[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64454-64456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30775]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Tualatin Basin Water Supply Feasibility Study, Portland, OR

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Planning Report/Environmental 
Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy

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Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) 
intends to prepare a Planning Report/Environmental Impact Statement 
(PR/EIS) to identify alternatives to meet future water supply needs in 
the Tualatin River Basin in Oregon. The purpose of the PR/EIS is to 
evaluate alternative methods of meeting future water supply needs for 
river flow restoration, municipal water, and agricultural irrigation. 
The Water Managers Group (WMG), an organization representing municipal 
water suppliers, agricultural water users, wastewater and stormwater 
managers, and county facilities managers, indicate that 50,000 
additional acre-feet (15 billion gallons) of water per year could be 
needed by the year 2050 to meet demands in the three water-use sectors 
of river flow restoration, municipal and industrial demand, and 
agricultural demand. Reclamation is working with the WMG to evaluate 
alternatives to meeting this water supply demand because some of the 
alternatives involve Federal action. Although the study may result in a 
preferred alternative that does not involve a Federal action, 
Reclamation is initiating the PR/EIS process to provide appropriate 
public involvement and assessment of environmental impacts should a 
Federal action be selected for implementation. Reclamation is 
requesting public comment and agency input to help identify significant 
issues related to water supply in the Tualatin Basin to be addressed in 
the PR/EIS.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
     Hillsboro,
OR:
    January 8, 2002; 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
     Portland,
OR:
     January 9, 2002; 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
    Written comments will be accepted through January 16, 2002 for 
inclusion in the scoping summary document.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be added to the mailing list may be 
submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, 1150 N. Curtis Road, Suite 100, 
Mail Code: PN-6303, Boise, ID 83706-1234.
    The scoping meetings will be held at the following locations:
     Hillsboro: Clean Water Services, 2550 Hillsboro Hwy. (Hwy. 
219), Hillsboro,

OR

     Portland: Metro Council Chambers, 600 NE Grand Ave., 
Portland, OR
    The meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Please direct requests for sign language interpretation 
for the hearing impaired, or other auxiliary aids, to Mike Relf by 
December 31, 2001 at the telephone, fax or TTY relay numbers listed 
under the ``For Additional Information'' section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Relf, Activity Manager, Pacific 
Northwest Regional Office, Bureau of Reclamation, (208) 378-5106, fax: 
(208) 378-5066, or at (208) 378-5106 via toll free TTY relay (800) 833-
6388.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Disclosure

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

Background

    Reclamation is the owner and operator of Scoggins Dam, completed in 
1975, which is located on Scoggins Creek, a tributary of the Tualatin 
River. Henry Hagg Lake, with a storage capacity of 53,600 acre-feet 
(16.1 billion gallons), is the impoundment created by Scoggins Dam. 
Stored water in Henry Hagg Lake is currently used for river flow 
restoration, municipal water supply, and agricultural irrigation 
throughout the Tualatin River Basin. Henry Hagg Lake also provides park 
and recreational facilities that are operated by Washington County.
    In 1997, a group of public and private agencies charged with 
managing water resources in the Tualatin Basin began a planning process 
to evaluate resource and environmental needs within the Basin. The 
objective was to develop long-term water resource management 
strategies, as part of a collaborative process. The participating 
agencies included Clean Water Services and the Joint Water Commission 
(composed of the cities of Hillsboro, Beaverton, Forest Grove, and the 
Tualatin Valley Water District), the City of Tigard, Tualatin Valley 
Irrigation District, Washington County, the Oregon Water Resources 
Department, and the Lake Oswego Corporation. Results and conclusions of 
the planning process were described in the 2001 Integrated Water 
Resources Management (IWRM) Strategy. The IWRM Strategy indicated that 
50,000 additional acre-feet (15 billion gallons) of water per year 
could be needed by the year 2050 to meet demands in the three water-use 
sectors of river flow restoration, municipal and industrial demand, and 
agricultural demand.
    River Flow Restoration: The IWRM Project identified potential major 
water supply deficits by the year 2050 in the Tualatin Basin. A major 
component of unmet need in the Tualatin Basin is water for flow 
restoration in the Tualatin River. The Tualatin River historically 
experiences low flows in the summer months, and yields less than 2 
percent of its total annual discharge between the months of June and 
September. Low water flows coupled with high ambient phosphorous levels 
and high temperatures have created chronic water quality problems, 
particularly in the lower reaches of the River's mainstem. Impacts from 
urban development, farming and increased water withdrawals have 
contributed to the degradation of water quality in the Tualatin River 
and its tributaries. Clean Water Services is the agency responsible for 
meeting Federal and state water quality standards established for the 
River and its major tributaries. Numerical standards have been 
established by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for 
nutrients, bacteria, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. As one strategy 
to meet these standards, Clean Water Services maintains contracts for 
the release of stored water from Henry Hagg Lake and the Barney 
Reservoir to augment river flow. However, additional flow augmentation 
is needed in order to meet water quality standards. Clean Water 
Services has also been charged by the Washington County Board of 
Commissioners to coordinate the Tualatin watershed's Endangered Species 
Act (ESA) response to the listing of upper Willamette spring Chinook 
and winter steelhead as threatened species. The ESA may require higher 
instream flows and/or changes to flow patterns during critical seasons. 
For these reasons, Clean Water Services is interested in exploring 
options for long-term water supply in the Tualatin Basin.
    Municipal and industrial demand: Twelve cities are located in the 
Tualatin Basin, serving a population of 450,000. Current municipal and 
industrial (M&I) demands total about 10 billion gallons

[[Page 64456]]

in the summer months. For the municipalities in the Tualatin Basin, 
summer-time demand (defined as demand between the months of June and 
September) must be met by stored supplies in Henry Hagg Lake, the 
Barney Reservoir (owned by the Joint Water Commission) and by the City 
of Portland's Bull Run reservoirs. Currently, approximately 30 percent 
of the M&I demand in the Tualatin Basin is met by importing water from 
the Bull Run watershed east of Portland. M&I demands are projected to 
approximately double due to population growth in Washington County over 
the next 50 years. By 2050, approximately 20 billion gallons (67,000 
acre-feet) of stored supply will be needed. This projected summer 
demand exceeds the capacity of the current supply system. For this 
reason, the cities in the Tualatin Basin are interested in exploring 
options for long-term water supply.
    Agricultural demand: The Tualatin Valley Irrigation District (TVID) 
is currently authorized by Federal contract with Reclamation to 
irrigate up to 17,000 acres in the Tualatin Valley. Natural flows from 
the Tualatin River are used to supply irrigation needs at the beginning 
of the season. As river flows decrease, the TVID uses stored water in 
Henry Hagg Lake to meet irrigation demand. In addition, an undetermined 
number of agricultural water users are exercising individual water 
rights to natural flows on the Tualatin River and its tributaries. 
Trends in agricultural water demand in the Tualatin Basin will depend 
on population growth patterns, crop types, and market value for 
agricultural products. Future water supply planning should be able to 
provide the flexibility to meet increased need for irrigation, or for 
decreased need for irrigation supply due to increased conservation and 
efficiency. Even if water demands do not increase over time in this 
sector, shifts may occur in where and when irrigators withdraw water 
from the River and its tributaries. These changes may be required as a 
response to the ESA or other environmental regulations. New water 
supply projects in the Basin may also cause a shift in demand patterns. 
For these reasons, long term water supply planning must consider 
agricultural water use.

Alternatives To Be Considered in the PR/EIS

    A range of water supply options will be used to develop 
alternatives for evaluation in the PR/EIS process. These options 
currently include, but are not limited to, the following:
     Conserve and reuse water;
     Construct a pipeline to provide irrigation water from the 
Willamette River;
     Increase the height of Scoggins Dam by 20 feet or by 40 
feet;
     Construct impoundments on other tributaries of the 
Tualatin River;
     Import additional water from other regional water supply 
sources; and
     No action.

Issues To Be Investigated by the Study

    Major issues that will be addressed by the PR/EIS include:
     Engineering feasibility of water supply options;
     Biological evaluation of impacts of water supply options, 
including wildlife and wildlife habitat, wetlands, fisheries, and 
special-status species;
     Economics;
     Surface and ground water hydrology;
     Water quality;
     Soils and geology;
     Outdoor recreation;
     Social well-being;
     Environmental justice;
     Sacred Sites;
     Indian trust assets (ITAs); and
     Cultural resources.

    Dated: November 27, 2001.
J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 01-30775 Filed 12-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P