[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18780-18781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7969]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, Yakima River Basin 
Water Enhancement Project, Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima 
Counties, Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a combined planning report and 
programmatic environmental impact statement, and notice of scoping 
meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to prepare a 
combined Planning Report and Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on the Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, 
Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project. The Washington State 
Department of Ecology (Ecology) will be a joint lead agency with 
Reclamation in the preparation of this Programmatic EIS, which will 
also be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State 
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

DATES: Written comments on the proposal, reasonable alternatives to the 
proposal, potential environmental impacts, and mitigation measures will 
be accepted through May 19, 2011 for inclusion in the scoping summary 
document.
    Scoping meetings, preceded by open houses, will be held at the 
following communities, dates, and times:
     Ellensburg, Washington; May 3, 2011; open house and 
scoping meeting 1:30 to 3:30 pm and again from 5 to 7 pm.
     Yakima, Washington; May 5, 2011; open house and scoping 
meeting 1:30 to 3:30 pm and again from 5 to 7 pm.
    Requests for sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired 
or other special assistance needs should be submitted by April 26, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Send written scoping comments, requests to be added to the 
mailing list, or requests for sign language interpretation for the 
hearing impaired or other special assistance needs, to Bureau of 
Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, Attention: Candace 
McKinley, Environmental Program Manager, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA 
98901; or by e-mail to [email protected].
    The Ellensburg open house and scoping meetings will be held at the 
Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. Ruby Street, Ellensburg, Washington 98926. 
The Yakima open house and scoping meetings will be held at the Yakima 
Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Way, Yakima, Washington 98901. The 
meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities.
    Information on this project may also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Candace McKinley, 
Environmental Program Manager, Telephone (509) 575-5848, ext. 237. TTY 
users may dial 711 to obtain a toll-free TTY relay.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In 1979, Congress initiated the Yakima River Basin Water 
Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) in response to long-standing water 
resource problems in the basin. The YRBWEP was charged with developing 
a plan to achieve four objectives: (1) Provide supplemental water for 
presently irrigated lands; (2) provide water for new lands within the 
Yakama Indian Reservation; (3) provide water for increased instream 
flows for aquatic life; and (4) identify a comprehensive approach for 
efficient management of basin water supplies.
    Initial efforts in the mid-1980s (Phase 1) focused on improving 
fish passage by rebuilding fish ladders and constructing fish screens 
at existing diversions. Phase 2 in the 1990s focused on water 
conservation/water acquisition activities, tributary fish screens, and 
long-term management needs. Efforts under these initial phases were 
hindered by the ongoing uncertainties associated with adjudication of 
the basin surface waters that began in 1978. With the adjudication 
process now largely completed, most of these water right uncertainties 
have been addressed.
    In 2003, Reclamation and Ecology initiated the Yakima River Basin 
Water Storage Feasibility Study to examine storage augmentation in the 
Yakima River basin. This study emphasized evaluation of a proposed 
Black Rock Reservoir, which was the focus of the Yakima River Basin 
Water Storage Feasibility Study Draft Planning Report/Environmental 
Impact Statement (PR/EIS) issued in January 2008.
    The narrow focus of the legislative authorization in combination 
with comments on the Draft PR/EIS prompted Ecology to separate from the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. In mid-2008, Ecology 
initiated a separate evaluation of the Yakima basin's water supply 
problems, including consideration of habitat and fish passage needs. 
Reclamation continued the NEPA process consistent with its legislative 
authorization and issued the Yakima River Basin Water Storage 
Feasibility Study Final PR/EIS in December 2008. Following issuance of 
the Final PR/EIS, Reclamation selected the No Action Alternative. 
Ecology completed its study and issued a separate Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water 
Resource Management Alternative in June 2009 under SEPA.
    The Integrated Water Resource Management Alternative evaluated in 
the Ecology FEIS relies upon a range of water management and habitat 
improvement approaches comprised of seven major elements to resolve the 
long-standing water resource problems in the basin. Elements of the 
Integrated Water Resource Management Plan that will be analyzed in the 
Programmatic EIS include, but are not limited to:
    1. Fish Passage (fish passage improvements at Cle Elum, Bumping, 
Clear Lake, Keechelus, Kachess, and Tieton Dams);
    2. Structural/Operational Changes (subordination of power 
generation at Roza and Chandler Power Plants);

[[Page 18781]]

    3. Surface Storage (new Wymer Dam and Reservoir, Bumping Reservoir 
enlargement, Kachess inactive storage);
    4. Groundwater Storage (groundwater infiltration prior to storage 
control);
    5. Fish Habitat (mainstem floodplain restoration program);
    6. Enhanced Water Conservation (agricultural water and municipal/
domestic conservation); and
    7. Market-Based Reallocation of Water Resources (institutional 
improvements to facilitate market-based water transfers).
    The proposed plan may affect Indian trust assets of the Yakama 
Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. 
There are no known adverse or significant impacts to minority or low-
income populations or communities associated with this proposal.
    Reclamation is requesting early public comment and agency input to 
help identify significant issues and alternatives to be addressed in 
the Programmatic EIS. Information obtained during the scoping period 
will help in developing information to be included in the Programmatic 
EIS. A Draft Programmatic EIS is expected to be issued in winter of 
2011, followed by an opportunity for public and agency review and 
comment. The Final Programmatic EIS is anticipated for completion in 
spring of 2012. 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.

Public Involvement

    Reclamation and Ecology will conduct public scoping meetings to 
solicit comments on the alternatives for the Integrated Water Resource 
Management Plan, and to identify potential issues and impacts 
associated with those alternatives. Reclamation and Ecology will 
summarize comments received during the scoping meetings 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 
provide 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.

    Dated: March 29, 2011.
Steven L. Brawley,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-7969 Filed 4-4-11; 8:45 am]
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