Possible Amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan to Incorporate Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement

Possible Amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan to Incorporate Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement

Notice of Preparation (NOP) for Substitute Environmental Document being prepared by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), pursuant to the State Water Board's regulatory program certified by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency as meeting the requirements of Public Resources Code Section 21080.5 (see 14 CCR Section 15251(g)), for the State Water Board's proposed update to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan). Though CEQA does not require this NOP in order for the State Water Board to implement its certified regulatory program, the State Water Board does so in consideration of the anticipated public interest relating to the project. The project includes possible updates to the LSJR flow components of the Bay-Delta Plan to incorporate the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement. Currently, the LSJR flow objectives and program of implementation include a narrative objective that requires inflow conditions from the San Joaquin River watershed to the Delta at Vernalis sufficient to support and maintain the natural production of viable native San Joaquin River fish populations migrating through the Delta and a numeric objective from February through June, that requires 40 percent of the unimpaired flow be maintained in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers, within an adaptive range of 30 to 50 percent of the unimpaired flow, inclusive. In addition, during February through June, the flow at Vernalis as provided by the percent of unimpaired flow objective, shall be no lower than the base flow value of 1,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) with an adaptive management range between 800 and 1,200 cfs, inclusive. This means that if the percent of unimpaired flow is being met but flows are insufficient to achieve the base flow at Vernalis, then additional flows from each tributary will be necessary (Table 3, Bay-Delta Plan, p. 15 and p. 25). During the month of October, the LSJR flow objectives and program of implementation also require the maintenance of a minimum baseflow, as measured at Vernalis on the San Joaquin River, of 1,000 cfs, plus an additional 28 thousand acre-feet pulse flow or a minimum monthly average flow of 2,000 cfs, whichever is less (Table 3, Bay-Delta Plan, Footnote 13). The Bay-Delta Plan provides pathways for voluntary agreements to implement the LSJR flow portions of the Bay-Delta Plan for the “[t]ributaries as a whole, an individual tributary, or some combination thereof.” The proposal for a Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement does not fully conform to the current Bay-Delta Plan, including the required percent of unimpaired flow level. Accordingly, the Bay-Delta Plan would need to be updated to allow for the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement. Specifically, it is anticipated that the program of implementation would be modified to allow for the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement to be implemented for the proposed 8-year period, with the possibility of extension.

Alameda, Alamo, Albany, Amador City, Angels Camp, Antioch, Atwater, Benicia, Berkeley, Brentwood, Byron, Ceres, Chowchilla, Citrus Heights, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Dixon, Dos Palos, Dublin, El Cerrito, Elk Grove, Emeryville, Escalon, Fairfield, Folsom, Fremont, Galt, Gustine, Hayward, Hercules, Hughson, Ione, Isleton, Jackson, Lafayette, Lathrop, Livermore, Livingston, Lodi, Los Banos, Madera, Manteca, Martinez, Merced, Modesto, Moraga, Murphys, Newark, Newman, Oakdale, Oakland, Oakley, Orinda, Patterson, Piedmont, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Plymouth, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Richmond, Rio Vista, Ripon, Riverbank, Sacramento, San Leandro, San Pablo, San Ramon, Sonora, Stockton, Suisun City, Sutter Creek, Tracy, Turlock, Union City, Vacaville, Vallejo, Walnut Creek, Waterford

Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Tuolumne

Countywide, Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Statewide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Habitat Conservation Planning (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin Region 7 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways, California Department of Transportation, District 10 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 3 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Redding Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California San Joaquin River Conservancy (SJRC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Delta Protection Commission, Delta Stewardship Council, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

Other (Not Applicable. The project is not a development type.)

Possible Amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan to Incorporate Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Energy, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Wildfire