Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 50103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23982]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Evaluating 
Water Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: To meet the requirements of the 1992 Central Valley Project 
Improvement Act (CVPIA) of 1992 and the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, 
the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and published the 
Criteria for Evaluating Water Conservation Plans, dated April 30, 1993. 
In September 1996, Reclamation revised the document and renamed it to 
Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Criteria).

    James Irrigation District has developed a water management plan 
which Reclamation has evaluated and preliminarily determined to meet 
the requirements of the Criteria.
    The 1996 Criteria were developed based on information provided 
during public scoping and public review sessions held throughout 
Reclamation's Mid-Pacific (MP) Region. Reclamation uses these Criteria 
to evaluate the adequacy of all water management plans developed by 
Central Valley Project contractors. The Criteria were developed and the 
plans have been evaluated for the purpose of promoting the most 
efficient water use reasonably achievable by all MP Region contractors. 
Reclamation made a commitment (stated within the Criteria) to publish a 
notice of its draft determination of the adequacy of each contractor's 
water management plan in the Federal Register to allow the public a 
minimum of 30 days to comment on its preliminary determinations.

DATES: All public comments must be received by October 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please mail comments to Lucille Billingsley, Bureau of 
Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-410, Sacramento CA 95825.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To be placed on a mailing list for any 
subsequent information, please contact Lucille Billingsley at the 
address above, or by telephone at (916) 978-5215 (TDD 978-5608).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under provision of Section 3405(e) of the 
CVPIA (Title 34 Public Law 102-575), ``The Secretary [of the Interior] 
shall establish and administer an office on Central Valley Project 
water conservation best management practices that shall * * * develop 
criteria for evaluating the adequacy of all water conservation plans 
developed by project contractors, including those plans required by 
section 210 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982.'' Also, according to 
Section 3405(e)(1), these criteria will be developed ``* * * with the 
purpose of promoting the highest level of water use efficiency 
reasonably achievable by project contractors using best available cost-
effective technology and best management practices''.

    The Criteria states that all parties (districts) that contract with 
Reclamation for water supplies (municipal and industrial contracts over 
2,000 irrigable acre-feet and agricultural contracts over 2,000 
irrigable acres) will prepare water management plans which will be 
evaluated by Reclamation based on the following required information 
detailed in the steps listed below to develop, implement, monitor, and 
update their water management plans. The steps are:
    1. Describe the district.
    2. Inventory water resources available to the District.
    3. Best Management Practices (BMP's) for Agricultural Contractors.
    4. BMP's for Urban Contractors.
    5. Exemption Process.
    Public comment on Reclamation's preliminary (i.e., draft) 
determinations of James Irrigation's water management plan is invited 
at this time. A copy of the plan will be available for review at 
Reclamation's MP Regional Office located in Sacramento, California, and 
MP's South-Central California Area Office located in Fresno, 
California. If you wish to review a copy of the plan, please contact 
Ms. Billingsley to find the office nearest you.

    Dated: August 30, 1999.
Robert F. Stackhouse,
Regional Resources Manager, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 99-23982 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]
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