[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 220 (Thursday, November 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 67206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26990]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement; Minidoka County, ID
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) on the proposed Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement. Alternatives
currently being considered are No Action as required under NEPA, total
replacement of the spillway and headgate structures, or replacement of
just the spillway.
Reclamation is requesting early public comment and agency input to
help identify significant issues or other alternatives to be addressed
in the EIS. Information obtained during the scoping period will help in
developing information to be included in the EIS. A draft EIS is
expected to be provided to the public for review by winter, 2009
followed by opportunities to provide written and oral comments. The
final EIS is scheduled for completion in winter, 2010. A Record of
Decision, describing which alternative is selected for implementation,
and the rationale for its selection, would then be issued following a
30-day waiting period.
DATES: Scoping meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
Idaho Falls, ID: December 3, 2008: Open House Meeting 6 pm
to 9 pm.
Burley, ID: December 4, 2008: Open House Meeting 6 pm to 9
pm.
Written comments will be accepted through December 19, 2008 for
inclusion in the scoping summary document. Please direct requests for
sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired or other
auxiliary aids, to Ms. Allyn Meuleman by November 24, 2008, at the
telephone or fax numbers listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be added to the mailing list may be
submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Snake River Area Office, Attention:
Allyn Meuleman, Activity Manager, 230 Collins Road, Boise, ID 83702-
4520. Comments may also be submitted electronically to [email protected].
The scoping meetings will be held at the following locations which
are physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Red Lion Hotel, 475 River Park Way, Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Burley Best Western Inn, 800 North Overland Avenue,
Burley, ID 83318
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Allyn Meuleman, (208) 383-2258, fax:
(208) 383-2237 for additional information. Information on this project
can also be found at: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/minidokadam/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the proposed spillway
replacement action is to prevent a structural failure of the Minidoka
Dam spillway and associated structures.
Minidoka Dam impounds Lake Walcott and is a feature of
Reclamation's Minidoka Project. They are located on the main stem Snake
River about 18 miles northeast from the city of Burley, ID within the
Minidoka Wildlife Refuge. After over 103 years of continued use, the
over 2000 feet long concrete spillway at the Minidoka Dam has reached
the end of its functional lifespan. The concrete that forms the
spillway crest and the piers of the pier-and-stoplog structure shows
extensive visible deterioration at numerous locations. In addition, the
potential for ice damage to the stoplog piers requires that reservoir
water levels be dropped each winter. The headgate structures at the
North Side Canal and South Side Canal also show serious concrete
deterioration similar to that seen along the spillway. The current
conditions of the Minidoka Dam spillway and headgate structures present
increasingly difficult reliability and maintenance problems. If
structural problems are not corrected there is potential of partial or
complete failure of the spillway and headgates. If these failures
occur, Reclamation may not be able to meet contractual obligations for
water delivery, power generation and Reclamation's commitments to
deliver flow augmentation water under the Nez Perce Settlement
Agreement and the Endangered Species Act.
A related action which may be considered is a structural raise (to
be determined) of Minidoka Dam to accommodate a 5-foot raise in the
Reservoir Water Surface (RWS) elevation. The Idaho Water Resource Board
(IWRB) is funding a special study that explores the feasibility and
costs associated with this action. The purpose of the dam raise is to
increase the storage capacity of Lake Walcott by approximately 50,000
acre-feet as one element of efforts to address water supply concerns in
the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer area. The IWRB anticipates the
additional supplies of stored water could be used to help address
surface and groundwater demands by implementing improvement measures
being considered by the State. If the IWRB decides to pursue this
action, a supplemental EIS will be developed to evaluate impacts.
Public Involvement
Reclamation will conduct public scoping meetings to solicit input
on the alternatives developed to address replacement of the Minidoka
Dam Spillway and associated structures and the impacts associated with
those alternatives. Reclamation will summarize comments received during
the scoping meetings and written comments received during the scoping
period, identified under DATES, into a scoping summary document which
will be made available to those who have provided comments. It will
also be available to others upon request and will be posted on the Web
site listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
If you wish to comment, you may provide your comments as indicated
under the ADDRESSES section. Before including your name, address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment (including
your personal identifying information) may be made publicly available
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. E8-26990 Filed 11-12-08; 8:45 am]
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