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Delta Smelt Fall Habitat Action in 2019

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Environmental Assessment Delta Smelt Fall Habitat Action in 2019 U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Interior Region 10 ∙ California-Great Basin SEPTEMBER 2019 Mission Statements The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities. The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Interior Region 10 ∙ California-Great Basin SEPTEMBER 2019 Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... iv List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................. v Section 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Background ................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Need for the Proposal................................................................................ 13 Section 2 Alternatives Including the Proposed Action ............................................. 15 2.1 No Action Alternative ............................................................................... 15 2.2 Proposed Action Alternative ..................................................................... 15 Section 3 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences ....................... 16 3.1 Water Resources ....................................................................................... 17 3.1.1 Affected Environment ................................................................................17 3.1.2 Environmental Consequences ....................................................................19 3.2 Biological Resources ................................................................................ 23 3.2.1 Affected Environment ................................................................................23 3.2.2 Environmental Consequences ....................................................................32 3.3 Cumulative Effects.................................................................................... 37 3.3.1 Water Resources ........................................................................................38 3.3.2 Biological Resources .................................................................................39 Section 4 Consultation & Coordination .................................................................... 40 4.1 Public Review Period ................................................................................ 40 4.2 Federal Laws, Regulations, and Policies .................................................. 40 Section 5 References ................................................................................................. 42 List of Figures Figure 1. Delta water quality locations of interest and distances from Golden Gate in km ...................................................................................................................14 Figure 2. Distance (km) from the Golden Gate for Mallard Slough and Collinsville .......18 Figure 3. Forecasted Daily X2 Location ............................................................................21 Figure 4. The selected juvenile recruitment model fit to (a) the fall midwater trawl index, and (b) mean location of X2 in the months from September to December. ..........................................................................................................26 Figure 5. Regression coefficients for the five models fit to the original data used in Feyrer et al. 2007 (1987–2004) and updated data (1987–2018). .......................27 Figure 6. Posterior Density Distributions from 10,000 Simulations of the Change in Delta Smelt Fall to Summer Recruitment when Mean September-October X2 is Moved from 80 km to 74 km. ...................................................................30 Figure 7. Percentage of time with salinity <6 for X2 = 80 km. .........................................34 iii List of Tables Table 1. Location of X2 for 2017 (no more eastward than) ..............................................20 Table 2. Monthly Mean X2 from Mean Daily Forecast, September – November 2017 .....................................................................................................................21 Table 3. End of Month Storage in San Luis (State) (TAF) (50% exceedance) .................21 Table 4. End of Month Storage in San Luis (Federal) (TAF) (50% exceedance) .............21 Table 5. No Action Alternative Monthly Average Releases from Shasta, Folsom, and Oroville dams (cfs) (50% exceedance) .........................................................22 Table 6. Proposed Action Alternative Monthly Average Releases from Shasta, Folsom, and Oroville dams (cfs) (50% exceedance) ...........................................28 Table 7. Proposed Action Alternative Monthly Average Releases from Shasta, Folsom, and Oroville dams (cfs) (50% exceedance) ...........................................28 List of Appendices Appendix A – Effects Analysis for the Delta Smelt Fall Habitat Action in 2019 Appendix B – Exceedance Forecasts (50% and 90% for SWP and CVP) Appendix C – Combined Comments Appendix D – Response to Comments iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 2008 BO 2008 Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion on the Coordinated Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project 2016 ROD Record of Decision from the Long-Term Operations Environmental Impact Statement 2017 Action Delta Smelt Outflow Action in 2017 Action 4 RPA Component 3 - Action 4: Estuarine Habitat During Fall AMP Adaptive Management of Fall Outflow for Delta Smelt and Water Supply Reliability BO Biological opinion CAMT Collaborative Adaptive Management Team CDEC California Data Exchange Center CDFW California Department of Fish and Wildlife CFR Code of Federal Regulations cfs cubic feet per second COA Coordinated Operation Agreement CSAMP Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Program CVP Central Valley Project CVPIA Central Valley Project Improvement Act D-1641 SWRCB Decision 1641 Delta Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary DOP Directed Outflow Project DPS Distinct Population Segment DSRS Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy DSM2 Delta Simulation Model II DWR California Department of Water Resources EA Environmental Assessment EC electrical conductivity EDSM Enhanced Delta Smelt Monitoring EFH Essential Fish Habitat EIS Environmental Impact Statement EMP Environmental Monitoring Program ESA Endangered Species Act ESU Evolutionarily Significant Unit FLaSH Fall Low Salinity Habitat Studies and Adaptive Management FLOAT-MAST Flow-Alteration-Management, Analysis, and Synthesis Team FMWT Fall Mid-water Trawl FONNSI Finding of No New Significant Impact FR Federal Register IEP Interagency Ecological Program JPOD Joint Point of Diversion km kilometer LTO Long-Term Operations LTO EIS 2015 Long-Term Operations Environmental Impact Statement v LSZ Low-salinity zone MAST Management, Analysis, and Synthesis Team mg/l milligrams per liter umhos/cm micromhos per centimeter mmhos/cm millimhos per centimeter NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NTU Nephelometric Turbidity Units PCE Primary Constituent Elements ppt parts per thousand salinity Proposed Action Proposed Delta Smelt Fall Habitat Action in 2019 psu practical salinity units Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation Reclamation 2017 Delta Smelt Fall Outflow in 2017 Environmental Assessment ROC on LTO Reinitiation of Consultation RPA Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service STN Summer Tow Net SWP State Water Project SWRCB California State Water Resources Control Board TAF Thousand acre-feet TDS Total Dissolved Solids USC U.S. Code WY Water Year X2 two parts per thousand salinity isohaline vi Section 1 Introduction In conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4431 et seq. (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate and disclose potential environmental impacts associated with implementation of the Delta Smelt Fall Habitat Action in 2019 (Proposed Action). This EA describes the existing environmental resources in the project area and evaluates the impacts of the No Action and Proposed Action alternatives. This EA was prepared in accordance with NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1500-1508), and Department of the Interior Regulations (43 CFR Part 46). Compliance with NEPA is a Federal responsibility and involves the participation of Federal, State, tribal,
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