Improvements Project. Located in Madera and Fresno counties and a key component of the 2006 San Joaquin River Settlement, this project is a major step toward restoring flows and a self-sustaining Chinook salmon fishery to the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam to the confluence of the Merced River. The proposed action is authorized by the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act (Public Law 111-11).

The project consists of constructing, operating, and maintaining a floodplain which would be capable of conveying at least 4,500 cubic feet per second, the Mendota Pool Bypass, and a structure to deliver water to Mendota Pool. The project footprint extends from approximately 0.3 miles above the Chowchilla Bypass Bifurcation Structure to approximately one mile below the Mendota Dam near the town of Mendota, California.

The Final EIS/EIR assesses the potential environmental effects of the five alternatives being considered, including the no-action alternative. The preferred alternative for the project was identified through a consensus-based alternative development process with the local affected community. The Final EIS/EIR includes responses to all the public comments received on the Draft EIS/EIR that was released in June 2015 for a 60-day comment period.

The Final EIS/EIR was developed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act and is available at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=4032. If you encounter problems accessing the document, please call 916-978-5100 or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

To request the Final EIS/EIR Executive Summary or a CD copy of the Final EIS/EIR, please contact Becky Victorine at 916-978-4624 or rvictorine@usbr.gov or Christopher Huitt, California Lands Commission, at 916-574-2080 or chrisopher.huitt@slc.ca.gov..

Paper copies of the document are available for review at Reclamation’s South-Central California Area Office at 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721; Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Regional Office Library at 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825, 916-978-5593 (must call and make an appointment); the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Natural Resources Library at 1849 C Street NW, Main Interior Building, Washington, DC 20240-0001; California State Lands Commission Office, 100 Howe Ave., Suite 100 South, Sacramento, CA 95825; Los Banos Library, 1312 S 7th St., Los Banos, CA 93635; Fresno County Public Library - Mendota Branch, 1246 Belmont Ave., Mendota, CA 93640; and Fresno County Public Library - Firebaugh Branch, 1315 O St., Firebaugh, CA 93622.

To learn more about the SJRRP, please visit www.restoresjr.net.

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