Sacramento, CA…The Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region released the Draft Central Valley Project Final Cost Allocation Study. A public meeting on the Draft Central Valley Project Final Cost Allocation Study will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2019, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Cottage Way Federal Building, 2800 Cottage Way, C1001 & C1002, Sacramento. There will be an informal presentation and comments will be accepted.

Written comments on the Draft CVP Final Cost Allocation Study will be accepted until close of business April 17, 2019 and may be submitted at the upcoming meeting or mailed to Michael Mosley, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800 Cottage Way, MP-700, Sacramento, CA 95825; faxed to 916-978-5094; or emailed to mmosley@usbr.gov.

The study examines how costs to repay the construction of the CVP are being allocated among project beneficiaries. The allocations were last updated in 1975, and several regulatory, legal and ecological changes have occurred in the last 40 years, necessitating a re-look. By law, the costs for repayment of the CVP are distributed across its seven congressionally authorized purposes: water supply, flood control, navigation, power, fish and wildlife, recreation and water quality.

“The release of the draft study marks a major milestone,” said Mid-Pacific Region Deputy Regional Director Travis Aberle. “This study is the result of years of diligent effort and collaboration with our partner agencies, organizations and stakeholders. We have established a path forward for updating the amount of project costs each project beneficiary will repay no later than the legislatively mandated deadline of 2030.”

A comprehensive modern method was applied in allocating project costs among uses. This complete draft study is being released for public review. Once a final study is released, Reclamation will begin to set rates so that beneficiaries have time to plan construction cost repayment as appropriate by 2030.

Reclamation began developing a new cost allocation for the CVP in 2010. The cost obligation for each authorized purpose will be the basis for repayment requirements for irrigation contractors, municipal and industrial contractors, and commercial power contractors. Reclamation developed the Draft CVP Final CAS in conjunction with the Western Area Power Administration. Other federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, participated in the study through coordination on key issues and analyses. Since 2010, Reclamation has held over 30 meetings to solicit input and present information regarding cost allocation methodology and initial results and findings.

The report is titled Draft Central Valley Project Final Cost Allocation Study and may be accessed on the project website at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvp/cvp-cost-allocation.html.

For questions, please contact Mosley at 916-978-5119 or mmosley@usbr.gov. For additional information and/or to be added to the email group, please contact Lisa Navarro at 916-978-5111 or lnavarro@usbr.gov. For information on the study, please visit the project website listed above.

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Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR.