[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5626-5627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2237]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Reintroduction 
Project; Kittitas County, WA INT-DES 10-03

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (Draft EIS) and Announcement of Public Meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) published a notice in 
the Federal Register on April 8, 2009 (74 FR 16007) announcing the 
commencement of work under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
on the Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Reintroduction 
Project. The Washington State Department of Ecology is a joint lead 
with Reclamation in the preparation of the Draft EIS, in coordination 
with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama 
Nation. The Bonneville Power Administration has assumed the role of a 
cooperating agency in the preparation of the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS 
will also be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State 
Environmental Policy Act.
    The Draft EIS provides information on the analyses related to the 
construction of downstream juvenile fish passage and upstream adult 
fish passage facilities at the dam, as well as analyses associated with 
the implementation of a project to reintroduce fish above the dam. The 
Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental, cultural, and 
socioeconomic effects of the proposed alternatives.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted through March 
22, 2010.
    A public information meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on 
February 18, 2010 in Cle Elum, Washington. Oral comments will be taken 
at the meeting. To be included in the Public Meeting Report, comments 
should be labeled as public meeting comments and provided to 
Reclamation at the address given below by February 26, 2010.
    Requests for special assistance at the meeting should be submitted 
by February 9, 2010 (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, Special 
Assistance for Public Meetings).

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft EIS should be addressed to the 
Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia Cascades Area Office, Attention: 
Candace McKinley, Environmental Protection Specialist, 1917 Marsh Road, 
Yakima, Washington 98901 or submitted to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    The public meeting will be held at the City of Cle Elum Council 
Chamber Room, 119 West 1st Street, Cle Elum, Washington. Meeting 
facilities are physically accessible to people with disabilities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Candace McKinley, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, at 509-575-5848, ext. 276. 
Information on this project can also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ucao_misc/fishpassage/. To receive a copy of the Draft EIS 
refer to the above contact.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Information

    Requests to make oral comments may be made at the meeting. In order 
to ensure that all those interested in providing oral comments have an 
opportunity to do so, oral comments at the meeting will be limited to 5 
minutes. Comments will be recorded by a court reporter. Commenters will 
be called in the order indicated on the sign in list for speaking. 
Commenters not present when called will be recalled at the end of the 
other scheduled commenters. Commenters may provide written versions of 
their oral comments, or other additional written comments, for the 
meeting record. Longer comments should be summarized at the public 
meeting and submitted in writing either at the public meeting or 
identified as meeting comments and mailed as indicated in the DATES 
section.

Background

    Reclamation is evaluating the construction of downstream juvenile 
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, in collaboration with 
Yakama Nation, is evaluating the implementation of a project to 
reintroduce fish populations above the dam. The reintroduction plan 
would involve the transportation and release of adults for natural 
spawning and potentially 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 program. Reclamation determined 
that fish passage facilities could not be added under existing Safety 
of Dams authority. However, in the January 2002 Record of Decision for 
Keechelus Dam Modification EIS, 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 conditions with Washington Department of Fish

[[Page 5627]]

and Wildlife 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 Safety 
of Dams 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 Draft 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.

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 Ms. Candace McKinley at 509-575-5848, extension 
276, or mailed to her at the address in the ADDRESSES section.
    Spanish language interpretation requests should be made to John 
Evans at 509-575-5848, extension 238. Si necesita interprete para 
Espanol, por favor llame John Evans a 509-575-5848, extencion 238.

Public Disclosure Statement

    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.

J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-2237 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P