[Federal Register: August 2, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 147)]
[Notices]
[Page 44347-44348]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02au05-42]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
Chief Joseph Dam Hatchery Program
AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: This notice announces BPA's intention to prepare an EIS on a
comprehensive management program for summer/fall Chinook salmon in the
Okanogan subbasin and the Columbia River between the confluence of the
Okanogan River and Chief Joseph Dam including construction, operation,
and maintenance of a hatchery and acclimation ponds. While the focus of
the Chief Joseph Dam Hatchery Program (CJDHP) is on the propagation of
summer/fall Chinook salmon, the EIS will also consider the use of the
proposed facilities to reintroduce extirpated spring Chinook salmon to
their historical habitats in the Okanogan subbasin in Okanogan County,
Washington.
DATES: Written comments are due to the address below no later than
September 19, 2005. Comments may also be made at one of the EIS scoping
meetings to be held on August 24, 2005, and August 25, 2005, at the
address below.
ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions on the proposed scope of the Draft
EIS for this project, and requests to be placed on the project mailing
list, may be mailed by letter to Bonneville Power Administration,
Communications--DM-7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97292-4428. Or, you
may FAX them to 503-230-3285; or submit them on-line at http://www.bpa.gov/comment/
.
Public scoping meetings will be held on Wednesday, August 24, 2005,
from 5 p.m to 8 p.m. at the Okanogan PUD in the Auditorium, 1331 2nd
Avenue, Okanogan, Washington 98840, and Thursday, August 25, 2005, from
2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wenatchee Convention Center in the Golden
Delicious Room, 201 N. Wenatchee Avenue, Wenatchee, Washington 98801.
At these informal open house meetings, we will provide information
about the project, including maps, and have members of the project team
available to answer questions and accept oral and written comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mickey Carter, Project Manager,
Bonneville Power Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon
97208-3621; toll-free telephone number 1-800-282-3713; fax number 503-
230-5699; e-mail address macarter@bpa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BPA shall be the lead Federal agency in
preparing and issuing an EIS for this project. The Confederated Tribes
of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribe), although not a Federal
agency, are a primary proponent and cooperating entity for this EIS and
would be operating and maintaining the program and facilities if
implemented. Additional cooperating agencies on this EIS may include
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, and Public
Utility Districts.
Proposed Action: The Proposed Action is to develop a comprehensive
management program for summer/fall Chinook salmon in the Okanogan
subbasin and the Columbia River between the confluence of the Okanogan
River and Chief Joseph Dam including construction, operation, and
maintenance of a hatchery (at the base of the Chief Joseph Dam) and
acclimation ponds (throughout the Okanogan River subbasin), broodstock
collection, egg incubation, rearing, release, and selective harvest.
While the focus of the CJDHP is on the propagation of summer/fall
Chinook salmon, the EIS will also consider the use of the proposed
facilities to reintroduce extirpated spring Chinook salmon to their
historical habitats in the Okanogan subbasin.
To ensure programmatic flexibility and cost effectiveness, the
CJDHP proposes to make use of a combination of new and existing fish
production facilities. The summer/fall Chinook component of the CJDHP
is designed to increase the abundance, distribution, and diversity of
naturally-spawning summer/fall Chinook salmon within their historical
Okanogan subbasin habitat, which will support recreational, ceremonial
and subsistence fisheries. The summer/fall Chinook population in the
Okanogan River is at present supported by a single hatchery program
that produces 576,000 yearling smolts annually.
The proposed CJDHP will increase production of juvenile summer/fall
Chinook by 2,000,000, including 1,100,000 fish primarily for
conservation purposes and 900,000 fish primarily for harvest purposes.
This increased production level is expected to result in an adult
return to the Okanogan subbasin of approximately 6,000 to 29,000
summer/fall Chinook salmon. The spring Chinook component of the CJDHP
is designed to introduce naturally-spawning spring Chinook populations
to their historical Okanogan subbasin habitat, which will support
stable ceremonial, subsistence, and recreational fisheries. The CJDHP
spring Chinook component proposes to initially increase production of
Carson stock spring Chinook destined for the Okanogan subbasin to
900,000 smolts. This increased production level is expected to result
in an adult return to the Okanogan subbasin of approximately 2,700 to
9,000 spring Chinook. As surplus Upper Columbia
[[Page 44348]]
River spring Chinook become available from other fish production
programs, the Carson stock spring Chinook will be replaced with
endangered stock.
Process to Date: In May 2004, the Colville Tribes submitted a
Master Plan for the CJDHP as part of Step 1 of the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council's Three-Step Review Process. The Master Plan
included conceptual designs for hatchery facilities necessary for the
production of summer/fall Chinook and spring Chinook. The Master Plan
was reviewed by the Independent Science Review Panel as part of the
Council's process.
The project was also available for public comment as part of the
Council's process. In February 2005, the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council approved the CJDHP Master Plan and directed the
project to proceed with Step 2, which includes National Environmental
Policy Act analysis.
Alternatives Proposed for Consideration: BPA is currently
considering two alternatives for evaluation in the EIS: (1) The
construction of a new summer/fall Chinook salmon and spring Chinook
salmon hatchery facility at the base of Chief Joseph Dam along with a
combination of new and existing acclimation facilities and adult
collection facilities; and (2) the no-action alternative. Other
alternatives may be identified through the scoping process. Mitigation
measures will be considered, separate from features of the proposed
action that could avoid or substantially reduce the environmental
consequences of the proposed action.
Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues:
The scoping process will help BPA ensure that a full range of
alternatives and issues related to this proposal is addressed in the
EIS, and also will identify significant or potentially significant
impacts that may result from the proposed project. BPA has established
a 45-day scoping period for this project during which affected
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on
the scope of the proposed EIS. Public and internal scoping on this
project will also include two public open house meetings. When
completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment and
BPA will hold public meetings to receive comments on the Draft EIS. BPA
and the cooperating agencies will consider and respond in the Final EIS
to comments received on the Draft EIS. BPA's decision will be
documented in a Record of Decision. The EIS will satisfy the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. When completed,
the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will
hold at least one public comment meeting for the Draft EIS. BPA will
consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments received on the Draft
EIS. BPA's subsequent decision will be documented in a Record of
Decision. Maps and further information are available from BPA at the
address above.
Issued in Portland, Oregon, on July 27, 2005.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-15192 Filed 8-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P