TO: Interested Agencies and Individuals

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF A DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT

A joint Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/EIR) is being prepared by the San Joaquin River Group Authority (SJRGA) and the

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). SJRGA will be the Lead Agency for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Reclamation will be the Lead Agency for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This environmental document is supplemental to the Final EIS/EIR entitled Meeting Flow Objectives for the San Joaquin River Agreement 1999-2010 prepared on January 28, 2023 by the SJRGA and Reclamation (SCH# 98092062).

We need to know the views of interested persons as to the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the SEIS/EIR. Agencies should comment on the scope and content of the environmental information that is germane to the agencies’ statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed project.

The project description, location, and the major areas of environmental concern to be addressed in the SEIS/EIR are described in attached materials.

Due to the time limits mandated by State law, your response must be sent at the earliest possible date, but not later than 30 days after receipt of this notice, September 8, 2000. Please send your response to Dan Fults of the San Joaquin River Group Authority at the address shown below. We will need the name for a contact person in your agency.

PROJECT TITLE: ACQUISTION OF ADDITIONAL WATER FOR MEETING THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER AGREEMENT FLOW OBJECTIVES, 2001-2010

DATE: August 8, 2023 BY:

Dan Fults

San Joaquin River Group Authority

400 Capitol Mall, Suite 900

Sacramento, California 95814

PHONE: (916) 449-3957

FAX: (916)449-8277

NOTICE OF PREPARATION

Project Description

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to purchase up to 50,000 acre-feet of water annually during the 2001 through 2010 water years from the San Joaquin River Group Authority (SJRGA) and its members to meet a 31-day spring pulse flow target in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis. The spring pulse flow target in a given water year is dependent on hydrological conditions and is established by Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP) flow objectives within the San Joaquin River Agreement (SJRA). When supplemental flows required to meet the spring pulse flow target exceed 110,000 acre-feet, Reclamation may purchase up to an additional 50,000 acre-feet (i.e., above 110,000 acre-feet) to supplement the spring pulse flows. The additional pulse flows would enter as releases from water purveyors into the Tuolumne and/or Merced Rivers.

Project Location

The project location includes the Tuolumne, Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin Rivers and related reservoirs and water districts in the counties of Tuolumne, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Madera, Fresno, Mariposa and Calaveras (Figure 1).

Project Sponsors

San Joaquin River Group Authority U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

400 Capitol Mall, Suite 900 2800 Cottage Way, MP-410

Sacramento, CA. 95814 Sacramento, CA 95825-1898

Contact: Dan Fults Contact: John Burke

(916) 449-3957 (916) 978-5556 -8277 Fax -5290 Fax

Background and Project Information

The San Joaquin River Agreement (SJRA) was established to provide a level of protection equivalent to the San Joaquin River flow objectives contained in the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) 1995 Water Quality Control Plan for the lower San Joaquin River and San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary (Delta). A key part of the SJRA is the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP) which is a scientifically based adaptive fishery management plan to help determine the relationships between flows, exports, and other factors on fish survival in this region of the Delta. The VAMP is designed to protect juvenile Chinook salmon smolts migrating from the San Joaquin River through the Delta. It is being implemented through experimental flows on the San Joaquin River and export pumping flow rates with a fish barrier at the head of Old River during a 31-day period of approximately April 15 to May 15, in the spring of each year. The experimental design of the VAMP is based on factors that affect smolt survival and passage through the Delta. The VAMP will help implement elements of the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program (AFRP) established by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA).

The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted pertinent provisions of the SJRA on December 29, 2022 and issued its Revised Water Right Decision 1641 (D-1641) containing these provisions on March 15, 2000. D-1641 approved implementation of the VAMP through December 31, 2011.

A joint Final EIS/EIR was prepared in January 1999 by the San Joaquin River Group Authority (SJRGA) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to meet CEQA and NEPA requirements to address environmental impacts associated with acquiring water to meet the flow objectives in the SJRA. This document addressed the need for up to 110,000 acre-feet to meet a 31-day spring pulse flow target in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis. The SJRA allows for willing sellers among the SJRGA to sell Reclamation additional water when the spring pulse flow target exceeds 110,000 acre-feet. The EIS/EIR prepared for the SJRA acknowledged the need for this additional water from willing sellers in some water years but did not address the environmental impacts associated with acquiring this supplemental water. Rather, the EIS/EIR identified the need for additional NEPA/CEQA documentation to address any water acquisitions beyond the 110,000 acre-feet for spring pulse flows.

The need for additional environmental documentation occurred in the 1999 water year when the spring pulse flow target exceeded 110,000 acre-feet. To address this need a draft Environmental Assessment/Initial Study was prepared to evaluate the impact of acquiring an additional 47,000 acre-feet from the SJRGA for a total spring pulse flow of 157,000 acre-feet. On May 7, 1999, Reclamation approved a Finding of No Significant Impact (NEPA) and on May 10, 1999, the SJRGA approved a Negative Declaration (CEQA). Under this environmental documentation, approximately 37,500 acre-feet of additional water was acquired for use in the latter part of the spring pulse flow.

A joint SEIS/EIR is being prepared for the current project to provide environmental documentation for water acquisitions of up to 50,000 acre-feet of water annually during the 2001 through 2010 water years to meet a spring pulse flow target in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis. The purpose of this SEIS/EIR is to update and supplement analyses presented in the 1999 Final EIS/EIR pertinent to the proposed project.

Supplemental EIS/EIR Focus

The Draft SEIS/EIR analysis will include a detailed hydrologic analysis and will focus on potential impacts involving the following resources: Surface Water, Groundwater, Vegetation and Wildlife Resources, Fishery Resources, Land Use, Recreation, Energy Resources, and Cultural Resources. Also, the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR will address the following issues: potential sources of water supply (e.g., carryover storage, groundwater, conservation/tailwater recovery), alternative releases on the tributaries (Tuolumne and Merced rivers), effects on exports/water supply, estimated water quality at Vernalis, potential effects on anadromous fish including steelhead, and cumulative impacts.