Draft EIS_072312.pdf - Middle Fork American River Project ...

20120723-4002 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 07/23/2012
until May. Years tend to be at the extremes—either wet or dry—with high inter-annual
variability, with few years receiving the “average” amount of precipitation. Mean
annual precipitation and runoff in the watershed ranges from about 35 inches
(308,500 acre-feet) in dry years to 94 inches (1,218,000 acre-feet) in wet years. Total
project inflow (combined flows from Duncan Creek, Middle Fork American River,
Rubicon River, and Long Canyon Creek) for the period of 1975 to 2007 averages
approximately 379,015 acre-feet and ranged from a low of approximately 62,638 acrefeet
to a high of more than 790,820 acre-feet per year.
The Middle Fork American River watershed is heavily forested, rural in nature,
and sparsely populated. There are no residential or commercial developments in the
immediate project vicinity. Land use within the project boundary is focused on
hydropower generation and recreation. Land use outside the project boundary is
managed mainly for recreation, timber harvest, grazing, natural resource protection,
and, to a lesser extent, mining.
The Middle Fork American River downstream of the project bisects federal and
private lands reserved for the Auburn Dam and Reservoir Project. Reclamation began
construction of this project in 1967 but the project was halted in the 1980s. In 2008, the
Water Board revoked Reclamation’s water rights permits for the project. Reclamation
is charged with managing the federal lands within this area and delegated this
management responsibility to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The
land reserved for this project was incorporated into the state park system and is referred
to as the Auburn State Recreation Area.
3.2 SCOPE OF CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS
According to the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for
implementing National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR § 1508.7), a cumulative
effect is the impact on the environment that results from the incremental impact of the
action when added to other past, present and reasonably foreseeable future actions
regardless of what agency (federal or non-federal) or person undertakes such actions.
Cumulative effects can result from individually minor but collectively significant
actions taking place over time, including hydropower and other land and water
development activities.
Based on our review of the license application and agency and public comments,
we identified water quantity, water temperature, and California Central Valley steelhead
as having the potential to be cumulatively affected by the proposed project in
combination with other past, present, and foreseeable future activities.
3.2.1 Geographic Scope
The geographic scope of analysis for cumulatively affected resources defines the
physical limits or boundaries of the effects of the proposed action on the resources.
Because the proposed action can affect resources differently, the geographic scope for
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