[env-trinity] Time Extension Granted for CEQA Comments on Trinity Supplemental EIS/EIR

[Tom Stokely]

Please be aware that on May 18, 2004, the Trinity County Board of Supervisors voted favorably to a request by Friends of the Trinity River and others to extend the comment period under CEQA for the Trinity River Fishery Restoration Supplemental EIR by 30 days to July 22, 2004.  However, the NEPA comment period remains the same, June 22, 2004, so you still need to get those comments into the NEPA co-leads (Hoopa Valley Tribe, USFWS and USBR) before their deadline, unless they also agree to extend the comment period.

Tom Stokely, Principal Planner
Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources
530-628-5949

REVISED PUBLIC NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY:

Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for Trinity River Fishery Restoration 

 

The Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Hoopa Valley Tribe, as federal co-lead agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Trinity County, as state lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), have made available for public review and comment the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/EIR) for the Trinity River Fishery Restoration Program (Program).   The primary objective of the SEIS/EIR is to evaluate alternatives for the Program to meet Federal trust responsibilities for tribal fishery resources and restore the fisheries in the Trinity River basin to the level that existed prior to the construction of the Trinity River Division (TRD) of the CVP.  Secondary consideration is given to:  (a) meeting the Trinity Basin fishery and wildlife restoration goals of the Act of October 24, 1984, Public Law 98-541, and (b) achieving a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of Central Valley Project (CVP) water, including the requirements of fish and wildlife, agricultural, municipal and industrial, and power contractors.  

 

The proposed alternatives focus on the 40 miles of Trinity River below Lewiston Dam, in Trinity County, California.  The direct and indirect impacts of the alternatives occur within and outside the Trinity River Basin.  Anticipated impacts and benefits are generally discussed in the context of three geographic areas:  the Trinity River Basin, the Lower Klamath River Basin/Coastal Area, and the Central Valley.    

 

A final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Program was issued in November 2000, and a Record of Decision (ROD) executed on December 19, 2000, by former Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt.  The Trinity County Board of Supervisors, however, did not certify that document as a Final EIR.  In late 2000, Central Valley water and power interests filed suit in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of California seeking to enjoin implementation of the ROD.  On March 22, 2001, the district court issued a Memorandum Decision and Order preliminarily enjoining the Federal defendants from implementing certain flow related aspects of the ROD.  In its Memorandum Decision and Order the court found that the environmental effects of reasonable and prudent measures in the two biological opinions prepared with respect to the project, as well as the effects on power in light of the California energy crisis were not adequately analyzed in the EIS.  This Draft SEIS/EIR addresses the court's concerns and updates alternatives.

 

The purpose of the Draft SEIS/EIR has been amended, consistent with court orders.  The Draft SEIS/EIR updates information on alternatives described in the October 2000 EIS/EIR.  These alternatives include:  Existing Conditions, No Action, Mechanical Restoration (revised to address the court's concerns and using information submitted by plaintiffs), Percent Inflow (modified to address the court's concerns), Flow Evaluation and Maximum Flow.  An additional alternative is also evaluated:  a 70 Percent Inflow Alternative, based on comments documented in the October 2000 EIS/EIR.  Consistent with the October 2000 EIS/EIR, the Flow Evaluation Alternative remains the designated Preferred Alternative.  The flow evaluation alternative consists of the following components:

 

. Variable annual instream flows for the Trinity River from the TRD based on forecasted hydrology for the Trinity River Basin as of April 1st of each year, ranging from 369,000 acre-feet (af) in critically dry years to 815,000 AF in extremely wet years;

 

. Physical channel rehabilitation, including the removal of riparian berms and the establishment of side channel habitat;

 

. Sediment management, including the supplementation of spawning gravels below the TRD and reduction in fine sediments that degrade fish habitats;

 

. Watershed restoration efforts, addressing negative impacts which have resulted from land use practices in the Basin; and

 

. Infrastructure improvements or modifications, including rebuilding or fortifying bridges and addressing other structures affected by the peak instream flows..

 

The alternative also includes an Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management (AEAM) Program. The AEAM Program, guided by a Trinity Management Council (TMC) and advised by the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) established as part of this decision and by sound scientific principles, will ensure the proper implementation of these measures, conduct appropriate scientific monitoring and evaluation efforts, and recommend possible adjustments to the annual flow schedule within the designated flow volumes provided for in this ROD or other measures in order to ensure that the restoration and maintenance of the Trinity River anadromous fishery continues based on the best available scientific information and analysis.

 

Significant effects of the proposed project on the environment pursuant to CEQA include water quality, endangered species, energy, recreation, agriculture, water supply, groundwater, fisheries and land use.
 

Pursuant to NEPA, a 60-day public review period has been established for review of the SEIS/EIR. This review period began on April 23, 2004, and will end on June 22, 2004.  A 75-day public review period has been established pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.  This review period began on May 9, 2004, and will end on July 22, 2004.    Electronic copies of the SEIS/EIR are available for public review on the Bureau of Reclamation's Mid-Pacific website for the Northern California Area Office at www.usbr.gov/mp/ncao (click on Projects/Activities/Documents, then on Trinity River - Restoration Program).  Hard copies of the document are available for review at the Trinity County Planning Department at 190 Glen Road in Weaverville and 98A Clinic Ave in Hayfork, and at Trinity County Libraries in Hayfork, Weaverville, and Trinity Center.  Electronic CD copies of the SEIS/EIR may be obtained at by contacting the Trinity County Planning Department and free of charge (subject to availability).  The documents referenced within the SEIS/EIR are also available for public review at the CH2M Hill office located at 2525 Airpark Drive, Redding, California.

 

Three public hearings have been scheduled to receive oral or written comments regarding the project's environmental effects:

 

Thursday, June 1, 2004, 4:30 - 7:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 1900 Hilltop Drive, Redding, CA

Tuesday, June 3, 2004, 4:30 - 7:30: p.m., Hoopa Fire Department, Highway 96, Hoopa, CA

Tuesday, June 10, 2004, at 7 p.m. or soon thereafter, at the Trinity County Planning Commission, Trinity County Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, Trinity County Library, 211 Main Street, Weaverville, CA

Written comments are encouraged.  Written comments on the Draft SEIS/EIR should be sent no later than June 22, 2004 to Mr. Russell Smith, Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 723, Shasta, CA 96087; telephone:  530-275-1554; fax 530-275-2441.   Written comments submitted after June 22, 2004 pursuant to CEQA should be sent to Mr. Tom Stokely, Trinity County Natural Resources, P.O. Box 156, Hayfork, CA 96041-0156; telephone 530-628-5949; fax 530-628-5800.

 

NOTE:  If you Challenge the action or proposed action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised through the public hearings and public comment period described in this notice, or in written correspondence.  
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