Notice2022-27083
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the McGriff Lakes-Sutter Basin Watershed Flood Control and Flood Safety Project Sutter County, California
Primary source
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Published
December 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentNatural Resources Conservation Service
Abstract
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) California State Office announces its intent to prepare an EIS for the McGriff Lakes--Sutter Basin Watershed Flood Control and Flood Safety Project, which is located approximately 30 miles northwest of Sacramento in the proximity of Knights Landing, California. NRCS is requesting comments to identify significant issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS from all interested individuals, Tribes, and Federal, State and local Agencies and jurisdictions. The EIS process will examine alternative solutions to modernize the existing Karnak Drainage Facility, portions of which are over 100 years old, to continue to provide reliable flood protection for the Reclamation District No. 1500 (RD 1500) service area. The Reclamation District service area includes over 60,000 acres of agricultural farmland, the community of Robbins and surrounding rural areas, and California State Route 113, a designated emergency route through the watershed. The primary purpose for this watershed plan is to provide reliable and long-term flood prevention and damage reduction to the RD 1500 service area and improve public safety and emergency access. Although the existing Karnak Drainage Facility has been well maintained, the required repairs for the pump stations are becoming more costly while the reliability of the facility is decreasing because parts needed for repair and continued operation are no longer available and must be custom fabricated. The aging infrastructure and lack of parts availability puts all land within the RD1500 service area at risk in the event of a significant rainfall event. Without adequate and reliable flood control, millions of dollars in agricultural products would be at risk, the designated emergency route would be in jeopardy of flood closures, and substantial property damage and potential loss of life are possible in the community of Robbins and surrounding areas.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 239 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76456-76458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27083]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Natural Resources Conservation Service
[Docket No. NRCS-2022-0017]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the McGriff Lakes--Sutter Basin Watershed Flood Control and Flood
Safety Project Sutter County, California
AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) California
State Office announces its intent to prepare an EIS for the McGriff
Lakes--Sutter Basin Watershed Flood Control and Flood Safety Project,
which is located approximately 30 miles northwest of Sacramento in the
proximity of Knights Landing, California. NRCS is requesting comments
to identify significant issues and alternatives to be addressed in the
EIS from all interested individuals, Tribes, and Federal, State and
local Agencies and jurisdictions. The EIS process will examine
alternative solutions to modernize the existing Karnak Drainage
Facility, portions of which are over 100 years old, to continue to
provide reliable flood protection for the Reclamation District No. 1500
(RD 1500) service area. The Reclamation District service area includes
over 60,000 acres of agricultural farmland, the community of Robbins
and surrounding rural areas, and California State Route 113, a
designated emergency route through the watershed. The primary purpose
for this watershed plan is to provide reliable and long-term flood
prevention and damage reduction to the RD 1500 service area and improve
public safety and emergency access. Although the existing Karnak
Drainage Facility has been well maintained, the required repairs for
the pump stations are becoming more costly while the reliability of the
facility is decreasing because parts needed for repair and continued
operation are no longer available and must be custom fabricated. The
aging infrastructure and lack of parts availability puts all land
within the RD1500 service area at risk in the event of a significant
rainfall event. Without adequate and reliable flood control, millions
of dollars in agricultural products would be at risk, the designated
emergency route would be in jeopardy of flood closures, and substantial
property damage and potential loss of life are possible in the
community of Robbins and surrounding areas.
DATES: We will consider comments that we receive within 30 days after
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Comments
received after 30 days will be considered to the extent possible.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments in response to this notice.
You may submit your comments through one of the methods below:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for docket ID NRCS-2022-0017. Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments; or
<bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: Mr. Roger Cornwell, RD 1500 General
Manager, PO Box 96, Robbins, CA 95676; or
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c0a3afadada5aeb4b39284f1f5f0f080a7ada1a9aceea3afad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f1929e9c9c949f8582a3b5c0c4c1c1b1969c90989ddf929e9c">[email protected]</span></a>.
For written comments, specify the docket ID NRCS-2022-0017. All
comments received will be posted without change and made publicly
available on <a href="http://www.regulation.gov">www.regulation.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ernesto A. De La Riva, telephone:
(530) 792-5680; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbfec9d5dec8cfd495dfded7dac9d2cddafbcec8dfda95dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5510273b3026213a7b31303934273c233415202631347b323a23">[email protected]</span></a>. In addition, for
questions related to submitting comments via RD 1500 General Manager:
Mr. Roger Cornwell at (530) 738-4423, Fax (530) 738-4327,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#54373b3939313a2027061065616464143339353d387a373b39"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="53303c3e3e363d272001176266636313343e323a3f7d303c3e">[email protected]</span></a>, or the project website at: <a href="https://sutterbasinwater.com/flood-control-flood-safety-rehabilitation-project/">https://sutterbasinwater.com/flood-control-flood-safety-rehabilitation-project/</a>. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need
The watershed project would be implemented as flood protection, as
authorized under sections 3 and 4 of Public Law 83-566. The primary
purpose for this watershed plan is to provide reliable and long-term
flood prevention and damage reduction to the RD 1500 service area and
improve public safety and emergency access. Watershed planning was
authorized under Public Law 83-566, the Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention Act of 1954, as amended, and Public Law 78-534, the Flood
Control Act of 1944.
RD 1500, one of the largest reclamation districts in California,
was created by special act of the State Legislature in 1913. It
provides drainage and flood control to an area of approximately 67,850
acres within its service area, including protecting the community of
Robbins and surrounding rural residential property from flood damage,
protecting over 60,000 acres of rural farmland from flooding, and
providing flood protection of SR 113 and other local emergency response
roadways. The project will address issues at the Karnak Drainage
Facility which was originally built in 1914 with two additional
facilities added in 1929 and 1952. These facilities have continued to
protect the RD1500 for over 100 years. However, they are all past their
useful service life. While RD1500 has continued to maintain these
facilities, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain parts and
keep the facilities functional during storm events.
The Karnak Drainage Facilities provided flood protection for 70
Year-Level storm events from January to March of 2017, which were the
second highest precipitation events in the last 144 years record in the
northern California area. Uncharacteristically of the facilities, all
pumping stations were operational at the time. The Karnak Drainage
Facility was able to provide flood reduction to approximately 31,200
acres of prime farmland within the Sutter Basin and the community of
Robbins would have been under 5 to 6 feet of water, completely cutting
off access to SR 113, which at the time was being use by residence of
Oroville, California as an evacuation route from the Orville Dam crisis
of February 2017.
To meet the purpose of continuing flood protection for the Sutter
Basin, modernization of the existing Karnak Facilities will be
necessary. A Preliminary Investigative Report (PIR), completed by
RD1500 in 2021, investigated and studied possible solutions to address
flood protection in the Sutter Basin. As a result of the new
information obtained during an EA process, the level of analysis this
watershed project needs is more extensive than anticipated during
scoping in 2021. Estimated Federal funds required for the construction
of the proposed action may exceed $25
[[Page 76457]]
million and the proposed action will therefore require congressional
approval per the 2018 Agriculture Appropriations Act amended funding
threshold. In accordance with 7 CFR 650.7(a)(2), an EIS is required for
projects requiring congressional approval.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives, Including No Action
The objective of the EIS is to formulate and evaluate alternatives
for flood prevention in the RD 1500 service area. Three Action
Alternatives are expected to be evaluated in the EIS, given their
anticipated viability of meeting the purpose and need of the Watershed
Project.
-- Proposed Action Alternative--Modernization. This alternative
would evaluate rehabilitating the existing antiquated Karnak Facility
by modernizing and repairing the facilities. The proposed action is to
demolish two facilities on the west side of the levee and build a new
facility. The district will install temporary cofferdams on the west
side to remove these facilities and gain access to the existing
outlets. The existing outlets will be reused to prevent need of
disturbing the levee. A new facility will be built on the west side to
replace the 1929 and 1952 facilities. The 1914 facility will remain and
be rehabilitated with new systems/pumps. The existing outlet structures
will be reused and relined at all three existing discharge culvert
locations. This significantly reduces the environmental impacts from
this project. Temporary cofferdams may need to be installed on the east
side of the levee next to the East Canal depending on water level. This
may be necessary to safely finish the installation of the liners and a
fish barrier. No equipment will be driven into the East Canal and no
permanent impacts will take place to habitat on the East Canal. Fill
will be about 1,500 cubic yards on the west side for the new facility,
but it will not change the existing footprint in the watercourse. This
alternative will provide continued flood protection within the Sutter
Basin and continually allow access to SR 113 for public emergencies.
--Flood Plain Restoration Alternative--Alternative 2. This
alternative, a nonstructural alternative, would include purchasing land
to restore the floodplain. This would include removing the town of
Robbins and removing approximately 31,200 acres of prime farmland
within the Sutter Basin. This alternative would not allow the continual
use of SR 113 during emergencies.
--No Action. Taking no action alternative would consist of Karnak
Drainage Facility continuing its current operations while the facility
continually degrades until it becomes impossible to keep the facility
operational during active storm events. The No Action Alternative is
not expected to meet the project's purpose and need.
Summary of Expected Impacts
Initial cost estimates of the proposed actions have determined that
the Federal contribution to construction will exceed $25 million,
requiring congressional approval. Per 7 CFR 650.7, an EIS is required
when projects require congressional action. The NRCS California State
Conservationist, has determined that the preparation of an EIS is
required for this watershed project. This EIS will be prepared as
required by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA); the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508); and NRCS regulations that implement NEPA in 7 CFR
part 650.
Resource concerns for scoping were identified and categorized as
relevant or not relevant to the proposed Project action. RD 1500 and
NRCS evaluated the current Karnak Drainage Facility infrastructure
along with relevant resource concerns for each proposed solution.
Environmental resources in the project area consist of the natural and
man-made environment. Resource concerns to be identified and addressed
in the Watershed Plan-EIS include Cultural and Historic Resources; Land
Resources/Prime Farmland; Geology and Soils; Public Safety;
Socioeconomics/Environmental Justice; Water Resources; Vegetation/
Invasive and Non-native Plant Species; Wetlands and Riparian Areas;
Fish and Wildlife/Fish Habitat; and Special Status Species/Migratory
Bird Treaty Act Species.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
The following permits and authorizations are anticipated to be
required:
<bullet> Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 Permit: Proposed Action may
require permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
<bullet> CWA Section 401 Permit: Project will require water quality
certification
<bullet> CWA Section 402 Permit: Project may require National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System Permit
<bullet> Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB): A local dam
safety and flood plain permit may be required
<bullet> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ESA Section 7 Consultation
<bullet> National Marine Fisheries Service ESA Section 7 Consultation
<bullet> National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) section 106
Consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Tribal
Historic Preservation Office (THPO), and Tribes
<bullet> County--Permit: Implementation of the proposed Federal action
may require permit from Sutter County
Schedule of Decision-Making Process
A Draft EIS (DEIS) will be prepared and circulated for review and
comment by agencies, Tribes, consulting parties, and the public for 45
days per 40 CFR 1503.1, 1502.20, 1506.11, and 1502.17, and 7 CFR
650.13. The DEIS is anticipated to be published in the Federal Register
in 2023, approximately 6 months after publication of this NOI. A Final
EIS is anticipated to be published within 6 months of completion of the
public comment period for the DEIS. NRCS invites agencies and
individuals who have special expertise, legal jurisdiction, or interest
in the McGriff lakes--Sutter Basin Watershed to participate and
identify potential alternatives. The responsible Federal official and
decision maker for the NRCS is the California NRCS State
Conservationist.
Public Scoping Process
A public scoping meeting was held on March 30, 2021. Comments
received, including the names and addresses of those who comment, will
be part of the public record. Scoping meeting presentation materials
are available on the project website: <a href="https://sutterbasinwater.com/flood-control-flood-safety-rehabilitation-project/">https://sutterbasinwater.com/flood-control-flood-safety-rehabilitation-project/</a>. The date, time, and
location for a second meeting will be announced on the project website.
Federal, State, Tribal, local agencies and representatives, and the
public were invited to take part in this watershed plan scoping period.
One public scoping meeting sought input on issues of economic,
environmental, cultural, and social importance in the watershed. RD
1500 and NRCS organized the public scoping meeting to provide an
opportunity to review and evaluate the Project alternatives, express
concern or support, and gain further information regarding the Project.
To determine the most viable alternatives to carry forward to the EIS,
RD 1500 used input obtained during public scoping discussions to focus
on relevant resource concerns and issues and eliminated those that were
not relevant from further detailed study.
[[Page 76458]]
Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and Analyses
NRCS invites agencies, Tribes, consulting parties, and individuals
who have special expertise, legal jurisdiction, or interest in the
Watershed Project to provide comments concerning the scope of the
analysis and identification of potential alternatives, information, and
analyses relevant to the Proposed Action.
NRCS will coordinate the scoping process to correspond with any
required NHPA processes, as allowed in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3) and 800.8 (54
U.S.C. 306108). The information about historic and cultural resources
within the area potentially affected by the proposed project will
assist NRCS in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in
the context of both NEPA and NHPA.
NRCS will consult with Native American tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with 36 CFR 800.2 and 800.3, Executive
Order 13175, and other policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on
Indian trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources and
historic properties, will be given due consideration.
Authorities
This document is published pursuant to the NEPA regulations
regarding publication of a notice of intent to issue an environmental
impact statement (40 CFR 1501.9(d)). Watershed planning is authorized
under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, as
amended, (Pub. L. 83-566) and the Flood Control Act of 1944 (Pub. L.
78-534).
Federal Assistance Programs
The title and number of the Federal assistance program as found in
the Assistance Listing (formerly referred to as the Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance) to which this document applies is 10.904 Watershed
Protection and Flood Prevention.
Executive Order 12372
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs,'' requires consultation with State and local officials that
would be directly affected by proposed Federal financial assistance.
The objectives of the Executive order are to foster an
intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened federalism, by relying
on State and local processes for State and local government
coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and
direct Federal development. This program is subject to the provisions
of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation
with State and local officials.
USDA Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights
regulations and policies, USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees,
and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are
prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental
status, income derived from a public assistance program, political
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases
apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by
program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication for program information (for example, braille, large
print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the
responsible Agency or USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in
languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at:
<a href="https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint">https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint</a> and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA
and provide in the letter all the information requested in the form. To
request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632 9992. Submit your
completed form or letter to USDA by mail to: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aee1efedeedbddcacf80c9c1d8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f9b6b8bab98c8a9d98d79e968f">[email protected]</span></a>.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Carlos Suarez Oliva,
California State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-27083 Filed 12-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P
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