Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District Voluntary Rotational Land Fallowing Project Initial Study/Negative Declaration
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2020080457
Lead Agency
Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District
Document Title
Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District Voluntary Rotational Land Fallowing Project Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Document Type
NEG - Negative Declaration
Received
Present Land Use
Various
Document Description
To comply with SGMA, a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) was developed for crucial groundwater basins in California. The Kern Groundwater Authority (KGA) is one of eleven (11) Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (GSAs) within the San Joaquin Valley. SWID is a member of the KGA. In 2015, SWID began implementation of the SWID Recharge Project to help achieve sustainable groundwater levels and avoid the corresponding adverse environmental and economic burden associated with groundwater declines, including increased use of power and energy resources as well as the potential for fallowing of agricultural lands in the District.
The main sustainability goal is to maintain an economically viable groundwater resource. One of the multi-pronged approaches is to provide a program to allow the fallowing of agricultural lands for the purpose of reducing water demands relying less on groundwater sources for agricultural irrigation. Long-term groundwater sustainability goals are to implement project and management actions to both increase water supplies and reduce demands within SWID’s management basin. Specific to the reduction in irrigation demand, SWID proposes a Voluntary Rotational Land Fallowing Program. The SWID Board of Directors would decide annually if there is a need to fallow land to reduce irrigation water demand and if there would be a sufficient budget available in the Program and Management Action portion of the SWID Management Area 2 (MA-2) budget to compensate the landowners for fallowing efforts.
Contact Information
Name
Ken Bonesteel
Agency Name
Provost & Pritchard
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Agency Name
Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Shafter, Wasco
Counties
Kern
Regions
Southern California
Cross Streets
multiple
Zip
93280
Total Acres
800
Parcel #
multiple
State Highways
I-5 and Hwy 99
Railways
none
Airports
Shafter Airport/Minter Field
Schools
none
Waterways
Poso Creek
Township
multip
Range
multip
Section
multip
Base
Mt. Diab
Other Location Info
T26S R24E, T27S R24E, T27S R25E, T28S R24E, T28S R25E, T28S R26E
Other Information
SWID is located in northwestern Kern County, northwest of Bakersfield, between Interstate 5 and Hwy 99. The northern portion of SWID is bisected by Hwy 46. Hwy 43 runs north-south through the District. The City of Wasco is located in the northern portion of the District. The City of Shafter is located in the southern portion of the District.
Notice of Completion
State Review Period Start
State Review Period End
State Reviewing Agencies
California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)
State Reviewing Agency Comments
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)
Development Types
Agriculture (Voluntary Rotational Land Fallowing Program)
Local Actions
Adoption
Project Issues
None
Attachments
Environmental Document
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