Reclamation Announces Record of Decision on the Delta-Mendota Canal/California Aqueduct Intertie Project

The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation took the first step today toward implementing a high priority action from the December 22, 2009, Interim Federal Action Plan for the California Bay-Delta. Don Glaser, Mid-Pacific Regional Director with the Bureau of Reclamation, signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC)/California Aqueduct (CA) Intertie (Intertie), completing the Federal environmental documentation process.

The ROD documents Reclamation's decision to proceed with implementation of the proposed action as identified in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The Project is named in the recent Interim Federal Action Plan for the California Bay-Delta as a high priority action to encourage the smarter supply and use of Bay-Delta water.

“California is in the midst of a serious water crisis that is requiring all hands on deck – at all levels of government – to deliver near-term relief and to build sustainable, long-term solutions. The intertie, which has been extensively studied with several opportunities for public review and comment, is one of several immediate actions we are taking in response to the crisis. The project will provide much needed flexibility for both the central valley project (cvp) and state water project (swp), and will be online to deliver water as early as fall 2011,” said Interior Secretary Salazar.

The Intertie is designed to connect the DMC and the CA via a new pipeline and pumping plant to improve DMC conveyance limitations, allow for maintenance and repair activities, and provide the flexibility to respond to CVP and SWP emergency water operations. The project was identified as a proposed action in the August 2000 CALFED Bay-Delta Program Programmatic Record of Decision.

The ROD was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) after completing thorough environmental review, public outreach, and required permitting. The ROD is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=1014. Additional project information is available at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/intertie/docs/index.html.

Reclamation will implement design review in coordination with the State Department of Water Resources in order to advance the project to construction in June 2010.

The CALFED Bay-Delta Program is a 30-year Program (2000-2030) amongst 25 federal and state agencies with responsibility in the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. The Program is based on four major resource management objectives that guide its actions to achieving a Delta that has a healthy ecosystem and can supply Californians with a reliable water supply. Those objectives are levee system integrity, water quality, water supply reliability, and ecosystem restoration. Reclamation plays a key role as the Federal lead agency for implementation of water supply reliability actions in coordination with our State CALFED partner agencies.