30-Day public comment period opens for West False River Drought Salinity Barrier Environmental Impact Report

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR),) is pleased to announce a 30-day public comment period for the Environmental Impact Report for West False River Drought Salinity Barrier Project. The proposed project consists of a temporary barrier in the West False River that DWR may install up to two times between 2023 to 2032, including consecutive years, if drought conditions occur, for a period of up to 20 months. In the years where the barrier is installed, DWR would construct the barrier no sooner than April 1 and remove the barrier by November 30 of the subsequent year or the same year, when DWR determines the barrier is no longer needed based on hydrologic conditions. A barrier in West False River would be an effective tool to protect the beneficial uses of the interior Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) water by reducing saltwater intrusion while preserving the use of critically needed reservoir water. The proposed project would be constructed if DWR, in cooperation with other State and federal agencies including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, determines that drought conditions have reduced water storage in State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) facilities to critical levels, such that projected Delta outflow would not be sufficient to control increased salinity intrusion into the Delta, thereby worsening water quality and threatening the drinking and irrigation water supply and harming interior Delta agriculture.

Comment Period:

A Notice of Preparation (NOP) will be circulated for a 30-day public notice period beginning Wednesday, February 23, 2022, and ending Friday, March 25, 2022. At the end of the public notice period, DWR will consider all written comments received from interested persons, organizations, and agencies in preparing the environmental analysis. Written comments on the scope of the EIR are due no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 25, 2022.