California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
As they work to restore a 1,526-acre wetlands project to some valuable tidal wetland habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Proposed Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project. The DEIR is open for a 45-day public review and comment period ending Friday, October 7, 2016.
As part of California EcoRestore, the proposed project aims to restore tidal action to 1,528 acres on the island in order to benefit Delta smelt and other endangered fish species. EcoRestore is part of California’s effort to advance restoration of at least 30,000 acres of Delta habitat over the several few years.
The project is also part of the response to the specific habitat restoration requirements of the 2008 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinions for the long-term coordinated operations of the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. The project – the Fish Restoration Program is a key partnership between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the DWR to meet the biological opinion of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to restore some 8,000 acres of tidal habitat to foster Delta smelt. The proposed project is consistent with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinions to create suitable habitat for young salmon.
Prospect Island is located in the north-western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, between Liberty Island and Ryer Island in Solano County. It is bounded by the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel on the west and Miner Slough on the east.
In order to provide an overview of the Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project’s DEIR and the proposed project, a public comment meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Suisan City Nelson Community Center, Meeting Room A at 611 Village Drive in Suisan City.
The DEIR can be reviewed electronically at the following link: http://www.water.ca.gov/environmentalservices/frpa_prospect_restoration.cfm
Hard copies of the DEIR are available at the following locations. It is recommended that you check with the location to determine their normal business hours:
1) Rio Vista Library, 44 South Second Street, Rio Vista, CA 94571
2) Walnut Grove Library, 14177 Market Street, Walnut Grove, CA 95690
3) Fairfield Civic Center Library, 1150 Kentucky Street, Fairfield, CA 94533
4) Vacaville Public Library − Cultural Center, 1020 Ulatis Drive, Vacaville, CA 95687
5) Solano County Clerk’s Office, 675 Texas Street, Suite 1900, Fairfield, CA 94533
6) Dept. of Water Resources – Dan Riordan, 3500 Industrial Blvd., West Sacramento, CA 95691
Written comments and questions can be submitted at the Suisun City public meeting or by e-mail to [email protected], or in writing to: Dept. of Water Resources (Attn: Dan Riordan), P.O. Box 942836, Sacramento, CA 94236. To be considered, written comments must be received no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, October 7, 2016.
