Pages from BOR-MP-19-N009 Notice of Intent.pdf

Notice of Intent to Award Template (03/2019)

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

This notice is not a request for applications. This provides public notice of the Bureau of Reclamation’s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition.

OPPORTUNITY

NUMBER

BOR-MP-19-N009

PROJECT TITLE Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project RECIPIENT California Department of Water Resources

ANTICIPATED

FEDERAL AMOUNT

$41,076,963

STATUTORY

AUTHORITY

Title 34, Public Law 102-575 Central Valley Project Improvement Act

SECTION 3406 – FISH, WILDLIFE AND HABITAT RESTORATION.

(b) Fish and Wildlife Restoration Activities --The Secretary, immediately upon the enactment of this title, shall operate the Central Valley Project to meet all obligations under state and federal law, including but not limited to the federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. s 1531, et seq., and all decisions of the California State Water Resources Control Board establishing conditions on applicable licenses and permits for the project.

The Secretary, in consultation with other State and Federal agencies, Indian tribes, and affected interests, is further authorized and directed to:

(4) Develop and implement a program to mitigate for fishery impacts associated with operations of the Tracy Pumping Plant. Such program shall include, but is not limited to, improvement or replacement of the fish screens and fish recovery facilities and practices associated with the Tracy Pumping Plant. Costs associated with this paragraph shall be reimbursed in accordance with the following formula: 37.5 percent shall be reimbursed as main project features, 37.5 percent shall be considered a nonreimbursable Federal expenditure, and 25 percent shall be paid by the State of California. The reimbursable share of funding for this and other facility repairs, improvements, and construction shall be allocated among project water and power users in accordance with existing project cost allocation procedures.

AND

(e) FUNDING TO NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES- If the Secretary determines that the State of California or an agency or subdivision thereof, an Indian tribe, or a nonprofit entity concerned with restoration, protection, or enhancement of fish, wildlife, habitat, or environmental values is able to assist in implementing any action authorized by this title in an efficient, timely, and cost effective manner, the Secretary is authorized to provide funding to such entity on such terms and conditions as he deems necessary to assist in implementing the identified action.

The Project is one way of addressing the fishery impacts to juvenile salmonids at the Tracy Pumping Plant (TPP) by routing them through the Yolo Bypass allowing them to avoid interior Delta entrainment associated with the TPP. The Project would minimize impacts from the TPP and improve juvenile salmonid migration and survival.

CFDA NUMBER 15.512

RECLAMATION

POINT OF CONTACT

Ben Nelson/Christina A. Muñoz

SUMMARY OF

PROJECT

ACTIVITIES

The objectives of the project are to:

(1) increase the availability of floodplain fisheries rearing habitat for juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, and Central Valley steelhead. Specific biological objectives include:

a) Improve access to seasonal habitat through volitional entry

b) Increase access to and acreage of seasonal floodplain fisheries rearing habitat

c) Reduce stranding and presence of migration barriers

BOR-MP-19-N009

Notice of Intent to Award Template (03/2019)

d) Increase aquatic primary and secondary biotic production to provide food through an ecosystem approach.

(2) to reduce migratory delays and loss of fish at Fremont Weir and other structures in the Yolo Bypass.

a) Improve connectivity within the Yolo Bypass for passage of salmonids and green sturgeon

b) Improve connectivity between the Sacramento River and the Yolo Bypass to provide safe and timely passage for:

i) Adult Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon between mid-

November and May when water surface elevations in the Sacramento River are amenable to fish passage

ii) Adult Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon between January and May when elevations in the Sacramento River are amenable to fish passage

iii) Adult California Central Valley steelhead in the event their presence overlaps with the defined seasonal window for other target species when elevations in the Sacramento River are amenable to fish passage Adult Southern DPS green sturgeon between February and May when elevations in the Sacramento River are amenable to fish passage

SELECTION

JUSTIFICATION

Reclamation did not solicit full and open competition for this award based on the following criteria:

(4) Unique Qualifications Maninder Bahia, DWR Project Manager, and staff in the Yolo Bypass Habitat Restoration Branch, Division of Environmental Services, are uniquely qualified to carry out the objectives of the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project. Through similar modification projects for adult fish passage in the Yolo Bypass and at Fremont Weir, DWR has gained specialized skill, knowledge, and expertise to engage in this design and implementation of construction of the project. This substantial body of knowledge and expertise in construction and implementation is necessary to successfully complete this project. DWR has been responsible for design and engineering specifications related to the project, in coordination with Reclamation and other state and Federal agencies. DWR is also the lead State agency involved in carrying out planning-level activities, CEQA/NEPA compliance requirements, and implementation of the project.