[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 6 (Thursday, January 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1196-1197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-387]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[INT-DES-02-51]


Banks Lake Drawdown, Columbia Basin Project, Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public hearings for the 
Banks Lake Drawdown, Washington, draft Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Reclamation (Reclamation), has prepared a draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (Draft EIS) to examine the impacts of alternatives to lower 
the minimum surface elevation for Banks Lake in August from 1,565 feet 
to 1,560 feet.
    The action alternative describes the resource conditions that would 
occur between Banks Lake surface elevations of 1,570 feet and 1,560 
feet, while the no action alternative describes the conditions that 
would occur without the proposed action, between surface elevation 
1,570 feet and 1,565 feet. Both the no action and action alternatives 
include four potential operational scenarios that could occur within 
their respective ranges.
    The action alternative includes a refill of the reservoir to 
elevation 1,565 feet, beginning September 1 and ending no later than 
September 10.

DATES: Written comments on the draft EIS must be received no later than 
March 10, 2003, at the address listed under the ADDRESSES section 
below.
    Public hearings will be held to accept oral comments on the draft 
EIS at:
    [sbull] Coulee City, Washington, on February 11, 2003, from 7 to 9 
p.m. and,
    [sbull] Moses Lake, Washington, on February 12, 2003, from 1:30 to 
3:30 p.m.
    The public hearing facilities are physically accessible. Please 
contact Mr. Blanchard at the telephone, fax or TTY relay numbers listed 
under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice for 
accessibility accommodations, including sign language interpreters or 
other auxiliary aids. Requests should be made by January 31, 2003, to 
allow sufficient time to arrange for accommodation.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be held at:
    [sbull] Coulee City Elementary School, 410 W. Locust, Coulee City, 
Washington, and,
    [sbull] District 5 Fire Station Training Facility, 12801 Nelson 
Road, Moses Lake, Washington.
    Written comments on the draft EIS should be submitted to Mr. Jim 
Blanchard, Special Projects Officer, Bureau of Reclamation, 32 C 
Street, P.O. Box 815, Ephrata, WA 98823-0815; or by fax 509-754-0239, 
or by e-mail at: [email protected].
    See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for locations where 
copies of the DEIS are available for public review and inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jim Blanchard, Special Projects 
Officer, at 509-754-0226 (relay users may dial 711). Those wishing to 
obtain a copy of the draft EIS in the form of a printed document or on 
compact disk (CD-ROM with reader included) or a summary of the draft 
EIS may contact Mr. Blanchard.

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. 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.

Hearing Process Information

    Requests to make oral comments at the public hearings may be made 
at each hearing. Comments will be recorded by a court reporter. 
Speakers will be called in the order of their requests. In the interest 
of available time, each speaker will be asked to limit oral comments to 
five minutes. Longer comments should be summarized at the public 
hearing and submitted in writing either at the public hearing or 
identified as hearing comments and mailed to be received by Mr. 
Blanchard no later than March 10, 2003.

Background

    Since its creation in the early 1950s, Banks Lake has been operated 
and maintained for the storage and delivery of irrigation water drawn 
from the Columbia River to Columbia Basin Project (CBP) lands. At Dry 
Falls Dam, the Main Canal flows south from the Banks Lake outlet works 
to the northern portion of the CBP's irrigable area. Reclamation 
operates the reservoir within established constraints on water surface 
elevation to met contractual obligations, ensure public safety, and 
protect property. Reclamation considers other resource needs as 
feasible within existing operational constraints.
    In December of 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a 
Biological Opinion (BIOP) to the Bureau

[[Page 1197]]

of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bonneville Power 
Administration for the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power 
System. The BIOP included a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA), 
of which action 31 advised Reclamation to ``assess the likely 
environmental effects of operation of Banks Lake up to 10 feet down 
from full pool during August.''
    Reclamation proposes to complete RPA action 31 by preparing the 
Banks Lake Drawdown draft Environmental Impact Statement to describe 
and analyze the environmental effects of lowering the August surface 
elevation of Banks Lake to elevation 1560 feet, which is 10 feet below 
full pool.

Review and Inspection of the DEIS

    Copies of the DEIS are available for public review and inspection 
at the following locations:
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Room 7455, 18th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Denver 
Federal Center, Building 67, Room 167, Denver, Colorado 80225.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 
1150 North Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, Idaho 83706-1234.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, 1917 
Marsh Road, Yakima, Washington 98901.
    [sbull] Bureau of Reclamation, Ephrata Field Office, 32 C Street, 
Ephrata, Washington 98823.

Libraries

    [sbull] Bridgeport Community Library, Douglas County, 1206 Columbia 
St., Bridgeport, WA 509-686-7281.
    [sbull] Coulee City Community Library, 405 W. Main St., Coulee 
City, WA 509-674-2313.
    [sbull] Des Moines Library, 21620 11th Ave S, Des Moines, WA 206-
824-6066.
    [sbull] East Wenatchee Community Library, Douglas County, 271 9th 
St NE, East Wenatchee, WA 509-886-7404.
    [sbull] Ephrata Public Library, 45 Alder NW, Ephrata, WA 509-754-
3971.
    [sbull] Grand Coulee Community Library, 225 Federal, Grand Coulee, 
WA 509-633-0972.
    [sbull] Moses Lake Public Library, 418 E. 5th Ave, Moses Lake, WA 
509-765-3489.
    [sbull] Quincy Community Library, 108 B St SW., Quincy, WA 509-787-
2359.
    [sbull] Royal City Community Library, 356 Camelia, Royal City, WA 
509-346-9281.
    [sbull] Seattle Public Library, 800 Pike St, Seattle, WA 206-386-
4636.
    [sbull] Soap Lake Community Library, 32 E. Main, Soap Lake, WA 509-
246-1313.
    [sbull] Warden Community Library, 305 S. Main, Warden, WA 509-349-
2226.
    [sbull] Wenatchee Public Library, Chelan County, 310 Douglas St, 
Wenatchee, WA 509-662-5021.

Internet

    The DEIS is also available on the Internet at http://www.pn.usbr.gov.

    Dated: December 20, 2002.
J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 03-387 Filed 1-8-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P