NOTICE: Reclamation re-announces 60-day comment period for Central Valley Project Delta and Friant draft contracts

From the Bureau of Reclamation:

Due to technical difficulties the Bureau of Reclamation re-announced today ongoing congressionally mandated contract conversions pursuant to the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Today’s release includes draft repayment contracts from the Central Valley Project Delta and Friant contractors for a 60-day public comment period. These represent seven of over 80 repayment contract conversions requested by federal CVP contractors.

The contractors include: Coelho Family Trust, Laguna Water District, City of Tracy, International Water District, City of Lindsay, County of Madera, and City of Orange Cove.

Section 4011 of the WIIN Act directs Reclamation to convert water service contracts to repayment contracts upon a contractor’s request and authorizes prepayment of outstanding CVP construction costs. Under Section 4011, full repayment is due within three years of the contract conversion.

Both the prepayment and accelerated repayment of the contracts will result in the federal government being repaid in advance of the original repayment deadline. These dollars will be placed in an account to fund much-needed storage projects. Increasing storage capacity will allow Reclamation’s projects to capture additional water in wet years to help meet the water needs for project purposes in dry years.

Written comments on this contract must be received by close of business on October 12, 2021, and sent to Erma Leal, South Central California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721 or faxed to 559-262-0371 or emailed to eleal@usbr.gov.

Contact Erma Leal at eleal@usbr.gov or Stanley Data at sdata@usbr.gov for electronic copies of the draft repayment contracts.

Check the following links to learn more about WIIN Act CVP contract conversions:

Contact Leal for more information at 559-262-0350 or eleal@usbr.gov or (TTY 800-877-8339).