[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25141]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 12, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

 

Notice of Intent to Prepare EIS/EIR for Mainstem Trinity River 
Fishery Restoration

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement/environmental impact report and notice of scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the California Environmental 
Quality Act of 1970, as amended, the Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service) and the Hoopa Valley Tribe propose to prepare a draft 
environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) to 
evaluate mainstem Trinity River fishery restoration projects and to 
assist the Secretary of the Interior in developing recommendations for 
permanent instream fishery flow requirements and Trinity River Division 
operating criteria and procedures for the restoration and maintenance 
of the Trinity River Fishery, Trinity River Division, Central Valley 
Project (CVP), California. Such recommendations are required by the 
Flow Evaluation Program, authorized by a January 14, 1981, Secretarial 
Directive, and for Section 3406(b)23(A) of the Central Valley Project 
Improvement Act (CVPIA) dated October 30, 1992.

DATES: For schedule of scoping meetings see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section. Written comments will also be accepted if postmarked by 
December 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Attn: Sharon Gross, Sacramento Field Office, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Sacramento, California 95825 or the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Attn: Robert 
Franklin, Tribal Fisheries Department, P.O. Box 417, Hoopa, California 
95546.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Sharon Gross, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone: (916) 978-
4613; or Mr. Robert Franklin, Hoopa Valley Tribe, telephone: (916) 625-
4267.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Construction of the Trinity River Division 
of the CVP was completed in 1963. The keystones of the division are 
Lewiston Dam and Trinity Dam located just upstream of the town of 
Lewiston, California. The primary function of the Trinity River 
Division is to store Trinity River water for regulated diversion to the 
Central Valley of California for agricultural, municipal, and 
industrial uses. A substantial amount of electric power is generated as 
water diverted out of the Trinity River Basin passes through four 
hydroelectric power generation plants.
    Construction of the Trinity River Division resulted in the 
diversion of up to 90 percent of the average annual discharge in the 
Trinity River at Lewiston, and blocked access to 109 miles of spawning 
and rearing habitat to migrating salmon and steelhead. The Trinity 
River Hatchery was constructed at the base of Lewiston Dam to mitigate 
for those fish production losses that occurred upstream of Trinity Dam, 
and annual fishery flows of 120,000 acre-feet were released from 
Lewiston Dam to maintain existing salmon and steelhead habitat 
downstream. These measures were insufficient to maintain the fishery, 
however, and populations of salmon and steelhead declined at a rapid 
rate following completion of the Trinity River Division.
    Reduced river flows, combined with excessive watershed erosion and 
encroachment of the river channel by riparian vegetation, caused major 
changes in the morphology of the Trinity River downstream of Lewiston 
Dam. Reduced flows were no longer capable of transporting large amounts 
of sediment downstream. As a result, sand began to fill holding pools, 
spawning riffles, and over-wintering and rearing areas with devastating 
effects on existing anadromous salmonid habitat.
    In 1974, six State and Federal agencies formed the Trinity River 
Basin Fish and Wildlife Task force (Task Force) to develop an action 
plan and seek funding for restoration of the fish and wildlife 
resources of the basin. In May 1982, the Task Force completed a Trinity 
River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management Program Report, which 
identified an action plan consisting of 11 activities aimed at 
restoring fish and wildlife habitat. These activities included sediment 
control and watershed stabilization, improvement of the Trinity River 
Hatchery, and habitat improvements in the river and its tributaries.
    In response to declining fisheries and degraded habitat conditions, 
the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) decided in 1981 to increase 
flows in the Trinity River from 120,000 acre-feet to 340,000 acre-feet 
annually, with reductions in dry and critically dry years. In addition, 
the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to undertake a 12-year Flow 
Evaluation Study to assess fish habitat at various flows, develop a 
recommended flow regimen, and evaluate mainstem channel restoration 
measures. The Flow Evaluation Study began in October 1984 and will 
conclude in September 1996.
    In October 1984, the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife 
Restoration Act (Public Law 98-541) was enacted by Congress with the 
goal of restoring fish and wildlife populations to pre-CVP levels. The 
Act provided funding for construction, operation, and maintenance of 
the 11-item action plan developed by the Task Force in 1982. The 
program is administered by a field office staffed jointly by the Bureau 
of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service and will end in 1995. 
The Act also identified a Task Force consisting of representatives from 
14 Federal, State, and county entities and the Hoopa Valley Tribe to 
assist and advise the Secretary. A 14-member Technical Coordinating 
Committee has been established to assist and advise the Task Force and 
the field office. Modification of the mainstem channel is a key element 
of the restoration program.
    Section 3406(b)(23) of the CVPIA provides, through the Trinity 
River Division, an instream release of not less than 340,000 acre-feet 
of water to meet Federal trust responsibilities to protect fishery 
resources of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and to meet the fishery restoration 
goals of Public Law 98-541.
    In accordance with Section 3406(b)(23)(A) of the CVPIA, of Public 
Law 102-575, recommendations for mainstem Trinity River fishery 
restoration will be developed after appropriate consultations with 
Federal, State and local agencies and after completion of an on-going 
Flow Evaluation Study. The Secretary of the Interior is directed to 
complete the flow study and recommendations by September 30, 1996. The 
draft EIS/EIR is expected to be completed and available for review and 
comment by the end of 1995.
    The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hoopa Valley Tribe will seek 
public input on alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in 
the EIS through a series of scoping meetings. The schedule and 
locations of the scoping meetings are as follows:

October 27, 1994, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, Elks Lodge #1786, 150 South 
Shasta Street, Willows, California 95988
November 1, 1994, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, 
Weaverville, California 96093
November 2, 1994, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Hoopa Valley Tribal Council 
Neighborhood Facility, Highway 96, Hoopa, California 95573
November 3, 1994, 6:30 pm. to 9:00 pm, Eureka Inn, 518 Seventh Street, 
Eureka, California 95501

    Dated: October 3, 1994.
Thomas Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 94-25141 Filed 10-11-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M