[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6202-6203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1880]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study; Benton, 
Yakima, and Kittitas Counties, Washington INT-DES 08-03

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Public Hearings on the Draft 
Planning Report and Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) has prepared a combined Draft Planning Report and 
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PR/EIS) on the Yakima River Basin 
Water Storage Feasibility Study (Storage Study). The Washington 
Department of Ecology (Ecology) is a joint lead with Reclamation in the 
preparation of the Draft PR/EIS which will also be used to comply with 
requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). 
The cooperating agencies on this study are Yakima County; the U.S. 
Department of the Army: Yakima Training Center and the Seattle District 
of the U.S. Corps of Engineers; and the U.S. Department of Energy: 
Office of River Protection.
    The purpose of the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility 
Study is to evaluate alternatives that would create additional water 
storage for the Yakima River basin and assess their potential to supply 
the water needed for ecosystem aquatic habitat, basin-wide agriculture, 
and municipal demands. The need for the study is based on the existing 
finite water supply and limited storage capability of the Yakima River 
basin in low water years. This finite supply and limited storage 
capacity do not meet the water supply demands in all years and result 
in significant adverse impact to the Yakima River basin's economy, 
which is agriculture-based, and to the basin's aquatic habitat, 
specifically, anadromous fisheries. The study seeks to identify means 
of increasing water storage available, including storage of Columbia 
River water, for purposes of improving anadromous fish habitat and 
meeting irrigation and municipal water supply needs.

DATES: Meetings will be held on 2 days in two locations:
     Wednesday, February 27, 2008, in Yakima, Washington.
     Thursday, February 28, 2008, in Kennewick, Washington.
    On each day, an informational open house will occur from 1 to 2 
p.m., followed by a public hearing to receive oral comments from 2 to 4 
p.m. Another open house will occur from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by 
another public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m.
    Requests for special assistance at the meetings should be submitted 
by February 15, 2008 (see Supplementary Information section, Special 
Assistance for Public Meetings).
    Written comments on the draft PR/EIS will be accepted through March 
31, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Meetings will be held at the following locations:
     Yakima, Washington: Yakima Convention Center, 10 North 8th 
St.
     Kennewick, Washington: Three Rivers Convention Center, 
7016 W. Grandridge Blvd.
    The meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities.
    Written comments on the Draft PR/EIS should be addressed to the 
Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, Attention: David 
Kaumheimer, Environmental Programs Manager, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, 
Washington 98901-2058. Comments may also be submitted electronically to 
[email protected]. Requests for paper or CD copies of the Draft 
PR/EIS may be made to (509) 575-5848, ext. 612.
    See Supplementary Information section for locations where copies of 
the Draft PR/EIS are available for public review.
    Information on this project can also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/storage_study/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact David Kaumheimer, 
Environmental Programs Manager, Telephone: (509) 575-5848, extension 
232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Hearing Process Information

    Requests to make oral comments at the public hearings may be made 
at each hearing. In order to ensure that all those interested in 
providing oral comments have an opportunity to do so, oral comments at 
the hearings will be limited to 5 minutes. Comments will be recorded by 
a court reporter. Speakers will be called in the order indicated on the 
sign in list for speaking. Speakers not present when called will be 
recalled at the end of the scheduled speakers. Speakers may provide 
written versions of their oral comments, or other additional written 
comments, for the hearing record. 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 within 7 days of 
the hearing date to Mr. Dave Kaumheimer as indicated under the 
Addresses section.

Background Information

    Reclamation has undertaken this study to explore ways to augment 
water supplies in the Yakima River Basin for the benefit of anadromous 
fish, irrigated agriculture, and municipal water supply under the 
authority of Public Law 108-7, Title II, Section 214 which was passed 
by Congress on February 20, 2003. Public Law 108-7 states:

    The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
Reclamation, shall conduct a feasibility study of options for 
additional water storage in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, with 
emphasis on the feasibility of storage of Columbia River water in 
the potential Black Rock Reservoir and the benefit of additional 
storage to endangered and threatened fish, irrigated agriculture, 
and municipal water supply. There are authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

    Ecology is a joint lead with Reclamation in the preparation of this 
Draft PR/EIS which also complies with SEPA. In addition to the No 
Action Alternative, this jointly prepared Draft PR/EIS provides NEPA 
coverage for three storage alternatives, referred to as the Joint 
Alternatives, which Reclamation and Ecology are considering as part of 
the Storage Study.

[[Page 6203]]

These include: Black Rock Dam, Wymer Dam and Reservoir, and Wymer Dam 
plus Yakima River Pump Exchange Alternatives.
    In addition to the storage alternatives being considered under 
feasibility study authority, this EIS provides SEPA coverage for three 
additional alternatives, referred to as the State Alternatives, which 
Ecology is considering. These include: Enhanced Water Conservation, 
Market Based Reallocation of Water Resources, and Groundwater Storage 
Alternatives.

Locations Where Copies of the Draft PR/EIS Are Available for Public 
Review

     Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Room 7455, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office Library, Denver 
Federal Center, Building 67, Room 167, Denver, Colorado 80225.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 
1150 North Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, Idaho 83706-1234.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, 1917 
Marsh Road, Yakima, Washington 98901.
     Kennewick City Library, 1620 S. Union St., Kennewick, 
Washington 99338.
     Pasco City Library, 1320 W. Hopkins, Pasco, Washington 
99301.
     Richland City Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland, 
Washington 99352.
     Yakima Valley Regional Library, 102 N. 3 rd St., Yakima, 
Washington 98901.
     Washington State Library, 6880 Capitol Blvd., SW, Olympia, 
Washington 98504.

Special Assistance for Public Meetings

    TTY users may dial 711 to obtain a toll free TTY relay.
    Requests for sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired 
should be submitted to David Kaumheimer at (509) 575-5848, extension 
232, or mailed to him at the address in the Addresses section.
    Spanish language interpretation requests should be made to John 
Evans at (509) 575-5848. Si necesita interprete para Espa[ntilde]ol, 
por favor llame John Evans a (509) 575-5848.

Public Disclosure

    If you wish to comment on this draft PR/EIS, you may mail us your 
comments as indicated under the Addresses section. Before including 
your name, address, phone number, e-mail 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 can 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.

J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. E8-1880 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
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