[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16007-16008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7405]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Re-Introduction 
Project; Kittitas County, WA

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 of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) 
proposes to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Cle 
Elum Dam Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Re-Introduction Project. The 
Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) will be a joint lead 
with Reclamation in the preparation of this EIS, which will also be 
used to comply with requirements of the Washington State Environmental 
Policy Act (SEPA).
    Reclamation is evaluating the construction of downstream juvenile

[[Page 16008]]

fish passage and upstream adult fish passage alternatives at the dam 
for the Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Facilities Project. Cle Elum Dam did 
not include fish passage facilities when constructed in 1933; 
consequently, fish passage to upstream habitat for fish species was 
blocked.
    As part of the effort to restore fish above Cle Elum Dam, the 
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), in collaboration 
with Yakama Nation, is evaluating the implementation of a proposed fish 
re-introduction project for populations above the dam. The re-
introduction project would involve the use of hatchery supplementation 
techniques to restore fish above the dam.
    Early in 2001, Yakima River basin interest groups urged Reclamation 
to incorporate fish passage facilities as part of the reconstruction of 
Keechelus Dam under the Safety of Dams (SOD) program. Reclamation 
determined that fish passage facilities could not be added under 
existing SOD authority. However, in the January 2002 Record of Decision 
(ROD) for Keechelus Dam Modification EIS (Reclamation 2002), 
Reclamation committed to seek funding under existing authorities to 
conduct a feasibility study for providing fish passage at all Yakima 
Project storage dams. Additionally, Reclamation agreed to mitigation 
agreement terms and Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) conditions with 
WDFW to investigate fish passage feasibility. In 2003, Reclamation 
prevailed in a suit filed by the Yakama Nation concerning the NEPA and 
Endangered Species Act compliance for the Keechelus SOD project. The 
Yakama Nation then appealed that decision to the 9th Circuit Court of 
Appeals. In 2006, Reclamation and the Yakama Nation entered into a 
settlement agreement to resolve litigation in which the parties agreed 
to collaborate to prepare technical plans and a planning report for 
fish passage at Cle Elum and Bumping Lake Dams. This EIS is part of the 
agreed-upon planning process for Cle Elum Dam only. An EIS for Bumping 
Lake fish passage will be prepared separately at a future time.

DATES: A scoping meeting will be held on April 30, 2009, from 5:30 to 
7:30 p.m. at the location indicated under the ADDRESSES section. 
Written comments will be accepted through May 8, 2009, for inclusion in 
the scoping summary document. Requests for sign language interpretation 
for the hearing impaired or other special assistance needs should be 
submitted to David Kaumheimer, Environmental Program Manager, as 
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section by April 16, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be added to the mailing list may be 
submitted to Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, 
Attention: David Kaumheimer, Environmental Program Manager, 1917 Marsh 
Road, Yakima, Washington 98901.
    The scoping meeting will be held at the Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. 
Ruby Street, Ellensburg, WA 98926. The meeting facility is physically 
accessible to people with disabilities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact David Kaumheimer, Environmental 
Program Manager, Telephone (509) 575-5848, ext. 232. TTY users may dial 
711 to obtain a toll-free TTY relay. Information on this project can 
also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ucao_misc/fishpassage/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Yakima Project Storage Dams Fish Passage 
Study is conducted under the authority of the Act of December 28, 1979 
(93 Stat. 1241, Pub. L. 96-162, Feasibility Study--Yakima River Basin 
Water Enhancement Project). Section 1205 of Title XII of the Yakima 
River Basin Water Enhancement Project Act of October 31, 1994 (Pub. L. 
103-434, as amended, 108 Stat. 4550) authorized fish, wildlife, and 
recreation as additional purposes of the Yakima Project. Section 1206 
of Title XII of this Act authorizes Reclamation to construct juvenile 
(i.e., downstream) fish passage facilities at Cle Elum Dam under a cost 
ceiling. Section 109 of the Hoover Power Plant Act of August 17, 1984 
(Pub. L. 98-381, 98 Stat. 1340), authorizes Reclamation to design, 
construct, and operate fish passage facilities within the Yakima River 
basin that is in accordance with the NPCC's Columbia River Fish and 
Wildlife Program. A companion law was enacted August 22, 1984, to 
provide, among other things, for operations and maintenance costs 
related to fish facilities (Pub. L. 98-396, 98 Stat. 1379).
    Alternatives are being developed to construct fish passage 
facilities for Cle Elum Dam which includes both downstream juvenile 
passage and upstream adult passage. The downstream passage facilities, 
as currently envisioned, would include an intake structure located just 
above the spillway inlet channel and a conduit through the right 
abutment of the dam. These modifications will provide surface releases 
in enough volume to attract migrating juvenile fish to an overflow gate 
in the reservoir that will lead to a conduit that will safely discharge 
the fish downstream from the dam.
    The proposed upstream fish passage would consist of a trap and haul 
facility. Fish collected at the facility would be placed into a fish 
transport truck and hauled upstream for release into the reservoir and 
upstream tributaries.
    The fish re-introduction project proposes to restore populations of 
sockeye salmon (Onchorynchus nerka), coho salmon (O. kisutch), spring 
chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), summer steelhead (O. mykiss), and 
Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) through the use of hatchery 
supplementation techniques. Existing hatchery facilities would be used 
for the program and no new facilities would be constructed. The re-
introduction project would initially focus on restoring coho salmon 
above Cle Elum Dam. The additional species would be added to the 
project incrementally over time. A strategy has been developed for 
near-term, mid-term and long-term actions.

Public Involvement

    Reclamation and Ecology in collaboration with WDFW will conduct a 
public scoping meeting to solicit comments on the alternatives for the 
Cle Elum Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Re-Introduction Project, and 
to identify potential issues and impacts associated with those 
alternatives. Reclamation and Ecology will summarize comments received 
during the scoping meeting and from letters of comment received during 
the scoping period, identified under the DATES section, into a scoping 
summary document that will be made available to those who have provided 
comments. It will also be available to others upon request. If you wish 
to comment, you may mail us your comments as indicated under the 
ADDRESSES section.

Public Disclosure

    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 may 
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.

Timothy Personius,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. E9-7405 Filed 4-7-09; 8:45 am]
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