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<br />0023H <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />California's Colorado River Water Use Plan <br /> <br />Draft EISIEIRfor the Coachella Canal Lining Project <br /> <br />On September 22"'1, Reclamation released for public comment the draft EIS/EIR for concrete <br />lining approximately 33.2 miles of the Coachella Canal. Comments are due by November 11 , 1000. <br />A public hearing has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on October 25'", at the Coachella Valley Water <br />District Office, located at Highway III and Avenue 52, Coachella, California. <br /> <br />The purpose of this action is to conserve 30,850 acre-feet annually of water being lost as <br />seepage from the earthen portions of the canal. A specific quantity of conserved water would be <br />assigned to the Department of the Interior to facilitate implementation of the San Luis Rey Indian <br />Water Rights Settlement Act, and the remaining portion would be distributed to southern California I <br />to meet present water demand and assist in meeting the goals of California 's Colorado River Water <br />Use Plan. <br /> <br />Basin States/Tribes Discussion <br /> <br />Interim Surplus Criteria <br /> <br />As you may recall, on July 7'h. Reclamation released its Draft Environmental Impact <br />Statement (DEIS) on Colorado River Interim Surplus Criteria for public review. Four public <br />hearings were held, and comments were received from about 80 interested parties. Currently, <br />Reclamation is preparing responses to. and as appropriate, revising the DEIS to address the 1,000 <br />plus comments that were received. It is Reclamation's plan to release the final Environmental <br />Impact Statement during the first week of December 2000. It is anticipated the notice from the <br />Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be issued about December 8'h. Once the notice is <br />received from the EPA. the Secretary of the Interior can issue his Record of Decision 30 days <br />thereafter. <br /> <br />One of the areas where Reclamation is revising the DEIS is in the depletion schedules used <br />in the baseline. Reclamation has received revised depletion schedules from the Basin states and the <br />Indian Tribes. Based on the information received from the states and Tribes, Reclamation is making <br />additional computer runs, which are anticipated to be completed this week. When completed, the <br />output from those runs will be made available to interested parties. The Board staff has requested <br />a copy of that information. <br /> <br />US. Stakeholders Workshop <br /> <br />On October 11,2000, Deputy Secretary of the Interior, David Hayes hosted a symposium <br />regarding implementation of the Joint Declaration to Enhance Cooperation in the Colorado River <br /> <br />3 <br />