[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 80 (Friday, April 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23058-23059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08671]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[RR01114000, 20XR0680A5, RA.5221203.0019100]
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Public Scoping Virtual Meeting Room for the Leavenworth National Fish
Hatchery Surface Water Intake Fish Screens and Fish Passage Project,
Chelan County, Washington
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Leavenworth National Fish
Hatchery (LNFH) Surface Water Intake Fish Screens and Fish Passage
(SWISP) Project. Reclamation is requesting public and agency comment to
identify significant issues or other alternatives to be considered in
the EIS.
DATES: The public will have the opportunity to participate in the
scoping process by providing written scoping comments, providing input
through a web-based virtual meeting room from April 24, 2020, to May
26, 2020, and/or participating in a question and answer teleconference
on May 18, 2020 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (PDT).
ADDRESSES: Provide written scoping comments, requests to be added to
the mailing list, or other special assistance needs to Mr. Jason
Sutter, EIS Team Lead, Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia-Pacific
Northwest Regional Office, 1150 N. Curtis Road, Boise, ID 83706 or
email [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For requests to be added to the
mailing list, or other special assistance needs, please contact Mr.
Jason Sutter, at the address or email provided in the ADDRESSES section
or by telephone at (208) 378-5390 or facsimile (509) 454-5650. Persons
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal
Relay Service (FedRelay) at 1-800-877-8339 TTY/ASCII to contact the
above individual during normal business hours or to leave a message or
question after hours. You will receive a reply during normal business
hours. Information on this project, including details for the public
question and answer teleconference, may also be found at: https://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/leavenworth/swisp/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reclamation is issuing this notice pursuant
to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations
for implementing NEPA, 43 CFR parts 1500 through 1508; and the
Department of the Interior's NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part 46. The
virtual meeting will be accessible at https://virtualpublic
meeting.com/leavenworth-swisp-eis. Website visitors will be able to
view public meeting materials, pose questions, view answers, and submit
comments. Please monitor the project website for any changes or updates
at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/leavenworth/swisp/index.html.
Background
The LNFH was designed and constructed in the late 1930s as
mitigation for the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. The hatchery,
which is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and
funded by Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration, produces 1.2
million spring Chinook Salmon smolts annually that are released into
Icicle Creek.
The LNFH's primary point of diversion and water delivery system on
Icicle Creek is nearly 80 years old and is reaching or exceeding its
operational life. Rehabilitation, replacement, and modernization of the
LNFH surface water intake and delivery system was evaluated in the 2002
USFWS Icicle Creek Restoration Project Final EIS and the 2019 Icicle
Creek Water Resource Management Strategy Final Programmatic EIS
prepared by the State of Washington Department of Ecology and Chelan
County under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act. Currently,
the intake facility does not comply with National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) criteria for anadromous salmonids. The 2017 NMFS
biological opinion covering LNFH operations requires the LNFH to have a
surface water intake and delivery system that complies with NMFS
current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage
facilities in place and operating by May 2023.
In addition to meeting legal requirements, LNFH needs to improve
employee safety when operating and maintaining intake and delivery
facilities, improve flow control and water conservation capabilities,
effectively manage sediment adversely affecting the water delivery
system, and increase reliability and longevity of the system. The
purpose of the SWISP Project is to minimize take of ESA-listed fish
species, provide fish passage that complies with current regulatory
criteria, and ensure safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of LNFH's
full surface water rights from Icicle Creek.
Reclamation proposes to rehabilitate the LNFH intake and delivery
system on Icicle Creek by constructing new headworks and a creek-width
roughened channel, and replacing/lining the surface water conveyance
pipeline to the hatchery. In addition, the current intake access road
would be modified and extended to provide better entry to an expanded
intake operations and maintenance area. Construction of the headworks
and roughened channel would incorporate the existing low-head diversion
dam and intake channel. Self-cleaning, cylindrical fish screens would
be installed at the diversion headworks, and a low-flow boulder weir
fishway would be integrated into the roughened channel. A new pipeline
would be placed in the intake channel to connect the headworks to the
conveyance pipeline. The intake channel would be filled to cover the
pipeline and create the intake operations and maintenance area. The
conveyance pipeline would be replaced on USFWS lands and lined with
cure-in-place liner on private parcels. Several manhole access points
along the existing conveyance pipeline alignment would be constructed
to provide ingress and egress for pipe lining on private lands.
Reclamation is not presently aware of any known or possible Indian
Trust Assets, Indian Sacred Sites, or Environmental Justice issues
associated with the proposed action, but requests any information
relative to this issue be submitted during the scoping period.
[[Page 23059]]
Reclamation intends to complete an EIS for this project pursuant to
the NEPA. The EIS will analyze the potential environmental effects of
the proposed action, a no-action alternative, and a reasonable range of
alternatives designed to respond to the purpose and need for the
project. The 30-day scoping process and the virtual meetings identified
in this notice are intended to inform the public about the project and
to request public and agency comment to identify significant issues or
alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
Public Disclosure
Before including your address, phone number, email 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.
Lorri J. Gray,
Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Interior Region 9--Columbia-
Pacific Northwest.
[FR Doc. 2020-08671 Filed 4-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P