NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) Board of Directors will hold a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) public hearing to seek comments and consider certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the El Dorado Forebay Dam Modification Project at 9:30 A.M. on Monday, March 24, 2014, during a regularly scheduled meeting at EID’s Customer Service Building, 2890 Mosquito Road, Placerville, CA 95667.
Project Background. The El Dorado Forebay (Forebay) is an off-stream reservoir, created by an earthen embankment dam, in El Dorado County, California, within Pollock Pines on the north side of U.S. Highway 50. The Forebay, constructed in 1922, is a component of the El Dorado Hydroelectric Project, which is owned and operated by EID and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as FERC Project No. 184. EID operates Project No. 184 facilities to provide water for drinking water supply and renewable hydroelectric power generation.
Project Description. The Project would remediate the El Dorado Forebay Dam and its associated facilities to meet current dam safety requirements, as required by the California Division of Safety of Dams and the FERC. The Project is designed to satisfy these specific regulatory mandates while also improving the reliability of the drinking water system and minimizing impacts to EID ratepayers through increased hydroelectric revenue. The Project involves constructing an earthen stability buttress on the dry side of the dam, raising the dam 10 vertical feet, and upgrading appurtenant facilities. All construction activities will occur on EID or privately-owned lands – no federal lands will be affected by the Project. Construction is anticipated to occur over a two-year period beginning in the summer 2015 or spring 2016..
Summary of Significant Environmental Effects. Based on the analysis contained in the FEIR, implementation of the Project would have significant and unavoidable environmental impacts for two resource areas: agriculture and forestry (permanent conversion of forestland to a non-timber use) and noise (temporary construction-related noise). For all other resource areas where potentially significant impacts were identified, the FEIR found that those impacts were less than significant or could be mitigated to a less than significant level. .
Public Comment Period and Availability of Documents. The FEIR will be available for public review beginning on March 13, 2014 at the following locations:
- EID website at http://www.eid.org
- Placerville Main Public Library, 345 Fair Lane, Placerville
- Pollock Pines Public Library, 6210 Pony Express Trail, Pollock Pines
- EID Customer Service Building, 2890 Mosquito Road, Placerville
Additionally, copies of all documents referenced in the EIR will be available for public review at the EID Customer Service Building during normal District business hours.
For More Information. Please contact Brian Deason, Hydroelectric Compliance Analyst, El Dorado Irrigation District at 2890 Mosquito Road, Placerville, CA 95667, bdeason@eid.org, or (530) 642-4064.
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (FEIR)
Click here to visit the Forebay Project Updates page and sign up for eNews to receive e-mail updates.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and California law, it is the policy of the El Dorado Irrigation District to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. If you are a person with a disability and require information or materials in an appropriate alternative format; or if you require any other accommodation for this meeting, please contact the EID ADA coordinator at 530-642-4045 or e-mail at adacoordinator@eid.org at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. Advance notification within this guideline will enable the District to make reasonable accommodations to ensure accessibility.