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Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Basin Groundwater Management Plan Northeastern San Joaquin County Section 8 Groundwater Banking Authority 111 Integrated Conjunctive Use Program 133,000 af in any one year, the diversion and transmission system is sized to convey no more than 112,000 af annually to the Mokelumne Aqueducts. Hydrologic records predict that the condition is expected to occur in the driest one-third of all years. EBMUD American River entitlements are also subject to curtailments pursuant to CVP drought conditions and regulatory requirements. The Freeport Project concept consists of the following facilities: • a 185 MGD (286 cfs) intake facility and pumping plant on the Sacramento River near the community of Freeport; • an 84-inch pipeline to convey water east to an 85 MGD SCWA water treatment plant; • a 66-inch pipeline from the SCWA turnout east to the existing FSC; • a 100 MGD (155 cfs) pumping plant near the terminus of the FSC; • a 100 MGD (155 cfs) 66-inch pipeline from the terminus of the FSC to the Mokelumne Aqueducts; and • an aqueduct pumping plant and pre-treatment facility near Camanche Reservoir. The total preliminary cost of the Freeport Project is estimated at $690 million, $439 million of which will be funded by EBMUD (Freeport Regional Water Authority Website, 2004). Additional operations and maintenance costs are estimated to be approximately $130 per af. (Williamson, 2003) In August 2003, the FRWA released the Freeport Regional Water Project (Freeport) Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement DEIR/EIS. The Freeport DEIR/EIS discloses potential environmental impacts of various alternatives to the Freeport Project. The preferred Freeport Project Alternative is depicted in Figure 8-3. The Final EIR/EIS was released in March 2004 and was certified on April 15, 2004. Construction of the intake and EBMUD portion of the Freeport Project is set to begin in 2007 and be completed in 2009 (Freeport Regional Water Authority Website, 2004). Following the execution of the amendatory contract with the USBR, over 100 agencies served by the State Water Project (SWP) and CVP opposed the concept of EBMUD diverting water from the Delta in dry years. In 2003 State and Federal Contractors agreed to drop all but one suit and have pledged support for the Freeport Project through its construction. The terms of the settlement included provisions to include the EBMUD Amendatory Contract as an export under the Coordinated Operations Agreement. The settlement reduces the water supply impacts to the State and Federal Contractors. A separate settlement with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) would defer 6,500 af of EBMUD’s diversion entitlement during the 1st year of a drought. Should the drought continue into a 2nd consecutive year, SCXWD would make available a like amount for EDMUD to divert. On January 27, 2004, Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) became the last CVP Contractor to settle litigation against the Freeport Project. Under the terms of the settlement, the FRWA would use the joint Freeport project facilities to wheel up to 3,200 af per year under an existing CCWD CVP contract to the Los Vaqueros Reservoir near Brentwood. The settlement terms would offset the effects of lower quality water at the Los Vaqueros Reservoir intake in the Delta in years when EBMUD is diverting through the Freeport Project. The settlement with CCWD is the first allocation of EBMUD’s unused capacity in the Freeport Project (California Water Law and Policy, 2004).