[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28532-28533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09525]


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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

[CEQ-2023-0002]


Columbia River Salmon and Other Native Fish Request for 
Information

AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is issuing this 
request for information (RFI) to solicit feedback on Columbia River 
salmon and other native fish restoration and other relevant information 
to an ongoing mediation.

DATES: The agency requests comments by July 3, 2023, and must receive 
comments on or before August 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number CEQ-
2023-0002, using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    All submissions received must include the agency name, ``Council on 
Environmental Quality,'' and the docket number, CEQ-2023-0002, for this 
RFI. Comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Do 
not submit any information you consider to be private information, 
privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, or 
other information the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. CEQ 
encourages submissions of 1,000 words or fewer. For any submissions 
that are over 1,000 words, please consider including an executive 
summary of 1,000 words or fewer.
    All submissions are voluntary. You may respond to some or all of 
the questions listed in the RFI. You may include references to academic 
literature or links to online material (such as datasets) but please 
ensure all links are publicly available. Each response should include:
     The name of the individual(s) or entity responding.
     A brief description of the responding individual(s) or 
entity's mission or areas of expertise.
     A contact for questions or other follow-up on your 
response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Issues regarding submission or 
questions on this RFI can be sent to De'Marcus Robinson, Ocean Policy 
Fellow, 202-395-5750 or De'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Columbia River and its tributaries were once among the most 
productive salmon and steelhead ecosystems in the world with an 
estimated 7.5 to 16 million adult salmon and steelhead returning to 
Pacific Northwest tributaries each year and sustaining the cultures and 
economies of Tribal Nations since time immemorial. From the 1930s to 
the 1970s, the Federal government constructed a series of 14 
multipurpose dams in the Columbia River Basin to address a myriad of 
economic challenges, and, additionally, more than 100 non-Federal dams 
were constructed.
    Communities across the Northwest have come to rely on these dams 
for reliable and affordable electricity, flood risk management, water 
supply, irrigation, navigation, and recreation. The dams also altered 
free-flowing rivers, affected juvenile fish as they migrate out to sea, 
impeded adult fish returning to spawn, inundated Tribal fishing areas 
and sacred sites, and forever displaced people from their homes. The 
construction of the Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams without fish 
passage eradicated salmon and steelhead from the Upper Columbia River 
Basin. In the 1990s, 13 of the Columbia River Basin's remaining salmon 
populations required the protection of the Endangered Species Act to 
survive.
    The Federal Government has spent tens of billions of dollars, in 
partnership with Tribes, states, and non-governmental organizations, on 
efforts that contribute to fish survival and recovery. States and 
Tribes have also funded and implemented fish recovery programs. Despite 
hard work, ingenuity, great expense, and commitment across all levels 
of Federal, state, Tribal and local governments and a wide range of 
stakeholders, many fish populations in the Columbia River Basin--
salmon, steelhead, and others--have not recovered, some continue to 
decline, and many areas remain inaccessible to them.
    Litigation over the impact of the operation of certain Federal dams 
in the Columbia River System on salmon and other native fish has been 
ongoing for decades and the courts have consistently ruled that the 
Federal Government has fallen short of its legal obligations. 
Currently, several ongoing cases are pending in the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Oregon and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit.
    In the Fall of 2021, the plaintiffs and petitioners in the 
litigation and the Federal Government agreed to a temporary stay in the 
litigation to create an opportunity for the Federal Government to 
develop a long-term plan to restore Columbia River salmon and other 
native fish. Shortly thereafter, the Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) convened an interagency group with leaders from: the Department 
of the Interior, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of 
Reclamation, and Fish and Wildlife Service; the Department of Commerce, 
including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the 
Department of the Army, including the Army Corps of Engineers; and the 
Department of Energy, including the Bonneville Power Administration. 
This interagency group is intended to build on existing analyses to 
identify a durable path forward that ensures a clean energy future, 
supports local and regional economies, and restores ecosystem function, 
while honoring longstanding commitments to Tribal Nations.
    In March 2022, CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory, Secretary of the Interior 
Deb Haaland, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Assistant Secretary 
of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor, and Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Dr. Richard Spinrad convened a 
consultation with Tribal Nations of the Columbia River Basin and 
published a blog post reflecting on what the Tribes shared at the 
consultation and the Administration's values that inform its effort to 
restore healthy and abundant salmon and steelhead to the Columbia River 
Basin.
    In April 2022, the Federal Government engaged the Federal Mediation 
and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to mediate and facilitate between the 
parties in the litigation and the regional sovereigns, including Tribal 
Nations and states. In August 2022, the plaintiffs, petitioners, and 
the Federal government agreed to an additional stay in litigation 
through August 2023.
    Through the stay agreement, the Federal Government committed to 
supporting development of a durable

[[Page 28533]]

long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations 
to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal 
Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting 
the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region. Since that 
time, the Federal Government has engaged with the states, Tribes, and 
other litigation parties through the FMCS process toward developing a 
long-term strategy and further stay or resolution of the litigation. To 
provide the stakeholders who are not directly involved in the 
litigation an opportunity to provide input to the Federal agencies on 
Columbia River Basin restoration, the Federal Government asked FMCS to 
schedule listening sessions where individuals could provide comment.
    The first listening session occurred on March 31, 2023. FMCS gave 
speakers slots in the order that they registered. Because of the number 
of people who registered to speak (250 people), the first session was 
extended in an overflow session on April 3. Fifty-five people offered 
comments on March 31, and forty-eight on April 3. Across both days, 
everyone in attendance who had registered to speak had an opportunity 
to do so; some persons who registered to speak did not attend and 
others attended but chose not to speak. FMCS has scheduled another 
listening session for May 25. CEQ is publishing this RFI and opening a 
publicly accessible docket to provide an additional opportunity for 
public input on the key questions below or any other information and 
views relevant to the task of identifying a durable path forward for 
salmon and other native fish that honors longstanding commitments to 
Tribal Nations, ensures a clean energy future, supports local and 
regional economies, and restores ecosystem function. Through this RFI, 
CEQ also encourages the parties to the FMCS process to review the 
comments received on the docket to inform discussions in the mediation. 
This RFI does not serve as a substitute for other public engagement 
that may be required for any specific action that the Federal 
government undertakes.
    In March 2022, CEQ established an email address, 
[email protected], as a means for interested persons to share their 
thoughts on issues related to the mediation. Emails sent to 
[email protected] are delivered only to CEQ, however, and are not 
directly available to other parties to the mediation or the public. 
Because this RFI and the associated public docket provide a more 
effective means for seeking input than an agency email address, CEQ 
will close the [email protected] email address 30 days after 
publication of this RFI. Interested parties should submit information 
in response to this RFI in lieu of emailing [email protected].
    CEQ requests comments under this RFI within 60 days to provide 
timely information for consideration, however, the public docket will 
remain open until August 31, 2023, the date the stay agreement is set 
to expire. CEQ will continue to monitor the docket through August 31, 
2023, and will encourage all parties to the mediation to do the same.

II. Key Questions for Input

Lower Snake River

    In securing the current stay of litigation, the Federal Government 
agreed to explore lower Snake River habitat restoration opportunities, 
``including but not limited to migration corridor restoration through 
breaching the four lower Snake River dams,'' which would require 
Congressional authorization. The Federal Government would welcome views 
on:
     What constitutes ``restoration'' of the lower Snake River 
and what steps should the Federal Government take to restore the lower 
Snake River?
     What considerations should inform the Federal Government's 
approach to restoring the lower Snake River?
     What information should the Federal government develop to 
support discussions in the Northwest and in Congress on the restoration 
of the lower Snake River?

Upper Columbia River

    In securing the current stay of litigation, the Federal Government 
agreed to explore providing full support for and funding of a plan 
developed by the Upper Columbia River Tribes to reintroduce salmon into 
the Upper Columbia River Basin. The Federal Government would welcome 
views on:
     What considerations should inform the Federal Government's 
approach to supporting the Upper Columbia River Tribes' reintroduction 
plan?

Funding

    In securing the current stay of litigation, the Federal Government 
agreed to explore actions and funding to address ``unmitigated Tribal 
needs, avoiding future issues with respect to creating inequities, and 
actions supporting salmon and other fisheries and fish and wildlife 
programs and infrastructure.'' The Federal Government would welcome 
views on:
     What steps should the Federal Government take in response 
to this commitment?
     What considerations should inform the Federal Government's 
approach to funding and actions to restore fish populations throughout 
the Columbia River Basin?

Amy Coyle,
Deputy General Counsel
[FR Doc. 2023-09525 Filed 5-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3325-F3-P