[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 226 (Friday, November 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58721-58723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29247]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Northeast Oregon Hatchery--Grande Ronde and Imnaha Spring Chinook 
Project

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands involvement.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces BPA's intention to prepare an EIS on the 
development of additional supplementation facilities and modifications 
to existing facilities to support the mitigation of impacts to natural 
populations of spring chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde and Imnaha 
River basins. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of 
Interior; and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Department of 
Agriculture, are cooperating agencies. The EIS will describe the 
proposed alternatives for fish trapping, rearing, and release 
facilities to help restore spring chinook salmon populations in the 
Imnaha River and Lostine River (a tributary in the Grande Ronde River 
basin) of Northeast Oregon. The planned facilities will modify and 
supplement existing facilities built for the Lower Snake River 
Compensation Plan (LSRCP), a program authorized by Congress in 1976 and 
administered by USFWS to compensate for spring, summer, and fall 
chinook salmon and steelhead losses caused by the construction and 
operation of four Federal dams on the lower Snake River. This action 
may involve floodplain and wetlands located in Wallowa and Union 
Counties, Oregon. In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance 
with floodplain and wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA 
will prepare a floodplain and wetlands assessment and would perform 
this proposed action so as to avoid or minimize potential

[[Page 58722]]

harm to or within the affected floodplain and wetlands. The assessment 
and a floodplain statement of findings will be included in the EIS 
being prepared for the proposed project in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the Draft EIS are due to the 
address below no later than January 31, 2002. Comments may also be made 
at EIS scoping meetings to be held at the locations below on January 
15, 16, and 17, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send comment letters and requests to be placed on the 
project mailing list to Communications, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KC-7, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, Oregon, 97212. The 
phone number of the Communications office is 503-230-3478 in Portland; 
toll-free 1-800-622-4519 outside of Portland. Comments may also be sent 
to the BPA Internet address: [email protected], or faxed to: 503-230-
3285.
    EIS scoping meetings will be held at the Imnaha Christian 
Fellowship, 78782 Imnaha Highway, Imnaha, Oregon, at 7 p.m. on January 
15, 2002; at the South Fork Grange, 131 Highway 82, Lostine, Oregon, at 
7 p.m. on January 16, 2002; and at Eastern Oregon University, Hoke 
Hall, 1 University Boulevard (intersection of 7th Street and I Avenue), 
LaGrande, Oregon, at 7 p.m. on January 17, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Smith, Environmental Project 
Lead--KEC-4, Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, 
Oregon, 97208-3621, phone number 503-230-7349, fax number 503-230-5699, 
e-mail [email protected]; or Jay Marcotte, Project Manager--KEWL-4, 
Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 
97208-3621, phone number 503-230-3943, fax number 503-230-3943, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Lookingglass Fish Hatchery was originally designed and constructed 
under the LSRCP program to produce two stocks of fish, the Imnaha stock 
for the Imnaha subbasin and a second stock for the Grande Ronde 
subbasin. Production of spring chinook salmon under this program began 
in the early 1980s. Beginning in the early 1990s, the fishery managers 
recognized that many natural populations in Northeast Oregon were at 
imminent risk of extirpation and immediate action was necessary. All 
natural spring chinook salmon populations in the Snake River, including 
the Imnaha and Grande Ronde Rivers, were listed by the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA) in May 1992. In response to the listings, the States, Tribes, and 
USFWS developed plans to conserve Imnaha and Grande Ronde spring 
chinook salmon using captive broodstock and hatchery supplementation as 
the preferred artificial propagation approaches. These programs were 
designed to shift the emphasis of the LSRCP program from compensation 
to conservation and restoration. Plans in the mid-1990s to conserve 
four stocks under ESA permits issued by NMFS were implemented. Because 
the new programs did not increase numbers of fish to be produced at 
Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, an assumption was made that the existing 
facility, with minor modifications, would be sufficient to meet the 
needs.

Proposed Action

    Recently, fishery managers determined that it is not possible to 
meet the entire program's needs at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery and that, 
without additional facilities, production must be cut from the 
conservation components of the program. Therefore, this project 
proposes to modify the existing Lookingglass Fish Hatchery and Imnaha 
satellite facility and build new facilities on the Lostine and Imnaha 
Rivers. A new incubation, rearing, and trapping facility is proposed 
for the Lostine River, a Grande Ronde basin tributary, and a new 
rearing facility is proposed for the Imnaha River. In addition, 
modifications are proposed to the Lookingglass Fish Hatchery on the 
Grande Ronde River and the Imnaha satellite facility on the Imnaha 
River. This project does not involve program issues or increases in the 
number of fish to be produced, but rather new and upgraded facilities 
that support an existing approved program and level of fish production. 
Potential exists for spanning or locating structures in the surrounding 
floodplains and activities may involve wetlands on those sites.

Process to Date

    Based on similar site-specific projects, an initial decision was 
made to initiate an Environmental Assessment (EA). An EA Determination 
was signed on November 20, 2000, with the expectation that a Finding of 
No Significant Impact would be attained. However, the Imnaha portion of 
this project is located within the boundaries of the Hells Canyon 
National Recreation Area and the Imnaha Wild and Scenic River. 
Modifications to the existing Imnaha satellite facility and any new 
Imnaha facilities may involve construction in the Imnaha River that 
could create significant impacts. Therefore, it has been determined 
that the appropriate level of environmental coverage is an EIS.
    This is a multi-party project involving Tribal governments, State 
agencies, and Federal agencies. The parties include the Nez Perce Tribe 
(NPT), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation 
(CTUIR), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), USFS, USFWS, 
NMFS, and BPA. Scoping began during the EA process and will continue 
for at least 30 days after the filing of this notice of intent to 
prepare an EIS, gathering information on the extent of the action, 
range of alternatives, and the types of effects to be evaluated. NEPA 
and other environmental laws and regulatory requirements will be merged 
into an overall integrated process that ensures compliance with all 
Federal and State legal prerequisites. A review process in accordance 
with the specific requirements of each agency's NEPA regulations and 
manuals will allow for an integrated effort that provides a full 
disclosure.

Alternatives Proposed for Consideration

    A reasonable range of alternatives for this project would include a 
proposed action that examines a combination of facility sites, new and 
existing with upgrades, that would reasonably accommodate the LSRCP 
biological criteria and program objectives. Connected, similar, and 
cumulative actions will be considered, along with a reasonable range of 
alternatives that could fulfill the purpose and need of the proposed 
action, including a no-action alternative. Mitigation measures will be 
considered, separate from features of the proposed action, that could 
avoid or substantially reduce the environmental consequences of the 
proposed action.

Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues

    BPA has reinitiated scoping for this project, establishing a 
scoping period during which affected landowners, concerned citizens, 
special interest groups, local governments, 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. At

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these informal meetings, NPT, CTUIR, ODFW, USFS, USFWS, and BPA will 
provide detailed information about the proposed facilities and 
modifications to existing facilities. Written information will also be 
available, and BPA staff will answer questions and accept oral and 
written comments. When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for 
review and comment, and BPA will hold public comment meetings for the 
Draft EIS. BPA will consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments 
received on the Draft EIS.
    The proposed action and alternatives will be examined for 
environmental effects on the affected environment. The types of impacts 
that will be considered include foreseeable direct and indirect effects 
as well as past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future cumulative 
effects. Issues raised during the scoping process will be examined and 
addressed in the Draft EIS.
    Maps and further information are available from BPA at the address 
above.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on November 14, 2001.
Stephen J. Wright,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-29247 Filed 11-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-U