[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 220 (Thursday, November 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 67206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26990]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement; Minidoka County, ID

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 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) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) on the proposed Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement. Alternatives 
currently being considered are No Action as required under NEPA, total 
replacement of the spillway and headgate structures, or replacement of 
just the spillway.
    Reclamation is requesting early public comment and agency input to 
help identify significant issues or other alternatives to be addressed 
in the EIS. Information obtained during the scoping period will help in 
developing information to be included in the EIS. A draft EIS is 
expected to be provided to the public for review by winter, 2009 
followed by opportunities to provide written and oral comments. The 
final EIS is scheduled for completion in winter, 2010. A Record of 
Decision, describing which alternative is selected for implementation, 
and the rationale for its selection, would then be issued following a 
30-day waiting period.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
     Idaho Falls, ID: December 3, 2008: Open House Meeting 6 pm 
to 9 pm.
     Burley, ID: December 4, 2008: Open House Meeting 6 pm to 9 
pm.
    Written comments will be accepted through December 19, 2008 for 
inclusion in the scoping summary document. Please direct requests for 
sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired or other 
auxiliary aids, to Ms. Allyn Meuleman by November 24, 2008, at the 
telephone or fax numbers listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be added to the mailing list may be 
submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Snake River Area Office, Attention: 
Allyn Meuleman, Activity Manager, 230 Collins Road, Boise, ID 83702-
4520. Comments may also be submitted electronically to [email protected].
    The scoping meetings will be held at the following locations which 
are physically accessible to people with disabilities.
     Red Lion Hotel, 475 River Park Way, Idaho Falls, ID 83402
     Burley Best Western Inn, 800 North Overland Avenue, 
Burley, ID 83318

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Allyn Meuleman, (208) 383-2258, fax: 
(208) 383-2237 for additional information. Information on this project 
can also be found at: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/minidokadam/index.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the proposed spillway 
replacement action is to prevent a structural failure of the Minidoka 
Dam spillway and associated structures.
    Minidoka Dam impounds Lake Walcott and is a feature of 
Reclamation's Minidoka Project. They are located on the main stem Snake 
River about 18 miles northeast from the city of Burley, ID within the 
Minidoka Wildlife Refuge. After over 103 years of continued use, the 
over 2000 feet long concrete spillway at the Minidoka Dam has reached 
the end of its functional lifespan. The concrete that forms the 
spillway crest and the piers of the pier-and-stoplog structure shows 
extensive visible deterioration at numerous locations. In addition, the 
potential for ice damage to the stoplog piers requires that reservoir 
water levels be dropped each winter. The headgate structures at the 
North Side Canal and South Side Canal also show serious concrete 
deterioration similar to that seen along the spillway. The current 
conditions of the Minidoka Dam spillway and headgate structures present 
increasingly difficult reliability and maintenance problems. If 
structural problems are not corrected there is potential of partial or 
complete failure of the spillway and headgates. If these failures 
occur, Reclamation may not be able to meet contractual obligations for 
water delivery, power generation and Reclamation's commitments to 
deliver flow augmentation water under the Nez Perce Settlement 
Agreement and the Endangered Species Act.
    A related action which may be considered is a structural raise (to 
be determined) of Minidoka Dam to accommodate a 5-foot raise in the 
Reservoir Water Surface (RWS) elevation. The Idaho Water Resource Board 
(IWRB) is funding a special study that explores the feasibility and 
costs associated with this action. The purpose of the dam raise is to 
increase the storage capacity of Lake Walcott by approximately 50,000 
acre-feet as one element of efforts to address water supply concerns in 
the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer area. The IWRB anticipates the 
additional supplies of stored water could be used to help address 
surface and groundwater demands by implementing improvement measures 
being considered by the State. If the IWRB decides to pursue this 
action, a supplemental EIS will be developed to evaluate impacts.

Public Involvement

    Reclamation will conduct public scoping meetings to solicit input 
on the alternatives developed to address replacement of the Minidoka 
Dam Spillway and associated structures and the impacts associated with 
those alternatives. Reclamation will summarize comments received during 
the scoping meetings and written comments received during the scoping 
period, identified under DATES, into a scoping summary document which 
will be made available to those who have provided comments. It will 
also be available to others upon request and will be posted on the Web 
site listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
    If you wish to comment, you may provide 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. E8-26990 Filed 11-12-08; 8:45 am]
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