Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Updates to the Implementation of Howard A. Hanson Dam Downstream Fish Passage, Washington
| Published date | 20 September 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 52132 |
| Record Number | 2021-20240 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Army Department |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52132-52133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20240]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for Updates to the Implementation of Howard A. Hanson Dam
Downstream Fish Passage, Washington
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Seattle District, is
announcing its intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact
statement (SEIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy
Act for the express purpose of addressing updates to the implementation
of Howard A. Hanson Dam (HAHD) downstream fish passage to be instituted
as part of the Additional Water Storage Project on the Green River in
King County, Washington. The SEIS will supplement the HAHD Additional
Water Storage Project Final Feasibility Report and Final EIS (August
1998) prepared by USACE.
ADDRESSES: USACE Seattle District, CENWS-PMP-E, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle,
WA, 98124-3755.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Gleason, Environmental
Coordinator, 206-764-6577 or Ms. Katherine LaPonte, Project Manager,
206-351-6077; email to [email protected]; or mail to
USACE Seattle District, CENWS-PMP-E, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124-
3755.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USACE, Seattle District, will prepare an
SEIS in accordance with 33 CFR 230.13(b) for proposed modifications to
the recommended alternative for the downstream fish passage component
of the previously authorized HAHD Additional Water Storage Project in
King County, Washington. The scope of this SEIS will not extend to
other elements of the project related to water supply or ecosystem
restoration, as those components were not materially altered from the
description evaluated in the 1998 EIS and have already been
implemented. The purpose of the fish passage component of the larger
[[Page 52133]]
Additional Water Storage Project remains the same as the original EIS:
To successfully pass migrating juvenile fish downstream.
The 1998 EIS evaluated a fish passage facility generally consisting
of a floating fish collector. In their 2019 Biological Opinion (BiOp)
for HAHD operations and maintenance, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) established survival criteria and transport pipe exit
release location criteria that must be met by any fish passage facility
for the project. In order to meet these criteria, the USACE has
redesigned the downstream fish passage component of the project. In
this SEIS, the USACE will evaluate implementation of downstream fish
passage via a fixed multiport collection structure that would allow
fish collection from a set of five intake ports at multiple elevations
as the reservoir water level changes. Once collected through the
multiport structure, fish would be transported downstream using one or
more steep bypass pipes. The SEIS will evaluate and provide
supplemental analysis, as applicable, on any impacts generated by the
modification of the downstream fish passage component of the
recommended alternative to the quality of the human environment not
identified and evaluated in the August 1998 Final EIS. Evaluation may
extend, for example, to potential changes in the study area to aquatic
habitat, different species listed under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA) in the study area, potential changes to the geological analysis
associated with the construction of a fish passage facility, potential
impacts to natural resources during construction, including elevated
noise and disturbance to fish and wildlife at HAHD from rock blasting
and operation of construction equipment, potential effects to cultural
and historical resources, and temporary effects to water quality and
aquatic habitat from construction.
As identified in the original EIS, USACE continues to propose
monitoring to determine whether the facility provides safe downstream
passage for fish. Once operational, the fish passage facility is
expected to have significant benefits to ESA-listed salmonids thereby
benefiting the ecosystem of the entire Green River watershed, as well
as increasing a primary food source for the endangered Southern
Resident killer whales. The anticipated authorizations required prior
to construction are expected to include a BiOp from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality
Certification, concurrence from the Washington Department of Ecology on
a Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Determination, and
consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act.
The SEIS will follow the same process and format as the original
EIS (i.e., draft, final, updated record of decision (ROD)), except that
scoping is not required. The original EIS and other project documents
are available online at https://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Environmental-Documents/.
The draft SEIS will be made available for public and agency review
and comment, which is expected to occur in October 2021. After public
review of the draft SEIS and evaluation of the comments received, USACE
will promulgate a final SEIS; this is expected to occur in 2022.
Comments or questions concerning this proposed action can be
directed to the USACE contacts listed above.
Geoffrey Van Epps,
Colonel, U.S. Army, Division Commander.
[FR Doc. 2021-20240 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
