News Release Archive

Reclamation Seeks Public Comment on Draft Drainage Agreement Between United States and Northerly Districts

Media Contact: Shane Hunt, 916-978-5100, shunt@usbr.gov

For Release: July 08, 2016

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation announces the availability of a draft agreement between the United States and the Pacheco Water District, Panoche Water District, and San Luis Water District (collectively referred to as the Northerly Districts) concerning the collection and management of subsurface agricultural drainage water.

The draft agreement, if finalized and enacted into law, would relieve Reclamation from all drainage obligations imposed by the San Luis Act of 1960, including implementation of Reclamation’s 2007 Record of Decision for the San Luis Drainage Feature Re-evaluation, within the Northerly Districts. The Northerly Districts, working with the Panoche Drainage District, would assume responsibility for drainage management within their service areas. This shift in responsibility would constitute a substantial savings to the U.S. as the current estimate to provide drainage service within the Northerly Districts is $558 million in April 2015 dollars. It also establishes a framework to resolve outstanding litigation related to Reclamation’s obligation to provide drainage service to the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project and would result in indemnification of the U.S. for any and all claims relating to the provision of drainage service or lack thereof within the Northerly Districts’ service areas.

The Districts have been successfully treating drainage through a combination of actions including the implementation of the Westside Regional Drainage Plan, the San Joaquin River Water Quality Improvement Project, and the Grasslands Bypass Project. The draft agreement envisions continuation of these actions, with the exception of the Grasslands Bypass Project which is scheduled to end in 2019, and provides for relief of remaining CVP construction debt, water contract modifications, $70 million in funding over seven years, and transfer of title to certain facilities to offset a portion of the expected costs of the Districts taking on the drainage obligation and indemnifying the U.S.

To be open and transparent and solicit the public’s input on this important step forward to resolving Reclamation’s drainage obligations, the draft agreement is available for public review and comment on Reclamation’s website at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/wds.html. If you encounter problems accessing the agreement online, please contact the Public Affairs Office at 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

Comments are due by close of business, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Please mail or deliver comments to Northerly Districts Agreement, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-170, Sacramento, CA 95825. For additional information, please contact Alicia Forsythe at 916-978-5464 or aforsythe@usbr.gov.

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