Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Scoping Meeting for the Proposed 20-Year Extension of the 2005 Mendota Pool Exchange Agreements, California

摘要

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation proposes to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 20- year extension (March 1, 2015 through February 28, 2034) of the existing 2005 Mendota Pool 10-year Exchange Agreements. The Mendota Pool 10-year Exchange Agreements that are currently in place span the years 2005 to 2014, and an extension of the agreements is necessary for Mendota Pool Group farmers to continue this exchange after 2014. The proposed extension would allow Mendota Pool Group farmers in the Mendota Pool area to continue to pump up to 26,250 acre-feet per year of groundwater of suitable quality into the Mendota Pool for exchange of up to 25,000 acre-feet per year Central Valley Project water delivered to the San Luis Canal for use by Mendota Pool Group farmers in the San Luis Canal service area of San Luis Water District and Westlands Water District when the existing agreements expire.