Coachella Valley Water District Colorado River Water Conservation Program 2022
Summary
SCH Number
2022070076
Public Agency
Coachella Valley Water District
(CVWD)
Document Title
Coachella Valley Water District Colorado River Water Conservation Program 2022
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/6/2022
Document Description
The proposed action consists of CVWD implementing a fallowing program under which CVWD will enter into agreements with participating growers within the CVWD Colorado River Water irrigation service area which is located in the eastern Coachella Valley, Southeastern Riverside County. The program will compensate the participating growers in consideration for water that is conserved by the following agricultural farmland with a history of irrigation. The water conserved will not be consumptively used by CVWD or other Colorado River contractors and will instead be made available by forbearance to assist in the management of reservoir levels in the Colorado River in the Lower Basin during the current drought conditions. The program is intended to operate temporarily, conserving up to 10,000 Acre feet per year (AFY) in 2022 and 2023. CVWD on average provides approximately 245,000 AFY of Colorado River Water for agricultural irrigation. The program is not a long-term program intended to permanently change agricultural land use designations. The program is anticipated to begin in October 2022 and end in December 2023, but may be extended if drought conditions persist. A participating grower will be responsible for any required weed control and dust control on the fallowed land and will agree not to change land maintenance and crop cultivation practices on other lands within CVWD so as to result in increased consumptive use of water on those lands. Participants in the program will be prohibited from shifting water use to pumped groundwater while in the following program.
Contact Information
Name
William Patterson
Agency Name
Coachella Valley Water District
Job Title
Environmental Supervisor
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
CVWD Service Area
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Unincorporated
Other Location Info
CVWD Service Area and Riverside County
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15301
Reasons for Exemption
This program will not result in an expansion of the use of CVWD’s existing irrigation distribution system or its irrigation drainage system. Accordingly, since the proposed program involves the operation and implementation of CVWD’s existing irrigation distribution facilities and irrigation drainage system facilities with no or negligible expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination, these actions qualify for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption (State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301).
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15277
Reasons for Exemption
Environmental impacts expected from the implementation of the 2007 Interim Guidelines For Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead (Guidelines) were analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (refer to the following link (http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/programs/strategies/FEIS/index.html). The proposed action of using conserved water from the proposed Conservation Program to assist in managing reservoir elevations is within the scope of analysis of actions that were previously analyzed in that EIS. Thus, to the extent the proposed actions involve or may affect areas outside of California, such as at Lake Mead or on the portions of the Colorado River in Nevada or Arizona, they are exempt from CEQA under a Statutory Exemption (Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(14) and State CEQA Guidelines Section 15277). The proposed action of adopting the Coachella Valley Water District Colorado River Water Conservation Program for 2022 and 2023 is exempt under the provisions of CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines.
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit OPR’s Accessibility Site.