[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64976-64977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25691]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[XXXR0680R1 RR.R0336A1R5WRMP01.03 RR01113000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Public Scoping Meetings for the Cle Elum Reservoir Pool Raise, Yakima
River Basin Water Enhancement Project, Integrated Water Resource
Management Plan, Kittitas County, Washington
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation intends to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) on the Cle Elum Reservoir Pool Raise project.
The Washington State Department of Ecology will be a joint lead agency
with the Bureau of Reclamation in the preparation of this EIS, which
also will be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The Bureau of Reclamation is
requesting public comment and agency input to identify significant
issues or other alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
DATES: Submit written comments on the scope of the environmental impact
statement on or before December 16, 2013.
Two scoping meetings, combined with open houses each day, will be
held on the following dates and times:
November 20, 2013, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
to 7:00 p.m., Yakima, WA.
November 21, 2013, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
to 7:00 p.m., Cle Elum, WA.
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 Ms. Candace
McKinley, Environmental Program Manager, Bureau of Reclamation,
Columbia-Cascades Area Office, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA 98901; or
email [email protected].
The scoping meetings and open houses will be located at:
Yakima--Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Way, Yakima,
WA 98901.
Cle Elum--U.S. Forest Service (Cle Elum Ranger District
Conference Room), 803 W 2nd Street, Cle Elum, WA 98922.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Candace McKinley, Bureau of
Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA
98901; telephone (509) 575-5848, ext. 232; facsimile (509) 454-5650;
email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) at 1-800-877-
8339 TTY/ASCII to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FedRelay is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to
leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive
a reply during normal business hours. Information on this project may
also be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is
issuing this notice pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the Council on
Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA, 43 CFR
parts 1500 through 1508; the Department of the Interior's NEPA
regulations, 43 CFR part 46, and the Washington State Environmental
Policy Act.
Background
On July 9, 2013, the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final
Programmatic EIS (PEIS) for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water
Resource Management Plan (Integrated Plan) was signed. In the ROD, the
Reclamation selected the Integrated Plan Alternative for
implementation. The Integrated Plan Alternative is comprised of seven
elements which were considered in the PEIS:
1. Reservoir Fish Passage;
2. Structural and Operational Changes;
3. Surface Water Storage;
4. Groundwater Storage;
5. Habitat/Watershed Protection and Enhancement;
6. Enhanced Water Conservation; and
7. Water Market Reallocation of Water Resources.
As described in the PEIS, the Reclamation and the Washington State
Department of Ecology (Ecology) will complete project-level, site-
specific environmental review for actions within the Integrated Plan
once the agencies are ready to move forward each action or groups of
actions. Reclamation and Ecology have determined that it is appropriate
to initiate the environmental review process with regard to the Cle
Elum Reservoir Pool Raise.
This action was previously evaluated at a programmatic level of
analysis in
[[Page 64977]]
the Integrated Plan PEIS (see chapters 2 through 5 of the PEIS
available at: www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/reports/FPEIS/fpeis.pdf).
The PEIS examined the effects of the overall Integrated Plan
Alternative, which included the Cle Elum Reservoir Pool Raise Project
as part of the Structural and Operational Changes element. Now the
agencies will prepare a project-level EIS for the Cle Elum Reservoir
Pool Raise Project and will tier to the Integrated Plan PEIS as
provided for in the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40
CFR 1502.20, Tiering). The project-level environmental analysis to be
conducted in this EIS will expand upon and add detail to those analyses
already completed in the Integrated Plan PEIS.
The proposed action to be evaluated in the Cle Elum Reservoir Pool
Raise EIS is to modify the radial gates at Cle Elum Dam to provide an
additional 14,600 acre-feet of storage capacity. This modification
would raise the pool level by approximately 3 feet. The objective of
this action is to use the additional water stored to provide increased
seasonal releases from Cle Elum Reservoir to improve streamflows for
fish. The Cle Elum Pool Raise Project is authorized in Yakima River
Basin Water Enhancement Project (Sec. 1206, Pub. L. 103-43).
At this time, there are no known Indian Trust Assets or
environmental justice issues associated with the proposed action.
Special Assistance for Public Scoping and Open House Meetings
If special assistance is required to participate in the public
scoping and open house meetings, please contact Ms. Candace McKinley,
Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, 1917 Marsh Road,
Yakima, WA 98901; telephone (509) 575-5848, ext. 232; facsimile (509)
454-5650; email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) at 1-
800-877-8339 TTY/ASCII to contact the above individual during normal
business hours. The FedRelay is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You
will receive a reply during normal business hours. All meeting
facilities are physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Public Disclosure
Before including your 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 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: October 24, 2013.
Lorri J. Lee,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-25691 Filed 10-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P