[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18780-18781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7969]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, Yakima River Basin
Water Enhancement Project, Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima
Counties, Washington
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a combined planning report and
programmatic environmental impact statement, and notice of scoping
meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to prepare a
combined Planning Report and Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on the Integrated Water Resource Management Plan,
Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project. The Washington State
Department of Ecology (Ecology) will be a joint lead agency with
Reclamation in the preparation of this Programmatic EIS, which will
also be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
DATES: Written comments on the proposal, reasonable alternatives to the
proposal, potential environmental impacts, and mitigation measures will
be accepted through May 19, 2011 for inclusion in the scoping summary
document.
Scoping meetings, preceded by open houses, will be held at the
following communities, dates, and times:
Ellensburg, Washington; May 3, 2011; open house and
scoping meeting 1:30 to 3:30 pm and again from 5 to 7 pm.
Yakima, Washington; May 5, 2011; open house and scoping
meeting 1:30 to 3:30 pm and again from 5 to 7 pm.
Requests for sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired
or other special assistance needs should be submitted by April 26,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Send written scoping comments, requests to be added to the
mailing list, or requests for sign language interpretation for the
hearing impaired or other special assistance needs, to Bureau of
Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, Attention: Candace
McKinley, Environmental Program Manager, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA
98901; or by e-mail to [email protected].
The Ellensburg open house and scoping meetings will be held at the
Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. Ruby Street, Ellensburg, Washington 98926.
The Yakima open house and scoping meetings will be held at the Yakima
Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Way, Yakima, Washington 98901. The
meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with
disabilities.
Information on this project may also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Candace McKinley,
Environmental Program Manager, Telephone (509) 575-5848, ext. 237. TTY
users may dial 711 to obtain a toll-free TTY relay.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 1979, Congress initiated the Yakima River Basin Water
Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) in response to long-standing water
resource problems in the basin. The YRBWEP was charged with developing
a plan to achieve four objectives: (1) Provide supplemental water for
presently irrigated lands; (2) provide water for new lands within the
Yakama Indian Reservation; (3) provide water for increased instream
flows for aquatic life; and (4) identify a comprehensive approach for
efficient management of basin water supplies.
Initial efforts in the mid-1980s (Phase 1) focused on improving
fish passage by rebuilding fish ladders and constructing fish screens
at existing diversions. Phase 2 in the 1990s focused on water
conservation/water acquisition activities, tributary fish screens, and
long-term management needs. Efforts under these initial phases were
hindered by the ongoing uncertainties associated with adjudication of
the basin surface waters that began in 1978. With the adjudication
process now largely completed, most of these water right uncertainties
have been addressed.
In 2003, Reclamation and Ecology initiated the Yakima River Basin
Water Storage Feasibility Study to examine storage augmentation in the
Yakima River basin. This study emphasized evaluation of a proposed
Black Rock Reservoir, which was the focus of the Yakima River Basin
Water Storage Feasibility Study Draft Planning Report/Environmental
Impact Statement (PR/EIS) issued in January 2008.
The narrow focus of the legislative authorization in combination
with comments on the Draft PR/EIS prompted Ecology to separate from the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. In mid-2008, Ecology
initiated a separate evaluation of the Yakima basin's water supply
problems, including consideration of habitat and fish passage needs.
Reclamation continued the NEPA process consistent with its legislative
authorization and issued the Yakima River Basin Water Storage
Feasibility Study Final PR/EIS in December 2008. Following issuance of
the Final PR/EIS, Reclamation selected the No Action Alternative.
Ecology completed its study and issued a separate Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water
Resource Management Alternative in June 2009 under SEPA.
The Integrated Water Resource Management Alternative evaluated in
the Ecology FEIS relies upon a range of water management and habitat
improvement approaches comprised of seven major elements to resolve the
long-standing water resource problems in the basin. Elements of the
Integrated Water Resource Management Plan that will be analyzed in the
Programmatic EIS include, but are not limited to:
1. Fish Passage (fish passage improvements at Cle Elum, Bumping,
Clear Lake, Keechelus, Kachess, and Tieton Dams);
2. Structural/Operational Changes (subordination of power
generation at Roza and Chandler Power Plants);
[[Page 18781]]
3. Surface Storage (new Wymer Dam and Reservoir, Bumping Reservoir
enlargement, Kachess inactive storage);
4. Groundwater Storage (groundwater infiltration prior to storage
control);
5. Fish Habitat (mainstem floodplain restoration program);
6. Enhanced Water Conservation (agricultural water and municipal/
domestic conservation); and
7. Market-Based Reallocation of Water Resources (institutional
improvements to facilitate market-based water transfers).
The proposed plan may affect Indian trust assets of the Yakama
Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
There are no known adverse or significant impacts to minority or low-
income populations or communities associated with this proposal.
Reclamation is requesting early public comment and agency input to
help identify significant issues and alternatives to be addressed in
the Programmatic EIS. Information obtained during the scoping period
will help in developing information to be included in the Programmatic
EIS. A Draft Programmatic EIS is expected to be issued in winter of
2011, followed by an opportunity for public and agency review and
comment. The Final Programmatic EIS is anticipated for completion in
spring of 2012. 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.
Public Involvement
Reclamation and Ecology will conduct public scoping meetings to
solicit comments on the alternatives for the Integrated Water Resource
Management Plan, and to identify potential issues and impacts
associated with those alternatives. Reclamation and Ecology will
summarize comments received during the scoping meetings and from
letters of comment received during the scoping period, identified under
the DATES section, into a scoping summary document that will be made
available to those who have provided comments. It will also be
available to others upon request. If you wish to comment, you may
provide your comments as indicated under the ADDRESSES section.
Public Disclosure
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 may
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.
Dated: March 29, 2011.
Steven L. Brawley,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-7969 Filed 4-4-11; 8:45 am]
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