[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 136 (Friday, July 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34740-34741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17034]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
Klickitat Hatchery Program
AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) and a floodplain and wetland assessment.
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SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on funding proposed changes to the
existing salmon and steelhead hatchery program in the Klickitat
subbasin in Klickitat and Yakima counties, Washington. As mitigation
under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation
Act, BPA proposes to upgrade and improve the Klickitat Hatchery, a
Mitchell Act artificial production facility built and funded by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA
Fisheries), located seven miles east of Glenwood, Washington, at river
mile 42 of the Klickitat River. The proposed changes would also involve
construction, of a new Wahkiacus Hatchery and Acclimation Facility
located at river mile 17 on the Klickitat River in Wahkiacus,
Washington, and a steelhead acclimation facility at McCreedy Creek at
river mile 70. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public
scoping process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential
environmental impacts that it should consider as it prepares the EIS
for the proposed changes to the program, as well as comments on
alternatives that meet fish production objectives for the Klickitat
Hatchery Program. Further details are provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain
and wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA will prepare a
floodplain and wetlands assessment to avoid or minimize potential harm
to or within any affected floodplains and wetlands. The assessment will
be included in the EIS.
DATES: Written scoping comments are due to the address below no later
than August 18th, 2009. Comments may also be made at the EIS scoping
meeting to be held on August 4th, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the
Lyle Community Center.
ADDRESSES: Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed
scope of the Draft EIS, and requests to be placed on the project
mailing list, to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs
Office--DKE-7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97293-4428, or by fax to
503 230-3285. You also may call BPA's toll free comment line at 800
622-4519 and leave a message (please include the name of this project);
or submit comments online at http://www.bpa.gov/comment. BPA will post
all comment letters in their entirety on BPA's Web site at http://www.bpa.gov/comment.
On Tuesday August 4th, 2009, an open-house scoping meeting will be
held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Lyle Community Center, Lyle,
Washington. At this informal meeting, we will provide maps and other
information about the project and have members of the project team
available to answer questions and accept oral and written comments. You
may stop by anytime during the open house.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosy Mazaika, Environmental
Coordinator, Bonneville Power Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621,
Portland, Oregon 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct
telephone 503-230-5869; or e-mail [email protected]. You may also
contact Patricia Smith, Project Manager, Bonneville Power
Administration--KEWL-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621;
toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct telephone 503-230-7349; or
e-mail [email protected]. Additional information can be found at BPA's
Web site: http://www.efw.bpa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fisheries programs in the Klickitat River
subbasin are co-managed by the Yakama Nation and the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and include the Yakima/
Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) funded by BPA. The YKFP uses state-
of-the-art artificial propagation methods designed to re-establish,
supplement, or increase natural production and harvest opportunities of
anadromous salmonids while maintaining the long-term fitness of target
species and minimizing ecological and genetic impacts on non-target
species. The YKFP has been developed to:
Enhance existing stocks of anadromous fish in the Yakima
and Klickitat river basins, while maintaining genetic and ecological
resources; and
Apply the knowledge gained through supplementation
throughout the Columbia River Basin.
The YKFP also pursues the protection and restoration of habitat
important to health and restoration of anadromous fish stocks.
Under the YKFP, in 2008, the Yakama Nation revised the Klickitat
River Anadromous Fisheries Master Plan \1\ in response to comments from
the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) and its Independent
Scientific Review Panel.\2\ Master plans are submitted as step one of
the NPCC's three-step process \3\ for the review of artificial
propagation project proposals for funding by the BPA. Included in the
plan are details and the scientific basis for proposed production
goals, facilities, monitoring and evaluation, and habitat improvements
necessary to manage endemic spring Chinook and steelhead and hatchery
coho and fall Chinook in the Klickitat subbasin. Because
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\1\ http://www.nwcouncil.org/dropbox/YKFP_03-31-08%20Draft%20Master%20Plan.pdf.
\2\ http://www.nwppc.org/library/isrp/isrp2008-6.pdf.
\3\ Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Three-Step Review
Process (Nov. 2006) http://www.nwcouncil.org/Library/2006/2006-21.pdf.
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1. The facilities and habitat work are proposed to benefit more
than one target species,
2. Artificial production work will require BPA and NOAA Fisheries
to coordinate efforts at the proposed various facilities, and
3. Proposed changes to production practices for single species
could affect other target species,
the Yakama Nation developed the Klickitat Subbasin Anadromous Fishery
Hatchery Plan (``Master Plan'') to address all species, as well as
Pacific lamprey.
According to the master plan prepared by the Yakama Nation and
WDFW, the existing Klickitat Hatchery facilities, completed in 1954,
need repair to meet current building codes and up-to-date artificial
production guidelines. The Tribe operates the Klickitat Hatchery and
NOAA Fisheries provides annual operation and maintenance funding using
appropriations to the Mitchell Act program. Under the 2008 Columbia
Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement between the three Treaty
Tribes and Federal Columbia River Power System Action Agencies (The
[[Page 34741]]
Accords) \4\ the Yakama Nation will actively seek congressional
appropriations during fiscal years 2010 and 2011 for additional
Mitchell Act funding for the new Wahkiacus facility. Under the Accords,
BPA made funding available, pending satisfactory results from its
environmental compliance efforts, to fund hatchery facility
improvements to increase production in the Klickitat Basin as described
in alternative one below.
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\4\ http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/Biological_opinions/FCRPS/2008_biop/docs/3-tribe-AA-MOA-Final.pdf.
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The master plan was developed in concert with salmonid production
and harvest agreements pursuant to U.S. v. Oregon, which is the primary
forum for decisions related to salmon and steelhead fisheries
management for the Columbia River Basin. U.S. v. Oregon is landmark
litigation over Indian treaty fishing rights. The Federal district
court that initially decided the case has retained continuing
jurisdiction to assure the development of harvest and production plans
follow the court's decisions. Through the on-going U.S. v. Oregon
process, the parties develop and update the Columbia River Fish
Management Plan which addresses management of Chinook, coho, and
steelhead in the Klickitat basin, including hatchery production at the
Klickitat Hatchery. Current programs focus on harvest augmentation for
coho and fall Chinook and on supplementation for spring Chinook and
summer steelhead.
The proposed Yakama Nation- Klickitat Hatchery Program EIS would
respond to these master plan objectives. BPA, therefore, will prepare
an EIS under NEPA to assist the agency as it decides whether to fund
the proposed changes to the existing salmon and steelhead hatchery
program in the Klickitat subbasin and, if a decision is made to fund
the changes, which alternative to meet the master plan objectives
should be chosen.
Alternatives Proposed for Consideration. BPA will consider three
action alternatives to meet master plan objectives for salmon and
steelhead in the Klickitat Basin. One alternative, the Master Plan,
would involve the fisheries managers increasing the production of
Klickitat spring Chinook and steelhead at the existing Klickitat
Hatchery and transferring artificial production of coho and fall
Chinook to a new hatchery facility at Wahkiacus. This would free up
water and space at the Klickitat Hatchery, ensuring optimal rearing
densities for spring Chinook and summer steelhead at that facility.
Transferring coho and fall Chinook production downstream would minimize
the impact of these species on the spawning and rearing of wild spring
Chinook and steelhead by reducing species interactions and competition
for habitat in the 26.5-mile reach between Wahkiacus and Klickitat. A
second alternative would evaluate meeting the same production
objectives but at the Klickitat Hatchery alone. A third alternative
would examine a phased approach to the proposed production changes,
with a partial build-out at the Wahkiacus facility. The current
Wahkiacus facility design provides for acclimation of up to 1,000,000
coho pre-smolts and rearing and release of up to 2,000,000 fall
Chinook. The partial build-out would consider a phased approach for
accomplishing production objectives, with the associated phasing of the
completion of project facilities. BPA will also consider a No-Action
Alternative. Under the No-Action Alternative, production activities
would continue as they do currently. Other alternatives may be
identified through the scoping process.
BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. BPA will
formally invite the Yakama Nation, WDFW, NOAA Fisheries, Klickitat
County, and Washington Department of Ecology to be cooperating agencies
for the proposed Yakama Nation-Klickitat Hatchery Program EIS. Other
potential cooperating agencies may be identified as the proposed
project proceeds through the NEPA process. BPA will also coordinate
with NOAA Fisheries which is preparing a programmatic EIS on the
Mitchell Act hatchery facilities it funds throughout the Columbia River
Basin.\5\
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\5\ http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Harvest-Hatcheries/Hatcheries/Mitchell-Act-EIS.cfm.
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Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues.
The potential environmental issues identified for the project are
anticipated to include land use, socioeconomic concerns, cultural
resources, visual resources, sensitive plants and animals, fisheries,
soil erosion, wetlands, floodplains, water quality, water quantity,
wild and scenic rivers, and recreation resources. BPA has established a
45-day scoping period during which tribes, affected landowners,
concerned citizens, special interest groups, local governments, Federal
agencies, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that a full
range of 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. When completed, the Draft EIS
will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold at least
one public meeting to hear comments. The Draft EIS is expected to be
published in fall 2010. BPA will consider and respond to comments
received on the Draft EIS in the Final EIS. The Final EIS is expected
to be published in spring 2011. BPA's decision will be documented in a
Record of Decision that will follow the Final EIS.
Issued in Portland, Oregon, on July 10, 2009.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-17034 Filed 7-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P