From the State Water Resources Control Board:
This message is to advise interested parties that the State Water Resources Control Board has issued a Revised Notice of Preparation (NOP) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Scoping Meeting for the Proposed Regulation to Implement Lower San Joaquin River Flows (LSJR) and Southern Delta Salinity Objectives in the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta Plan).
The deadline for the submittal of written comments has been extended until September 9, 2022.
The CEQA Scoping Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10, 2022, from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. PST. The meeting will consist of a presentation regarding the development of the proposed regulation, and an opportunity for meeting participants to provide oral comments regarding the scope and information to be included in the draft environmental impact report (EIR). Participants wishing to comment at the scoping meeting may attend the meeting in person at the Joe Serna Jr. CalEPA Headquarters Building or may comment remotely via Zoom. Instructions to participate remotely via Zoom are included in the Notice.
The purpose of the NOP is: (1) to advise responsible and trustee agencies, Tribes, and interested organizations and persons, that the State Water Board or Board will be the lead agency and will prepare a draft EIR for a proposed regulation implementing the LSJR flow and southern Delta salinity components of the 2018 Bay-Delta Plan, and (2) to seek input on significant environmental issues, reasonable alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be addressed in the EIR.
For responsible and trustee agencies, the State Water Board requests the views of your agency as to the scope and content of the environmental information related to your agency’s area of statutory responsibility that must be included in the draft EIR.
Written comments should be submitted by email to LSJR-SD-Comments@waterboards.ca.gov (if less than 15 megabytes in total size) with the subject “Comment Letter – 2018 Bay-Delta Plan Implementation NOP.” In order to be fully considered, comments must be received by 12:00 p.m. PST (noon) on Friday, September 9, 2022.
Written comments may be delivered via mail or hand-delivered to the following address:
Division of Water Rights Mail Room
Attn: San Joaquin Unit
State Water Resources Control Board
P.O. Box 100, Sacramento, CA 95812-2000 (mail)
1001 I Street, 2nd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 (hand-delivery)
For additional information on the NOP or Scoping Meeting please click on the link to the Notice (above) or the Bay-Delta Plan Update and Implementation: Lower San Joaquin River and Southern Delta webpage.
If you have any questions regarding this message, the notice, or other efforts related to Bay-Delta Plan implementation activities, please contact LSJR-SD-Comments@waterboards.ca.gov.
