81 FR 75142 - Fisheries and Habitat Conservation; Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Ballville Dam Project on the Sandusky River, Sandusky County, Ohio

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 209 (October 28, 2016)

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that has been prepared to evaluate the Ballville Dam Project, in Sandusky County, Ohio, in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We are also requesting public comments.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 209 (Friday, October 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75142-75143]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26101]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-FHC-2016-N108; FXFR13340300000-145-FF03F00000]


Fisheries and Habitat Conservation; Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Ballville Dam Project on the 
Sandusky River, Sandusky County, Ohio

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a final supplemental environmental impact statement 
(SEIS) that has been prepared to evaluate the Ballville Dam Project, in 
Sandusky County, Ohio, in accordance with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We are also requesting public 
comments.

DATES: Submitting Comments: We will consider all comments regarding the 
final SEIS received or postmarked by November 28, 2016 and respond to 
them as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: Submitting Comments: A hard copy of the draft SEIS and 
associated documents will be available for review at the Birchard 
Public Library, 423 Croghan Street, Fremont, Ohio 43420, as well as 
online at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/ballville-dam.html.
    You may submit comments on the final SEIS by any one of the 
following methods:
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Jessica Hogrefe, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Fisheries, 5600 American Boulevard West, Suite 990, 
Bloomington, MN 55437-1458.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (612) 713-5289 (Attention: Jessica Hogrefe).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Hogrefe, (612) 713-5102. 
Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call the 
Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8337 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of a final 
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that has been 
prepared to evaluate the Ballville Dam Project, in Sandusky County, 
Ohio, in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). We are also requesting public comments.

[[Page 75143]]

Background

    Ballville Dam was built in 1913 for hydroelectric power generation. 
The City of Fremont purchased the dam in 1959 from the Ohio Power 
Company for the purpose of supplying water to the city. With the 
construction of a raw water reservoir, the dam is no longer required 
for this purpose. Moreover, in 2007, the Ohio Department of Natural 
Resources issued a Notice of Violation to the City, stating that the 
dam was being operated in violation of the law as a result of its 
deteriorated condition.
    Ballville Dam is currently a complete barrier to upstream fish 
passage and impedes hydrologic processes. The purpose for the issuance 
of Federal funds and preparation of this final SEIS is to remove 
Ballville Dam and restore natural hydrological processes over a 40-mile 
stretch of the Sandusky River, reopen fish passage to 22 miles of 
additional habitat, restore flow conditions for fish access to habitat 
above the impoundment, and improve overall conditions for native fish 
communities in the Sandusky River system, restoring self-sustaining 
fish resources.
    We published a final EIS in the Federal Register on August 1, 2014 
(79 FR 44856), for the Ballville Dam Project that addressed the 
environmental, economic, cultural and historical, and safety issues 
associated with the proposed removal of the dam and a suite of 
alternatives. The final EIS analyzed four alternatives for the removal: 
(1) Proposed Action--Incremental Dam Removal with Ice Control 
Structure; (2) No Federal Action; (3) Fish Elevator Structure; and (4) 
Dam Removal with Ice Control Structure. The final EIS considered the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the alternatives, including 
any measures under the Proposed Action alternative intended to minimize 
and mitigate such impacts. The final EIS also identified additional 
alternatives that were considered, but were eliminated from 
consideration as detailed in Section 2.3 of the final EIS.
    We further published a draft SEIS in the Federal Register on 
February 26, 2016 (81 FR 9877), that provided further discussion of the 
potential significant impacts of the proposed action and an analysis of 
reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, specifically within the 
context of additional information made available since completion of 
final EIS for this project. This additional information addressed 
estimates of total quantity of sediment impounded by Ballville Dam, the 
potential impacts of the proposed alternative on harmful algal blooms 
(HABs) in the Sandusky River and Lake Erie due to the proposed sediment 
release, the potential impacts of the proposed alternative on 
downstream habitats due to sediment release, the accuracy of cost 
estimates of sediment removal within the EIS, and evaluation of a 
bypass and excavation alternative provided in comments on the final 
EIS. Although we concluded that these topics were sufficiently 
addressed in the final EIS, we provided additional review and 
assessment in the draft SEIS to help further clarify the issues. To 
complete this aspect of the draft SEIS, we consulted subject matter 
experts to help review final EIS materials and clearly articulate our 
understanding of them. The resulting additional information and 
explanation was incorporated within the draft SEIS.
    This final SEIS further incorporates information received during 
the public comment period for the draft SEIS, and finalizes the 
analyses and conclusions in the document.

Public Comments

    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will 
be sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to 
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed or are 
known to have interest in this proposal. To ensure that the full range 
of issues related to this proposed action are addressed and all 
significant issues identified, comments and suggestions are invited 
from all interested parties.
    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, 
tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this notice. We 
specifically request comments regarding the additional information and 
analyses presented in the final SEIS.
    You may submit your comments and materials considering this notice 
by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive in response to this request 
will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal 
business hours at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.
    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 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.

Authority

    This notice is being furnished as provided for by NEPA and its 
implementing Regulations (40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22). The intent of the 
notice is to obtain suggestions and additional information from other 
agencies and the public on the final SEIS. Comments and participation 
in this process are solicited.

Todd Turner,
Assistant Regional Director, Fisheries, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-26101 Filed 10-27-16; 8:45 am]
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