Pursuant to Section 102 (2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Part 1505.6), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15170, the US Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District (Corps) in coordination with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is preparing a joint Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the Llagas Creek Flood Control Project. The purpose of the project is to provide flood protection for residential, commercial, and agricultural developments in southern Santa Clara County, to protect and improve water quality in the watershed, and to preserve and enhance the river's habitat, fishery, and wildlife. For the SEIS/SEIR, the Corps will be the lead agency for NEPA documentation and the SCVWD will be the lead agency for CEQA documentation. The project is sponsored jointly by the SCVWD, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, formerly the Soil Conservation Service), and the Loma Prieta Resource Conservation District (LPRCD).

The SEIS/SEIR will supplement the original Llagas Creek Watershed Final EIS/EIR that was released in 1982 by the NRCS and the SCVWD to examine the potential environmental impacts of the original Llagas Creek Flood Control Project. The original Llagas Creek Project was authorized in 1969 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pursuant to the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (P.L. 83-566). To date, the NRCS has completed about half of the authorized project on the lower Reaches of Llagas Creek. Congress, in the House Report to the 1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act (HR 105-109, July 1997), urged the Corps to develop plans and specifications of the authorized Llagas Creek project, in anticipation of the Corps assuming the construction of the remaining project elements. The Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 1999 authorized the Corps to complete the remaining upper reaches of the project "substantially in accordance with the NRCS watershed plan for the Llagas Creek."

The SEIS/SEIR will address the environmental impacts of two alternatives, those being the proposed action and the no action (or no project) alternative, and will focus on changes to environmental setting and conditions, regulatory context and/or new information that has become available since release of the final SEIS/EIR. The project area extends approximately 12.3 miles along the upper reaches of Llagas Creek from the Pajaro River south of Bloomfield Road upstream to just beyond Wright Avenue. The proposed alternative would provide a 100-year level of flood protection in the urban areas of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and an approximately 10-year level of flood protection in the agricultural areas. In addition, the proposed alternative would provide channel stabilization measures, thus reducing erosion and sedimentation. Structural measures would include the replacement of more than 35 bridges and culverts at road crossings. Potential impacts of the proposed action and no action alternatives that may be examined by the SEIS/SEIR include impacts to water resources, geology and soils, biological resources, environmental justice and socioeconomics.

Federal, state, and local agencies, and interested individuals are encouraged to participate in the SEIS/SEIR scoping process to assist the Corps and SCVWD in determining the range of issues and alternatives to be addressed. Public meetings and workshops will be held in Morgan Hill, CA. Dates, times and locations will be published in the newspaper and provided by mail to all those requesting notification. Requests may be made to any of the people listed below. At these meetings, Corps and SCVWD representatives will briefly summarize the description of the proposed project, the environmental impact assessment processes, and will then solicit public comments. Attendees will be invited to submit written comments about the proposed alternative and "no project" alternative either at the meeting, or following the meeting by fax, email or by mail.

All written comments pertaining to the NEPA process should be submitted within 30 days of the published date of this notice to:

Mr. Chris Eng, NEPA Project Manager
US Army Corps of Engineers
333 Market Street, 7th Floor
San Francisco, California, 94105-2197
telephone (415) 977-8542
fax (415) 977-8695
e-mail: ceng@spd.usace.army.mil.

All written comments pertaining to the CEQA process should be submitted within 30 days of the published date of this notice to:

Mr. Bill Smith, Environmental Planner
Santa Clara Valley Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, California, 95118
telephone (408) 265-2607 x2853
fax (408) 978-1687
e-mail: bsmith@valleywater.org

For further information regarding the Llagas Creek Flood Control Project, please contact:

Mr. Bal Ganjoo
Senior Project Manager, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Santa Clara Valley Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, California, 95118
telephone: (408) 265-2607 x3117
fax: (408) 979-5658
e-mail: bganjoo@valleywater.org

Dave Patterson
Project Manager
US Army Corp of Engineers
333 Market Street, 8th Floor
(415) 977-8707
e-mail: dpatterson@spd.usace.army.mil