80 FR 70770 - Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery, Yakima Basin Coho Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 220 (November 16, 2015)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS to determine whether to fund the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation's proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for coho salmon in the upper Yakima basin. The Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery would involve construction of a hatchery on 50 acres of land owned by the Yakama Nation in Kittitas County, Washington. Hatchery operations would include collection of adult coho for broodstock at the existing Roza and Sunnyside dams, incubation and rearing of up to 200,000 juvenile coho salmon, and release of smolts into the Yakima and Naches rivers. Coho were extirpated from the Yakima basin by the early 1980s. The proposal would augment anadromous fish populations available for harvest and aid natural spawning of coho in the Yakima basin. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential environmental impacts that should be considered as an EIS is prepared. In accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland regulations, BPA will analyze impacts to floodplain and wetlands as well as measures to avoid or minimize potential effects. The assessment will be included in the EIS.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 220 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70770-70771]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28936]



[[Page 70770]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery, Yakima Basin Coho Project

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands assessment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS to determine whether to fund the 
Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation's proposal to construct and 
operate a hatchery for coho salmon in the upper Yakima basin.
    The Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery would involve construction of a 
hatchery on 50 acres of land owned by the Yakama Nation in Kittitas 
County, Washington. Hatchery operations would include collection of 
adult coho for broodstock at the existing Roza and Sunnyside dams, 
incubation and rearing of up to 200,000 juvenile coho salmon, and 
release of smolts into the Yakima and Naches rivers.
    Coho were extirpated from the Yakima basin by the early 1980s. The 
proposal would augment anadromous fish populations available for 
harvest and aid natural spawning of coho in the Yakima basin.
    With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping 
process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential 
environmental impacts that should be considered as an EIS is prepared.
    In accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland regulations, BPA will 
analyze impacts to floodplain and wetlands as well as measures to avoid 
or minimize potential effects. The assessment will be included in the 
EIS.

DATES: Written comments are due to the address below no later than 
January 4, 2016. Comments may also be made at the scoping meeting to be 
held on December 9, 2015 at the addresses below.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed scope of the Draft EIS and requests 
to be placed on the project mailing list may be mailed by letter to 
Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs Office--DKE-7, P.O. Box 
3621, Portland, OR 97208-3621, or sent by fax to 503-230-4019. You may 
also call BPA's toll-free comment hotline at 1-800-622-4519 and leave a 
message (please include the name of the project), or submit comments 
online at www.bpa.gov/comment. All comments received will be accessible 
from the project Web site at www.bpa.gov/goto/MelvinSampsonHatchery.
    On Wednesday, December 9, 2015, a scoping meeting will be held from 
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Hal Holmes Community Center, 209 N. Ruby 
Street, Ellensburg, Washington 98926. At this informal open-house 
meeting, BPA will provide project information and maps and will make 
members of the project team available to answer questions and accept 
verbal and written comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Goodman, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Bonneville Power Administration, KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, 
Portland, OR 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct 
telephone 503-230-4764; or email [email protected]. Additional 
information can be found at the project Web site: www.bpa.gov/goto/MelvinSampsonHatchery.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BPA's funding of the Yakama Nation's project 
would support efforts to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and 
wildlife affected by the development and operation of the Federal 
Columbia River Power System in the mainstem Columbia River and its 
tributaries under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and 
Conservation Act of 1980 (Act) (16 U.S.C. 839b(h)(10)). The Act 
requires BPA to fund fish and wildlife protection, mitigation, and 
enhancement actions consistent with the Northwest Power and 
Conservation Council's (Council) Fish and Wildlife Program and the 
purposes of the Act. Under this program, the Council makes 
recommendations to BPA concerning which fish and wildlife projects to 
fund. This project was recommended to BPA by the Council. In addition 
to its responsibilities under the Act, on May 2, 2008, BPA, the Bureau 
of Reclamation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the 2008 
Columbia Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement with the Yakama 
Nation. The agreement includes funding for this hatchery project, 
subject to compliance with NEPA and other environmental review 
requirements. The project is a component of the Yakima-Klickitat 
Fisheries Project EIS, which was completed in 1996. The proposal is 
also consistent with the policy direction in BPA's Fish and Wildlife 
Implementation Plan, which calls for protecting weak stocks while 
sustaining overall populations of fish for their economic and cultural 
value, including long-term harvest opportunities.
    The hatchery would be located approximately 5 miles northwest of 
Ellensburg, WA, between Interstate 90 and Highway 10. Construction of 
the hatchery would include a 28,000-square-foot hatchery and 
administration building, an adult holding and spawning facility, intake 
screens and a pump station to provide water from an existing irrigation 
canal, three new groundwater wells and acquisition of water rights, a 
new centralized degassing head box for groundwater treatment and 
supply, a waste treatment pond, and two 2,000-square-foot residences 
for hatchery staff.
    The proposed hatchery would produce up to 200,000 yearling coho 
smolts. Project operations would include collection of broodstock from 
the Roza Dam in Kittitas County, Washington and the Sunnyside Dam in 
Yakima County, Washington. Fish would be acclimated at existing 
acclimation sites adjacent to release locations and released into the 
tributaries and mainstem reaches of the upper Yakima and Naches rivers. 
Fish would be 100 percent coded wire-tagged and different wire tag 
codes would be used to distinguish release locations.
    BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. Cooperating 
agencies for the EIS may be identified as the proposed project proceeds 
through the NEPA process.
    Alternatives Proposed for Consideration: In the EIS, BPA is 
considering two alternatives: To fund the proposed hatchery and a no 
action alternative of not funding the proposal. Other viable 
alternatives brought forth through the scoping process may also be 
evaluated in the EIS.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues: 
The potential environmental issues identified so far for this project 
include effects of hatchery operations on water quality; the risk of 
competition between increasing numbers of coho and Endangered Species 
Act-listed fish such as bull trout; potential effects on soil, 
aesthetics, water quality, and climate change due to the construction 
of permanent facilities; and the social, cultural, and economic effects 
of project construction and operations, as well as harvest.
    BPA has established a 30-day scoping period during which affected 
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that a full 
range of issues related to this proposal are addressed in the EIS, and 
will help to identify significant

[[Page 70771]]

or potentially significant impacts that may result from the proposed 
project.
    When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and 
comment, and BPA will hold at least one public comment meeting for the 
Draft EIS. BPA will consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments 
received on the Draft EIS. BPA's subsequent decision will be documented 
in a Record of Decision.
    Maps and further information are available from BPA at the address 
above.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon on November 4, 2015.
Elliot E. Mainzer,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-28936 Filed 11-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P