[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71070-71072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29577]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[INT-DES-11-58]
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the
Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, Yakima River Basin Water
Enhancement Project, Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima Counties,
WA
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation, in cooperation with the Washington
State Department of Ecology, the joint lead agency, has prepared a
draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Integrated
Water Resource Management Plan, Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement
Project. The draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS)
is available for public review and comment.
DATES: Submit written comments on the draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement on or before January 3, 2012
Three public open house meetings will be held on the following
dates to share information about the proposed action:
Monday, December 5, 2011, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from
5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Cle Elum, Washington.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from
5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Ellensburg, Washington.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Yakima, Washington.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments or requests for copies to Candace
McKinley, Environmental Program Manager, Bureau of Reclamation,
Columbia-Cascades Area Office, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA 98901; or by
email to [email protected].
The draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is also
available on the Bureau of Reclamation's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/2011integratedplan/index.html.
The public open house meetings will be held at:
Cle Elum--Cle Elum Ranger District, Tom L. Craven
Conference Room, 803 W. Second Street.
Ellensburg--Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. Ruby Street.
Yakima--Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Way.
See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where
copies of the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is
available for public review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace McKinley, (509) 575-5848, ext.
232; or email at [email protected]. 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 involves 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 the water right uncertainties
have been addressed.
In 2003, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Washington
State Department of Ecology (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
[[Page 71071]]
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
relied upon a range of water management and habitat improvement
approaches to resolve the long-standing water resource problems in the
basin.
The DPEIS describes and analyzes the potential effects of two
alternatives. Under the Action Alternative, Reclamation and Ecology
would implement an Integrated Water Resource Management Plan based on
the following elements:
1. Fish Passage (fish passage improvements at Cle Elum, Bumping,
Clear Lake, Keechelus, Kachess, and Tieton Dams);
2. Structural/Operational Changes (Cle Elum Dam pool raise,
Kittitas Reclamation District canal modifications, Keechelus to Kachess
pipeline, subordination of power generation at Roza and Chandler Power
Plants and Wapatox canal improvements.);
3. Surface Storage (new Wymer Dam and Reservoir, Bumping Reservoir
enlargement, Kachess inactive storage);
4. Groundwater Storage (groundwater infiltration prior to storage
control and aquifer storage and recovery);
5. Habitat protection and enhancement (targeted watershed
protection and enhancements;
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).
Under the No Action Alternative, Reclamation and Ecology would not
implement development of new surface water storage in the Yakima River
basin or expansion of programs to protect or enhance fish habitat, nor
would Reclamation and Ecology implement structural and operational
changes enhanced water conservation, market-based reallocation of water
resources, or groundwater storage.
Purpose and Need for Action
The current water resources infrastructure of the Yakima River
basin has not been capable of consistently meeting aquatic resource
demands for fish and wildlife habitat, dry-year irrigation demands, and
municipal water supply demands. Specific needs that the Integrated Plan
is proposed to address include: Anadromous and resident fish
populations are seriously depleted from historic levels due to the
following major factors:
Dams and other obstructions block fish passage to upstream
tributaries and spawning grounds;
Riparian habitat and floodplain functions have been
degraded by past and present land use practices; and
Irrigation operations have altered stream flows, resulting
in flows at certain times of the year that are too high in some reaches
and too low in others to provide good fish habitat.
Demand for irrigation water significantly exceeds supply in drought
years, leading to severe prorationing (delivery of a reduced water
supply) for proratable, or junior, water rights holders:
A water supply of 70 percent of proratable water rights
during a drought year would provide a minimally acceptable supply to
prevent severe economic losses to farmers. This number was reached
following extensive discussions with stakeholders regarding the lowest
level of water supply that could be accommodated without catastrophic
losses to crops, assuming aggressive water management techniques were
employed. This 70-percent threshold is similar to the State of
Washington's definition of a drought condition contained in RCW
43.83B.400, which recognizes a drought when water supply for a
significant portion of a geographic area falls below 75 percent of
normal and is likely to cause undue hardship for various water uses and
users.
Demand for municipal and domestic water supplies is difficult to
meet because of the following factors:
Water rights in the basin are fully appropriated, making
it difficult to acquire water rights to meet future municipal and
domestic water demand;
Pumping groundwater for irrigation and municipal uses may
reduce surface water flows in some locations, which may affect existing
water rights; and
Hydraulic continuity between groundwater and surface water
in the basin creates uncertainty over the status of groundwater rights
and permit exempt wells within the basin's appropriative water rights
system (first in time first in right), potentially making groundwater
use junior to nearly all surface water use.
Climate change projections indicate that there will be less runoff
available from reservoirs, increasing the need for prorationing and
reducing flows for fish.
These problems have created a need to restore ecological functions
in the Yakima River system and to provide more reliable and sustainable
water resources for the health of the riverine environment, and for
agriculture and municipal and domestic needs. These needs should be
addressed in a way that anticipates increased water demands and changes
in water supply related to climate change.
The purposes of the Integrated Plan are to:
Implement a comprehensive program of water resource and
habitat improvements in response to existing and forecast needs of the
Yakima River basin; and
Develop an adaptive approach for implementing these
initiatives and for long-term management of basin water supplies that
contributes to the vitality of the regional economy and sustains the
health of the riverine environment.
Proposed Federal Action
Reclamation proposes to implement an integrated water resource
management plan in the Yakima River basin as part of the Yakima River
Basin Water Enhancement Project to improve water supply reliability
during drought years to 70 percent of proratable supply for
participating irrigation districts; improve the ability of water
managers to respond and adapt to potential effects of climate change;
provide opportunities for comprehensive ecological restoration and
enhancement addressing instream flows, aquatic habitat, and fish
passage; provide economic stimulus to the Yakima River basin that will
benefit the larger Central Washington area; and develop a comprehensive
approach for efficient management of water supplies for irrigated
agriculture, municipal and domestic uses, and power generation.
Locations for Public Review
Copies of the DPEIS are available for public review and inspection
at the following locations:
Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, 1917
Marsh Road, Yakima, Washington 98901.
Washington State Department of Ecology, 15 W. Yakima
Avenue, Suite 200, Yakima, Washington 98902.
Libraries
Carpenter Memorial Library, 302 N Pennsylvania Ave, Cle
Elum, Washington 98922.
Ellensburg Public Library, 209 N Ruby St, Ellensburg,
Washington 98926.
Roslyn Public Library, 201 S. First St, Roslyn, Washington
98941.
Benton City Library, 810 Horne Dr, Benton City, Washington
99320.
Kennewick Library, 1620 S Union St, Kennewick, Washington
99338.
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Kittitas Public Library, 200 N Pierce St, Kittitas,
Washington 98934.
Mid-Columbia Library, 405 S Dayton St, Kennewick,
Washington 99336.
Pasco Library, 1320 W Hopkins St, Pasco, Washington 99301.
Prosser Library, 902 7th St, Prosser, Washington 99350.
Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Dr, Richland,
Washington 99352.
Sunnyside Public Library, 621 Grant Ave, Sunnyside,
Washington 98944.
Toppenish Library, 1 S Elm St, Toppenish, Washington
98948.
Wapato Library, 119 E 3rd St, Wapato, Washington 98951.
Washington State Library, Point Plaza East, 6880 Capitol
Blvd. SE., Tumwater, Washington 98504.
West Richland Library, 3803 W Van Giesen St, Richland,
Washington 99353.
Yakama Nation Library, 100 Spiel-Yi Loop, Toppenish,
Washington 98948.
Yakima Valley Regional Library, 102 N 3rd St, Yakima,
Washington 98901.
Special Assistance for Public Meetings
If special assistance is required to participate in the public
meetings, please contact Candace McKinley at (509) 575-5848, ext. 232,
or via email at [email protected]. Please notify Ms. McKinley as far
in advance as possible to enable Reclamation to secure the needed
services. If a request cannot be honored, the requestor will be
notified. TTY users may dial 711 to obtain a toll-free TTY relay.
Public Disclosure
Before including your name, address, phone number, email 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.
Dated: November 7, 2011.
Karl E. Wirkus,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-29577 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P